31 January 2010

There but, for the blond hair and long legs, go I

I want to thank Hollywood for their generosity in casting me as Kate Winslet in the movie, Revolutionary Road.
Not much to say. It captured what I would have experienced if I had been a housewife in the 1950's. I would have gone insane, aborted an unwanted child and risked my own life to get out of my surroundings.

Luckily, I was born in 1960 (this time around) and had the forethought to decide not to have children before I entered the breeder team. I had a compassionate mother who didn't press me into "service." She told me that I should have a child if I wanted and absolutely not feel obligated to have a child if I did not.

I might have been able to live though my character's situation if I had given the gift of ignorance. And, jumping to the defense, I don't mean that women who are comfortable in the role of wife and mother are such. I mean that for me, the only salvation would be not knowing.

This feels incomplete and I'm sure I will have more to say late, but just wanted to get this out there. It means a lot to me.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

You're so lucky to have a mother who has not pressured you into having children, Carolena.

When I told my mother that I wasn't having children, she looked at me and said "Well that's not very fulfilling for me, is it?".

Amy said...

I'm with you on this one. I'm also lucky in that my parents have never even asked me about kids, even though I know they would be thrilled if I had them. My mom once commented that, even as a small child, I was very firm that I did not want to have my own children. My parents also backed up my decision when relatives would bug them about why I didn't get married and settle down. Now they send holiday cards to me, their "son-in-law" (my boyfriend) and their fur grandkids.

katie said...

Carolena, I wonder what spurred this post. Did you just watch Revolutionary Road? The palpable claustrophobia of that couple's life was enough to make me squirm uncontrollably.

needle*spool said...

You're more than welcome to borrow mine ;) whenever (if ever) you need a fix! Ive run across a lot of friends that dont feel the need to create more sentient beings and Im ok with that because some days I think that way too ;)

Carolena Nericcio-Bohlman said...

Just to balance things out, please see the movie "Unmistaken Child"

http://www.unmistakenchild.com/

When you get to the deleted scenes at the end,the very last one is "Ant."
Watch that, and you will know who I am.

Children and family life are not my calling, and yet I am filled with compassion for all living beings.

Carrie said...

I feel you sister... When I was little I watched the movie Frankie and Johnny starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino.
I told my mom I wanted to be just like Frankie when I grew up. -Single, waitress, childless, living in a big city on the 35th floor, and window shopping for VCR's. That sounded so wonderful and exotic to me.
It wasn't until my 25th birthday that she took me seriously! Ha.