Mother’s Day Movies

Mary Cassatt’s After the Bath (circa 1901)

The American Mother’s Day was invented by Anna Jarvis in 1905, when her own mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, died. Her mother’s death proved the inspiration for a holiday and by 1908 others joined her in this macabre celebration.After five years of dedication to her obsession, Mother’s Day was first observed in West Virginia in 1910. Although writing “I love you” on a post-it note would be more meaningful, by the 1920s consumers dutifully purchased pre-made Mother’s Day cards from the Hallmark corporation. Disgusted by this perversion of her crazy vision, Jarvis unsuccessfully tried to kill Mother’s Day.Whatever you do this Mother’s Day, please don’t spend $17.95 on a Spring Multicolor Floral Infinity Scarf, $24.95 on a Bronze Metal Birdcage Lantern Wall Decoration, or $29.95 on a Coral-inspired Jewelry Tree. Instead, take her on a hike, go for a swim, eat a type of cuisine neither of you’ve ever had before, go to the ballet… or watch one of these films.

*****

Mother (마더, Bong Joon-ho, 2010)

Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

Treeless Mountain (So Yong Kim, 2008)

Be With You (いま、会いにゆきます, Nobuhiro Doi, 2004)

Carrie (Brian De Palma, 1976)

Precious (Lee Daniels, 2008)

Strait-Jacket (William Castle, 2004)

*****

Eric Brightwell is an adventurer, writer, rambler, explorer, cartographer, and guerrilla gardener who is always seeking writing, speaking, traveling, and art opportunities. He is not interested in writing advertorials, clickbait, listicles, or other 21st century variations of spam. Brightwell’s written work has appeared in Amoeblog, diaCRITICS, and KCET Departures. His work has been featured by the American Institute of Architects, the Architecture & Design Museum, the Craft & Folk Art Museum, Form Follows Function, Los Angeles County Store, Skid Row Housing Trust, and 1650 Gallery. Brightwell has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Magazine, LAist, Eastsider LA, Boing Boing, Los Angeles, I’m Yours, and on Notebook on Cities and Culture. He has been a guest speaker on KCRW‘s Which Way, LA? and at Emerson College. Art prints of his maps are available from 1650 Gallery and on other products from Cal31. He is currently writing a book about Los Angeles and you can follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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