chocolat- mother/daughter relationships

 This film is aboutVianne Rocher like her ancestors, drifts across France. In the winter of 1959, she travels to a tranquil French village, where she and her daughter, Anouk  open a small chocolaterie. The store imbues both wonder and angst within the classical villagers as it opens during the forty days of Lent.

links to my play

This film links to my play as it describes a single mother who brings up her daughter without the involvement of the father. This is similar to my play and the character of Jade. The mother is also successful in life in Chocolat even though she is a single mother and this helped me with the end of my play, in that Jade will be successful despite difficulties.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolat_(2000_film)

Film August Rush- relationships

boy named Evan Taylor lives in an orphanage, all the while believing that his parents are alive. He believes the music that he hears all around him is his parents communicating with him. He meets a counselor, Richard Jeffries, of the New York Child Services Department. Evan tells him he does not want to be adopted, because he believes his parents are still alive and will come to collect him eventually.

Through a series of flashbacks, his parents are revealed to be named Lyla Novacek, a famous concert cellist, and Louis Connelly, an Irish guitarist and lead singer of a rock band, who spent one romantic night together and don't see each other for a long period of time. Lyla became pregnant, which her father did not approve of, instead wanting Lyla to have a successful career without the obstacle of a child. After an argument with her father, Lyla ran out of a restaurant and was hit by a car. While in hospital, she gave birth to a son. Afterwards, she was told by her father that her child "was gone", unaware that he had actually been delivered successfully and then been sent to an orphanage by her father.

Evan has a strong faith that as long as he follows the music he hears and reacts to it, he will have a chance to be found by his parents. He makes his way to New York City, where he is taken in by a man known as "Wizard"who houses various orphans and runaways, employing them to play music on the streets and taking a large cut of their tips. Wizard enlists him and gives him the name "August Rush", convincing him he will be sent back to the orphanage if his real name is ever discovered.

Lyla only discovers that her son is alive when her father, knowing that he is dying, confesses what actually happened. Lyla immediately sets out to New York to look for her 11-year-old son.

A work he composes is chosen to be performed by the New York Philharmonic in Central Park, but Wizard barges into a rehearsal, and Evan reluctantly follows him back to his life of performing music on the streets. Meanwhile, Lyla has discovered Evan's identity and has decided to stay in New York while searching for her son. While there, she decides to resume her cello career. She is then chosen to play in the same concert, which  features Evan's piece. Louis, has a chance meeting with Evan in Washington Square Park and they play music together, although neither knows who the other is.

The night of the concert, Evan finally chooses to run from Wizard in favor of performing at his concert. In the meantime, Louis races to the park when he sees Evan's pseudonym along with Lyla's name on a sign billing the concert. Evan conducts his piece, and at its conclusion, he turns around to see Lyla and Louis standing hand in hand, and he finally makes the connection that they are his parents.

Links to my play

August rush links to my play as it shows the disconnected and distant relationship with the boy’s father. This links to my character of Chris who doesn’t want anything to do with Jade and her babies. He is only around long enough to find out she is pregnant, he is selfish and self-centred which links the character of Louis in August Rush.

This play helped me with the development of the character of Chris and helped me imagine how a 19 year old would behave when confronted with his pregnant girlfriend.

The film also shows the strong relationship the mother has with her child even though they are apart. The character of Lyla links to my character Jade in that she cares deeply for her babies and won’t give them up.

This film showed me a devoted mother and son relationship and a disenchanted father and son relationship and the disastrous relationship between the parents.

This scenario is similar to my okay and helped me to develop characters.

parent and teen relationships

The following infromation is from an article I found on the internet.

Without a doubt this is the most intense of all relationships, sparks alternately flying around and threatening to blaze the surroundings and then coming to rest in the intimate warmth of a glowing campfire. Until adolescence, the mother-daughter relationship is one of general warmth and closeness

But during adolescence, some say when the teenage daughter is faced with the task of differentiating herself, the mother-daughter relationship becomes one of alternating intimacy and hate, both marked with an intensity that only teenagers can bring to a relationship and bring out of their parents.

Teenage girls want both their freedom from and their connection to their mothers, but they are just not sure how to do this and as a result give lots of mixed messages. When teenage daughters are exercising their autonomy in their attempts to construct a differentiated self, they push their moms away. But given the female inclination towards relationships and connection, moms are not going to take these pushes passively. Just when their daughters need independence, their moms need connection.

On the other hand, when daughters are looking for connection, they typically turn to their mothers. When the mom is available, these are some of the most treasured and intimate moments between mothers and daughters; they just don't last all that long.

The dangerous dynamic here is that mothers, in their attempts to keep the relationship alive and healthy, might smother their daughters. Mothers have to learn to stay close while also giving their daughters the space in which to claim their independence.

the link to this article is below.
http://life.familyeducation.com/parenting/teen/42917.html

This information relates to my play as the relationship between the main character jade and her mother is somewhat strained. As seen in my first scene they have an argument as the mother tries to make her stay home but she wants to go out and have some fun. This relates to the idea that a daughter pushes her mother away to gain independence and privacy, and the mother tries to keep her close and remain as connected and close as before.

This leads to the parent teen conflict. this is part of another article.

There are many important misunderstandings that occur both with the parent and with the adolescent that, if recognized would not only reduce conflict, but strengthen the relationship, even if it seems there is hardly one there. While arguments between a parent and their teen are not of itself a bad thing, the manner in which they choose to resolve these disagreements is what ultimately determines the outcome and anxiety in each encounter.

Working through the teenage years is just as hard, and probably harder, for your teen as it is you, the adult. As parents we learn how to nurture and control our children as they grow from babies into young children. Most of the rules and boundaries we put on them are to keep them close and safe. As they reach the adolescent years however, our children’s natural instinct is to pull away and develop a sense of autonomy from the family. For many parents, this can instil a sense of sheer panic and for a teen, whether they admit it or not, stepping out of the nest for the first time can be extremely scary. It is a tense and emotional time for everyone.

For the most part, all teens are rebellious, self-focused, argumentative, critical, and moody. Often, they can become somewhat aggressive, talking loudly, showing off, and otherwise being obnoxious. Because of this parents and teens fight more because they are constantly pushing at each other.  

this is the link to that article.

http://www.theravive.com/services/parent-teen.htm

This relates to my radio play as my main character is self focused and somewhat rebellious and moody. the conflict between her mother means the relationship is strained and distant and this is typical of some teen relationships today, meaning that my relationship between mother and daughter is more realistic as it is based on real life.

the use of an unreliable narrator

An unreliable narrator is a narrator whose account of events appears to be faulty, misleadingly biased, or otherwise distorted, so that it departs from the ‘true’ understanding of events shared between the reader and the implied author. The discrepancy between the unreliable narrator's view of events and the view that readers suspect to be more accurate creates a sense of irony. The term does not necessarily mean that such a narrator is morally untrustworthy or a habitual liar we see it form their point of  view which is biased because it is what they think and not impartial. ‘

This links to my play as I am using both first and third person narration. It is third person to show events and first to hear the main character’s thoughts and feelings. This means that parts of my play will be told by an unreliable narrator.

My main character Jade describes her feelings and thoughts on the events around her several times at the start of the play and when she is pregnant. This helps to understand her better.

considered names for play

When thinking about a name for my radio play my initial idea was the title unexpected. 

I considered this as she finds out that she is pregnant and never expected to be.

This would sum up the attitude of most teenagers in that they don’t think things will happen to them specifically.

I then came across a TV show in my research called Tales of the Unexpected.

This then led me to consider the title Tales of the Expected.

This is one of my options and I ma considering using it.

In today’s society you expect to see teen pregnancies. It is an expected part of society and is seen on the new, in newspapers and on the streets. The word expected in the title emphasises this.

The word tales can be used as the play follows the main female characters life while she is pregnant and you hear the events that happen to her.

As it is going to be a mix of first person and third I think the name works well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_the_Unexpected_(TV_series)

documentaries

Born survivors: Kizzy Sex, Prams and Exams

Nine short films co-created by the Media Trust and young people across the country telling their own personal stories of survival.
In the first series of Born Survivors, viewers watched Kizzy Neal's transformation from a carefree teenager to, with her family's help, a responsible single mum at 14. One year on the cameras return to follow Kizzy's extraordinary progress, learning how she's become a full-blown mother to son Kaylib while taking her own first steps towards independence.                         





          
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bornsurvivors/minisodes/series2_kizzy.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bornsurvivors/minisodes/

Teen Mum High



Documentary, made by award-winning Films of Record, which looks at life in a pupil referral unit for school age girls (under-16s) who are either pregnant or have recently become a mum.

With a crèche where the girls can leave their babies, it's not a typical high school. It's one of a small number of specialist pupil referral units around the UK for school girls who choose not to terminate their pregnancies or for whom termination isn't an option.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00bf5d0

These two BBC documentaries show that there is an audience for a radio drama about teen pregnancy and that there are many options and differences between each teen pregnancy.



Mom at 16

Jacey Jeffries, a 16 year old high school student, unexpectedly becomes a mother, after giving birth to a baby boy named Charley. Instead of giving him up for adoption as planned, she chooses to keep the baby. Her mother, Terry pretends the infant is hers to allow Jacey to finish high school and lead a relatively normal life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go5eHAmCMgk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZumXPlCoZ8k

For Keeps?



For Keeps is a 1988 movie starring Molly Ringwald and Randall Batinkoff as Darcy and Stan, two high school seniors in love. Complications ensue when Darcy becomes pregnant just before graduation and decides to keep her baby. This movie is noted for being Ringwald's final "teen" movie, and is cited as one of her most mature performances, particularly in a scene where Darcy is suffering from post partum depression after the birth of her child.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDZ9er9Ey1c

15 and pregnant



Fifteen and Pregnant is a 1998 made-for-television drama starring Kirsten Dunst, Park Overall and David Andrews.
Based on a true story, Dunst portrays a 15-year-old pregnant girl,
who has to deal with giving birth before driving a car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAXI0vEUt-w


These movies link to my play as they show the controversial issues that surround teen pregnancy and the effects on both the mother and child.