Oct 16, 2010

Sweet Home Alabama



"Why would you want to marry me for anyhow?"
"So I can kiss you any time I want."


The reason why the movie— Sweet Home Alabama —shared the same name with the song (from 1974 by Lynyrd Skynyrd) is because Alabama was the main character Melanie's hometown. Besides, the lyrics of the song matched with the events that happened to Mel in this film.

In New York City, Mel was a fashion designer. Fame, money, and luxury surrounded her. She pursued her goal of becoming part of the upper class. Yet, her life in Pigeon Creek was totally different. Alabama was a town full of history; people who lived here replayed the battlefield of the Civil War to tourists. Also, it was a lovely place; residents here just like a big family. Even though Mel did something wrong, such as insulted her friends, they forgave her soon.

▲Andrew. Melanie. Jake

In Mel's mind, Andrew and New York stood for a promising future while Jake and Alabama represented her past and beloved things. In the movie, Mel always considered Jake as a stubborn ass, but I think that she was actually the stubborn one. Mel didn't think that she could have both her life (promising future) and love (Jake and Alabama) at the same time. However, Jake told her the truth—"You can have roots and wings, Mel."

By the end of the film, Mel made her own choice to stay with Jake in Alabama. If I were Mel, I would make the same decision. Wealth and fame may be important to some people, but not for me. If you ask me, I'll take love for my priority. Both the love between lovers, and love between friends and families.



Original discussion: http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/e0915951617/article?mid=364&prev=383&next=360&page=1&sc=1#yartcmt





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Location: Alabama

5 comments:

  1. Dr. GinaApril 8, 2012 at 2:49 AM

    I am not sure about this "The reason why the movie—Sweet Home Alabama—shared the same name with the song (from 1974 by Lynyrd Skynyrd) is because Alabama was the main character Melanie's hometown." I think there is some other reason why the movie would be named after the song. Let's think harder.

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  2. ShirleyApril 8, 2012 at 2:49 AM

    In my opinion, the plot of the movie Sweet Home Alabama is just like most of the Romance Comedies. Mel, the female protagonist involved herself in the tense struggle between two men, her husband and her new boyfriend. You've mentioned that Andrew stood for the promising future for Mel. Then, I'm curious about what's your definition of "promising future"? And do you mean that Jake is not able to provide Mel the promising future? For I've watched the movie years ago, I try to recall my memory that Jake didn't just fool around in Alabama; actually, he seemed to have his own steady career.

    Although I wasn't touched by the film, I was touched by the sentence "You can have roots and wings." Sometimes, people tend to frighten themselves and worry a lot before they truly take action. Stop wasting time on unnecessary worries and to have faith in ourselves may be the efficient ways to bring us closer to our goal. Besides, the lyrics below "I miss Alabama once again and I think it's a sin." show up in the first part of the song Sweet Home Alabama. Since you've said that the lyrics of the song correspond to Mel's personal experience, what's the sin in the lyrics represents for in your opinion?

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    1. ElsaApril 8, 2012 at 2:50 AM

      As Andrew was the mayor's son, he could provide Mel with stable financial support. If Mel had married Andrew, she could live in New York and keep pursuing her dream of being an outstanding designer. My definition of "promising future" focus on her career. Based on this definition, it might be difficult for Mel to have a promising future if she married Jake. By the end of the film, there were some photoes implied that Mel had a baby, and stay in Alabama. In this situation, it is hard for her to catch up with the fashion tide and concentrate on her job.

      By the way, since I watched this movie just two weeks ago, I certainly know that Jake had his own shop named "Deep South Glass", which produced glass works.

      "I miss Alabama once again and I think it's a sin." The sin I saw in the film happened at the time when Mel was a seventeen-year-old girl. She had a baby with Jake before they had a marriage. According to what Mel said, she did not give birth to that baby. Hence, I made a guess that she had an abortion.

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  3. ShirleyApril 8, 2012 at 2:51 AM

    So, what if Mel married to Andrew and gave birth to a baby in “New York”? Wouldn’t it be hard for her to catch up with the changeful fashion industry? Maybe most of the audience will be happy for Mel that she can live happily ever after with her family. However, thinking from a more critical perspective, Mel’s personal experience is just another tragedy which reveals the common phenomenon that women tend to sacrifice their career for the completion of family. Besides, the famous actress Shiu Shi Yuan is engaged to her extremely affluent husband. And rumor has it that she will terminate her acting career once she get married which shows the fact that men are breadwinners, women are housekeepers once again.

    But somehow there is an exception; taking the well-known hostess Tao Jing Ying’s husband as an example, he is an exceptional husband who is willing to take care of children at home while allowing his own wife to be constantly exposed to the media and making money.

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    1. ElsaApril 8, 2012 at 2:51 AM

      Since Andrew was rich, maybe Mel would hire a babysitter to take care of the baby. It would be easy for her to keep up her career path.

      The idea of gender equality have been advocated in recent years; however, the traditional notion that man should support the family is still deep-rooted. Maybe it will take a lot more time to change people's thought.

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