Cinema Verite

The Family Ties Podcast - True Crime Podcast Series

Cinema Verite: In this week’s episode, Kelley and Julia discuss their top two movies that could be their biopics, also delving into the darkness of mental health when untreated in relation to childhood trauma.
Kelley’s Picks
The Wolfpack: is a documentary film about homeschooled siblings, the Angulos, who are locked inside their Manhattan apartment and held hostage from the outside world by their father. They found the escape they needed from their reality through watching and re-enacting their favorite movies. Kelley has specific memories of her and her siblings using the same coping mechanism as the Angulo siblings; reenacting movies to escape from reality. Similar to Kelley’s homeschooling experience, it did not seem as though the Angulos had a real school structure. As a result of her similar experience, Kelley has a blog dedicated to evaluating homeschooling from an analytical perspective. It is evident that isolation has an effect on socialization and is the reason the bonds between the Angulo siblings were so strong. Play acting was a way for them to pass the time and bond with each other. This coping technique was their attempt at controlling their environment through a pretend reality.
The Babadook: is about a single mother, distraught over her husband’s death, with a son who begins to fear a monster that is in the house. She soon discovers the Babadook for herself and can’t escape it. Kelley found herself emotionally drained at the end because she realized the mom in the movie was her mom. The mom allowed the idea of the Babadook to manifest. The Babadook represents the mental illness manifesting in hers and her son’s life. You can’t get rid of the Babadook. Kelley’s mom was just as good at creating fear. She would allow the kids to read adult, Frank Peretti books about demons fighting souls that proved to be terrifying for the kids. Even with companionship with other siblings, they were always fearful to sleep. Feared what was under the bed, closets, in the shower, cabinet, any hiding space.
Julia’s Picks
Tangled: is a Disney animation of a classic tale. Beautiful princess Rapunzel was kidnapped as a baby and trapped in a tower by Gothel. Her magical long blonde hair has the power to provide eternal youth, and the evil Gothel uses this power to keep her young. At the age of 18, Rapunzel becomes curious about the outside world, and when a prince uses her tower as a refuge, she asks him to help her escape. Julia found that the manipulation techniques used by Gothel were similar to her mom’s. Like Julia’s mom, Gothel made the things that Rapunzel wanted to do come across as a personal attack, using Gas lighting.
Carrie: is about a quiet and sensitive teen who experiences bullying at school and abuse from her mother at home. She discovers that she has supernatural powers and gets invited to go to the prom, where things end up taking a dark turn. After watching this movie, Julia was terrified by how closely her mom and Carrie’s mom resembled each other. Sex and body image was another striking similarity. Like Carrie’s mom, Julia’s mom considered boobs and curves to be dirty and shameful. The opening period scene was relatable due to the insensitivity of the situation. Julia shared the same despair as Carrie and had no idea what was happening. Her mom just shoved a box of tampons into her arms and that was it

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