Revision (essay)

Running head: RESILIENCE STORY ANALYSIS 1

Resilience Story Analysis: Maudie Film

Tsun Yuen Wong

Writing 139W

Professor Danilo Caputo

August 4, 2020

Resilience Story Analysis: Maudie Film

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Rhetorical Analysis of the Resilience Story

The file entitled Maudie is a drama film that came to existence in 2016. The movie was

co-directed by Walsh, Hawkins, and Hawke. The biographical drama film describes the life of

Maud Lewis, a renowned artist who concentrated her artistic work in Nova Scotia. The movie

targets Lewis’ fans and other persons that would wish to learn the struggles that the artist

overcame to become who she is today. Filming of the film happened in Newfoundland at the

expense of Nova Scotia. The producers’ choice of Newfoundland was the belief that residents of

the region could offer more funding for the cinema, unlike the support that residents of Ontario

and Ireland could offer. In my view, the context also corresponds to the indication of resilience

and struggles in Lewis’ life in the sense that the artist sought funding for the movie. Had Lewis’

life been smooth, I bet that she could not have resolved to film the movie in Newfoundland in the

hope for financial aid. The genre of the movie is drama. The genre’s impact on the message and

depicting resilience is the emphasis on the events that happened in Lewis’ life. In this context,

the production focused on eliciting emotions from the suffering that the main character

underwent. The intention, in my view, is to have viewers gain insights into the resilience story

and aspects of the movie.

The Character and Aspects that Exhibit Resilience

In the movie, the person that exhibits resilience is Maud. Resilience is evident in Maud’s

characters, decisions, and actions. Furthermore, the lady’s success best explains the need and

outcome of resilience.

The Aspects that render the Character Resilient

Virtually every aspect of the movie involves some sort of resilience. It should not escape

the reader’s attention that the movie is filmed in the context of the 1930s. The period of the

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movie suggests that it must have been hard for a person crippled person to exist peacefully in

society. The movie is about a lady that faced multiple challenges in life but overcame them all to

become a successful painting artist. One of the challenges that Dowley faced is that she suffered

from rheumatoid arthritis. In this context, the pain that came with the disorder was unbearable.

Evidence of the magnitude of the pain was that the lady resorted to heavy smoking to deal with

the pain. Arthritis also caused the lady an unusual gait, which made community members

mistake her as being a stupid and incapable woman. Any person will agree that enduring the tag

of a stupid and incapacitated person is not a walk in the park. While a victim may endure

unwarranted tags from community members, the worst bit is when family members hold a

similar view regarding one of their own (Van Breda, 2018). Such was the case for Lewis, whose

brother and Aunt with whom she lived, held the belief that she was a cripple. The other instance

of resilience was discrimination when she applied for a job as a housekeeper. In the movie, it is

clear that the hirer did not want to hire a cripple. Notably, the discrimination could not have

happened at the worst time, when she sought independence from family members. As if the

discrimination was not enough, the lady received beatings from her employer whenever the latter

alleged that the former did not meet his expectations.

What the Character Bounces back From

Maud bounces back on several occasions throughout the movie. One of the instances was

the review of her approach to dealing with the pain that emanated from arthritis. Like critics, I

feel that turning to heavy smoking to relieve the pain was not the most appropriate solution.

However, the lady successfully overcame the approach, and towards the end of the movie, she is

not depicted as a heavy smoker. The other instance in which the main character bounces back is

illustrated by her decision to seek independence from family members. In this case, the lady

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realized that her family members’ belief about her situation was detrimental to her progress in

life. The lady’s wit is evident in her decision to seek an alternative and bounce back from living

with Charlie and Ida and the resulting rejection. As already highlighted, the community in which

Maud lived believed that the lady was stupid and somewhat incapable of undertaking normal

activities due to her health situation. However, the lady bounces back when she is the only

applicant for a job posting to serve as a housekeeper for Everett Lewis (Movieclips, 2017). I

believe that the rationale of Maud’s decision was to prove community members wrong regarding

the notion that they held about her. Maud’s potential employer initially rejected the former’s

request for a job on account of incapacity to undertake the role. In normal circumstances, a

person that is rejected on such grounds would lose morale to negotiate for the opportunity.

However, Maud exhibited resilience and bounced back from rejection by negotiating part of

responsibilities for the job. My view is that Maud was resilient enough to have Everett change

his mind and view regarding the former’s situation and capability. The lady received beatings

from her employer on regular occasions. However, the beatings did not discourage her from

pursuing her course in life. I would expect that the mistreatment would have prompted the lady

to go back to her family members who, despite viewing her as an absolute cripple, did not abuse

her physically. However, the lady turned to painting the interior of the house and small cards

with happy pictures. Unknown to her, the paintings would attract the attention of Sandra, a New

York socialite that promotes the former’s talent and skills. Above all, Maud’s decision to relate

her experiences is a way of bouncing back from the suffering that she underwent.

How and when Maud builds Resilience

Resilience may be viewed as the ability to overcome challenges in life. In like manner,

the concept may be defined as the overcoming and enduring capacity that people develop as a

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result of undergoing suffering and hardships. In the context of the movie, several elements are

responsible for making Maud resilient. One such element is the disease that she suffered from.

The ailment taught the lady to endure hardships and develop comprehensive approaches to

dealing with hardships. It is true that the approach that she adopts initially is subject to the debate

regarding its suitability. However, Maud seemingly learnt from her mistakes, and happenings

later in the movie illustrate the selection of commendable solutions to problems. As an

illustration, the lady resorted to drawing when her employer beat her up allegedly due to poor

performance (Hadfield & Ungar, 2018). The other element that depicted Maud’s resilience is

rejection from multiple quarters. In the movie, the lady faced rejection from, among others,

family members, society, and potential employers. However, Maud knew that she held different

capabilities from people’s views, a belief that probably encouraged her to fight hard to shed the

tags. Physical abuse is the other aspect that built Maud’s resilience. The abuse primarily takes

the form of a beating by the employer. When the beating happens, Maud does not flee the

workplace. Instead, the resilience that develops causes her to undertake drawing. Remarkably,

the outcome was impressive.

Resilience Kinds Depicted in the Movie

The movie is a perfect example of resilience as it exhibits resilience scenarios and types.

In this case, one of the types that it illustrates is physical resilience. The variant is evident in the

fact that Maud did not flee the workplace after her employer abused her physically. In the

process, the lady would be sure that her employer would accord her a beating in the future, but

the former remained at the place of work. Physical resilience is also evident in the lady’s choice

of a drawing clear (Movieclips, 2017). Maud’s medical condition commonly affects a victim’s

joints. Despite the situation, Maud chose a career that involved the use of hands. It is my view

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that no better scenarios would illustrate physical resilience. The movie also illustrates social

resilience in that the lady courageously endures the tags that the society and family members

accorded her (Bryan et al. 2019). Similarly, Maud successfully endured and overcome social

rejection by Everett, a potential employer, who held the belief that the lady did not have the

capacity to undertake job-related activities. The film also illustrates emotional resilience on the

part of the main character. There is no doubt that suffering rejection like Maud did would lead to

emotional numerous emotional challenges. However, the lady overcame the challenges to

become a successful artist that people emulate. Mental resilience is also evident in the film under

analysis. The aspect mainly relates to the pain that Maud endured due to her condition,

rheumatoid arthritis. Moreover, the smoking that she practiced relates to her mental faculties to

gain relief to pain. Notably, the lady thrives despite the pain.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Maudie film consists of multiple events that exhibit resilience. The movie

focuses on the resilience story of a single character as opposed to multiple characters. In the

movie, the character bounces back from multiple situations that appear to derail her prospects for

individual progress. Some of the aspects that build the character’s resilience include disease,

rejection, and physical abuse. Notably, the personality is able to overcome the stumbling blocks

to become successful against the expectations of many people. The film illustrates four types of

resilience, which are physical, emotional, mental, and social.

Visual References

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Screenshot 1: Maud draws on the wall to make up for the beating that she received from her

employer

Screenshot 2: Maud undertakes one of her roles as a house help at Everett’s home

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Screenshot 3: Maud’s encounter with Oscar award winner

References

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Bryan, C., O'Shea, D., & MacIntyre, T. (2019). Stressing the relevance of resilience: A

systematic review of resilience across the domains of sport and work. International

Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 12(1), 70-111.

Hadfield, K., & Ungar, M. (2018). Family resilience: Emerging trends in theory and

practice.

Movieclips, T. (2017, Feb 2017). Maudie international trailer #1 2017 [video file].

Van Breda, A. D. (2018). A critical review of resilience theory and its relevance for social

work. Social Work, 54(1), 1-18.