The word perspective, for the most part, is a pretty basic term in everyone’s vocabulary. We’re taught that it’s essentially the point of view from which you see the world. Everyone has a different one, and it often shifts as time goes on. There’s always this idea that to understand people and their actions, understanding their perspective is the first step.
- Setting The Scene
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It was a weeknight, and I was drowning in homework, so I decided to do what any college student would do and distract myself with anything and everything. I decided to watch “Lady Bird” in hopes it would help facilitate my procrastination. “Lady Bird” was one of the most heart-wrenching movies that taught me that perspective and empathy are two of the most undervalued concepts that make us human.
- Shifting the Narrative
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The plotline follows a Sacramento teenager (Lady Bird) as she steers her way through high school and towards her future goals. Throughout the film, she views many of the events and people around her as barriers preventing her from succeeding. In reality, they had underlying messages that weren’t revealed until later in the film. “Lady Bird” challenged me to question what lens the people around me have been viewing the world with. I feel like often we throw negativity at situations and people who cause us stress and worry. But what if that’s just how you’re viewing it? Changing your perspective, or at least attempting to, can help you understand why others viewed and reacted to a certain situation the way they did. “Lady Bird” left me questioning if there were any situations I ever misinterpreted for malice that, in reality, were fueled by outside sources.
- Lucas’s Hidden Struggle
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Lucas Hedges and Lady Bird were inseparable at the beginning of the film. They weren’t only dating, but they were best friends from the start. When Lady Bird catches him with another guy in the bathroom, she immediately becomes overcome with sadness and anger. It’s not until later in the film that we realize how much this secret had been killing Lucas on the inside. They attended a Catholic High School, and being openly gay unfortunately doesn’t appear to be very common. Seeing Lucas break down to Lady Bird about how terrified and confused he was made me do a double-take on the situation. I understood Lady Bird’s confusion and frustration with the situation but looking at it from Lucas’s perspective, I could really see how much it had been hurting him on the inside. He not only questioned himself but also feared the future to come. I think this situation says a lot about understanding other people. Even when we might be quick to jump to conclusions, later followed by emotions, there is always another side and perspective to be seen. Our initial perspective may not be as black and white as we think.
- Laurie’s Love
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Now I can talk about perspective and its importance, but applying it and understanding it can be difficult. It’s so easy for someone to talk about how viewing someone’s perspective is critical, but I think a lot of it comes down to understanding the people around you and how they’re wired. Perspective and actions go hand in hand. To understand someone’s actions, you have to understand their perspective. One of my favorite characters in “Lady Bird” is her mom Laurie. Throughout the film, we only view her through the eyes of Lady Bird. Therefore, it’s normal for the viewers to be quick to hate her and write her off as an overbearing, emotionally abusive parent. However, in the end, we finally view the story through her eyes, and the love she has for her daughter is unmatched. The whole time we view her actions as harsh and uncalled for when in reality, they come from a deeper place, a more reserved place inside her. She expresses her love for Lady Bird the only way she knows how. This moment was critical for me when realizing that to truly understand the people around us and their perspective, we have to understand the path they’ve walked. You can’t understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. We have to be educated on the experiences they’ve gone through to make them the way they are.
