It's a real tragedy to experience the loss of one or both of your parents. It’s even more tragic when this happens as a child. The world looked innocent for a little while until a tragic loss forced you to grow up just a little faster than other kids. While confronting your grief can be painful to do, it is absolutely necessary in order to heal. It’s all about finding the tools to do so.
In the comedy-horror film M3GAN, a little girl goes through the tragic ordeal of losing her parents. Her caretaker makes a robot intending to help her heal. M3GAN would be ideal for a public screening event at a university or for teenagers in a community setting. Students will delight in the chilling yet amusing romp, but the film can also teach them important lessons about grief.
Validate Your Feelings
In the beginning of M3GAN, a little girl named Cady loses her parents in a car accident that she survives. She’s sent to live with her aunt who has no experience with kids and solely focuses on her work building robots. According to Healthline, an important aspect of processing your grief is knowing that what you are feeling is valid. When Cady first stays with her Aunt Gemma, she feels numb and doesn’t talk about what she’s going through, choosing to cry alone in bed at night. Since her aunt doesn’t have any toys or knowledge of how to connect with her niece, Cady experiences hopelessness about what her new life going forward will be like.
Let Yourself Experience the Loss
Gemma is fully dedicated to her robotic work but feels bad that she does not know how to help Cady. She never speaks to Cady about what she’s going through or the car accident. So, invents a human-like robot named M3GAN to do it for her. The robot befriends Cady, coloring with her, dancing, talking to her, singing, and even being a parental figure to her when she needs it. M3GAN is also a good resource for Cady to share memories with because she can store them for future use.
Unfortunately, the more Cady connects with M3GAN, the less she connects with her aunt and becomes dependent on the robot for her emotional well-being. Ultimately, M3GAN is just a distraction for Cady from processing her grief. This movie warns viewers of using distractions, such as technology, to replace human connection and repress pain.
Embrace Family Relationships
If Gemma spoke to Cady more about the tragedy she survived, her niece would not have depended on M3GAN so much. M3GAN's empathetic and life-like nature made it easier for Cady to connect with a robot than her closed-off aunt. Gemma and Cady could have strengthened their bond by sharing their memories of Cady's mother, Gemma's own sister. This is something that M3GAN could never do. Even if the person who passed away has a different relationship with your relative, they can still provide you comfort knowing you’ve had a relationship with the same person. Reaching out to relatives can provide comfort during your grief.
M3GAN is campy and violent, but it has an important message about letting technology distract you from the pain of trauma and grief. By adding M3GAN to your film collection, you’ll gain a greater appreciation for the human connections in your life.