Nowadays, the younger generation seems to drift away from their roots and there is a story of Alice Walker named Everyday Use portraying a picture of this phenomenon. The story then was adapted to the same name movie following the plot and keeping the same characters. Although both the story and movie represent that Mama wants to keep the items from their familyr’s past and give it to someone who would appreciate the familyr’s heritage, I prefer to watch the movie because it is more authentic and has more sense of progression.
In the story, Mama is stronger as she is a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. She can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man. Moreover, when mentioning about Dee, Mama already has animosity towards her. Although she likes the different qualities Dee possesses, she is sometimes threatened because those qualities are unfamiliar to her. She seems to resent the education as well as the air of superiority of Dee over the years She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didnt necessarily need to know. Pressed us to her with the serious way she read, to shove us away at just the moment, like dimwits, we seemed about to understand.. She clearly understands that Maggie is destined to live a life which is similar to her while Dee lives in a world which she would never know a world making Dee depreciate her. Therefore, the story is on the track of playing out that animosity as Dee finally puts her too far.
In the movie, however, Mama appears to be gentler. There is a scene showing her embracing Deer’s picture, which really touches viewers and offers them a glimpse of a motherr’s unconditional love towards her daughter. Moreover, instead of harshly describing the limitation of Maggie as in the story, she shows more love towards her shy daughter. She looks at Maggie affectionately because she knows what has happened to her little daughter. Moreover, because of her unconditional love, she has some illusions about Dee. She is delighted when Dee promised to come home after years, and she is first confusing and disappointed as well as irritated by Deer’s superior attitude towards her and Maggie.
Especially, the discussion between Dee and Mama when the former announces she has changed her name to Wangero becomes more comedic and sounds more ironic. At that time, the way Mama looks at Dee changes as if she does not know whether the girl in front of her is her beloved Dee or not. During the meal, she kind of protects Maggie and sees that Maggie has accepted the injustices of the world. In Maggie, she seems to see herself. She gradually realizes the separation which exists between Dee and the family when Dee acts strangely and superiorly during the meal. She learns something that she has never known about her daughter, and her realization of that knowledge drives the plot. Thanks to watching the video, readers can have a clearer picture of what the author wants to say because the quality of the movie is high, the setting is authentic, and the acting is good. Furthermore, the movie gradually and quietly describes many of Walkerr’s important details about costumes and setting through painfully bright dress and the sunglasses of Dee, the peaceful swept yard in front of the house, and the worn handle on the butter churn.
In conclusion, although both the story and the film all have high quality and focus on the importance of maintaining oner’s heritage as well as challenge people to appreciate their own roots, the movie is easier to understand and has a little more sense of progression than in the story as it helps viewers picture the plot and to understand the personality of each character.
