Musings on "Lars and the Real Girl"

Oh Lars. 

There were so many gems within this movie that I want to discuss in depth, but I thought perhaps I should save that for the paper, and list some quick hits here that I thought really made the movie. 

I really liked the blatant irony of Lars’ chaste relationship with a sex doll; that an anatomically correct doll actually underscores his decency and wholesome sincerity.  I also liked how shocked Karin is when seeing that Bianca was indeed anatomically detailed under her skirt.  I mean, really, what did she expect to see?

Gus and Karin represented the embodiment of heteronormative behavior to me.  Yes, Lars was socially awkward and a bit unstable.  But their concern form him made it seem as though his solitude and withdrawn nature was some sort of illness that could be fixed with a romantic relationship (with one of the feminine persuasion of course).  Gus asks to “fix” Lars who, aside from his single status and awkward mannerisms, seems completely functional.  He has a job, he drives, he eats, he exists.  Then, when he brings home exactly what they expected – a girl / companion – but in a form that didn’t fit heteronormative expectations, he was deemed to be even crazier.  This isn’t taking away from the fact that they seemed to genuinely care for Lars, it’s just that their desire for him to be “fixed” seemed to mean that he should land a girl, get married, settle down, and have children. In other words, a conventional heterosexual life that fits into the heteronormative hegemony.

Perhaps Sedgwick’s right, we’re all a little queer, a little crazy.  An entire town is convinced to not just tolerate Lars’ quirky behavior, but to see his delusion for themselves. At first pass, this can be a testament to some idyllic idea of the human condition, but it shows a little bit of a psychological weakness we all have in our capacity to empathize with others, particularly those we care about.  We care… so much so that we’re willing to personally identify with others, and applying it to Sedgwick, perhaps it takes mere identification with “queer” that makes us so.

I thought the tie-in of religion was brilliant.  If only all organized religion could preach and practice such tolerance and respect for one another, particularly those considered “queer.”   Mrs. Gruner and her friends are particularly endearing for some reason.  Older folks who display sage wisdom and overall sensibility always win.

The tie between childbirth and death was interesting.  Lars sees childbirth as dangerous, and explains this to the doctor.  Maybe part of his aversion to Karin’s touch is really his fear for her impending labor.  While this fear is easily explained by Lars’ mother dying during childbirth, it’s also an intriguing concept.  Childbirth, in most hetero situations, is a marker of life, a celebration.  But for homosexuals who are biologically incapable of producing life in the hetero convention (and are further denied from means of adopting and raising children in their own right), childbirth takes on a different meaning.

I drew some correlations between Bianca, Margo’s teddy bear, and his cube-mate’s action figures.  All of these are inanimate objects that are given human-like importance and characteristics.  These are akin to the dolls that are used throughout Misfortune.

Lars, like Rose from Misfortune, has some gender issues that are tied with coming of age and growing up.  When he tells Gus that Bianca’s culture has ceremonies and rites of passage that confirm an entrance into adulthood and manhood, I get the feeling that Lars himself is looking for ways in which he also can know that he is a man.  In the same vein, Rose never truly cements a stable identity until (s)he comes to terms with her physical and mental state of mind in terms of gender.  It almost feels like part of growing up, at least in these two works, means finding asserting a gender and committing to performing this gender, both in private and in public.

All in all, a thought-provoking movie that was funny, but more so at times, quite sad.  Feel free to share the moments and highlights that you found funny, ironic, profound, etc.  

-terese