Spanglish

I got Spanglish through netflix a week or so ago and finally sat down to watch it (without Cody- he wasn't interested.) So if you haven't seen the movie yet and plan to, you may want to stop reading now. Here's the one thing that really stood out to me about the movie. It showed a stark contrast between selfishness and unselfishness. The mother was extremely self absorbed (and miserable by the way.) The father and housekeeper were unselfish, and though slightly miserable at the time, one is left with the feeling that they are both going to be alright. The father and the housekeeper somehow fall in love without trying and without acting on it, in fact they try to avoid it. Meanwhile the mother has gone off and had an affair. When the mother tells the father of her affair he is devestated. He and the housekeeper run off somewhere and they flirt with the possiblity of their own affair. Here's what I really like- they DON'T have an affair, mostly because of their responsibilities to their children and because it would be wrong. They go their seperate ways as she quits her job at their home the next day. Now is that counter-cultural or what? Think of all the families being wrecked by affairs every day. It's all because people want to do what makes them happy at the time and self gratification is more important than anything else, including their spouse, children, career, reputation, etc. Self gratification is this hungry beast that seems to take over lives and leave a wake of destruction. How refreshing to see characters in a movie step back and think of others instead of their own "happiness."