As a child, I condemned Coraline‘s parents, but I grew up. I went to therapy. I have a child of my own, and I agree with your views on this video. These seem like two people who are extremely exhausted and could have handled the adult life better and made their child feel more secure at that time of course but as parents, our lives are definitely on a scale with her reaching what I call the age of importance I see why they moved her from her city to her little town
as a psych student who is unhealthily obsessed w coraline these vids r great! i rlly liked the thing abt transitional objects and the other mother being the reverse! my take on the doll and her sense of self could be about her transitioning from child to teen, in the splitting sense, she (her real self) is now the teen, her parents don't really seem to be attending to her like they would a child, and seem to feel she can take care of herself (despite still restricting her - the paradox of being a teen!). the doll now represents her child-like self and how she just wants to play (the other world indulges this). She also sort of takes care of the doll by taking it around the house 'playing with it' and, as another commenter pointed out, puts the doll's needs before her own, like a parent to a child. At the end she comes to grips with her sense of self and thus does not feel she needs to split, learning nuance in everyone around her and herself.
I've only seen parts of this movie, so I'm just functioning on the scenes you showed. First, you did a great job explaining everything so give yourself a lot more credit for that. Second, what an excellent movie to use to illustrate these concepts. You can really see the..I don't want to say distortion...but the way it is at the same time the way Coraline is perceiving the events around her. For instance, the parents frantically working away...they have these exhausted looks and bags under their eyes. They aren't enjoying it. They at least took the time to interact with Coraline and continued on with life, meeting her needs, despite the work requirements (even if she doesn't like/think so). It would be different if they completely ignored her. The color in this film does a lot too. Like the bright yellow raincoat and the drabiness of the kitchen/mother exchange. Anyways, great video!
I always get excited when I get a notification for a new video from your channel. Another great video that has given me a lot to think about! Some notes on Coraline vs the doll Coraline: I believe they are contrasted between the fully autonomous and the version that can be fully possessed and controlled. Having the doll turns Coraline into a caretaker. And I can't help but notice times when Coraline puts the doll's needs before her own, such as the shot of them looking out of the foggy window when Coraline wipes away the condensation for the doll before she does for herself. I think this is an instance that shows what Coraline thinks a caretaker should do for their child, and may further symbolise Coraline's resentments towards her parents
About the Other Colaline, if she's splitting then I think there is a conflict there about becoming independent. We all want to be a doll where there is a all powerful all knowing being taking care of us, catering to our every need and controlling every aspect of reality. If the theme of the movie is growing up then we have to leave all the behind us. Then we have to confront that our mom&dad's were lying to us for our entire existence for our own good(only complicated by the fact that lying is wrong) Not just dealing with the injustice that existence itself is not as safe, perfect or caring as the liars made us believe. Made more difficult by the fact that the ons who lied and hurt us are now imperfect, but still care about us more then the entire world combined. Anger, hurt, helplessness, the sudden (over)drive to become independent but still desperately wanting to be cared for It's a lot
Wow... The idea of transitional object made me understand so much... Throughout my childhood I had a difficulty throwing anything in the trash because I personalized them. Now I know why. Thanks!
I have a theory…it’s “clarity.” Coraline realizes, *“shit my real mom loves me, she’s given love and affection, she’s just stressed. Now the other world…sucks because I’m not in it.”* It’s the post- bad decision effect where everything changes after you realize something is off, from your mindset to how your perception is. For example, my boyfriend has DID/OSDD, and he has a little place for what I call his system: the Garden. I’ve been visiting the Queen of the Garden for a while now, and she’s gotten mighty “fond" of caring for me. It was cool for that while, until I noticed a few signs. I kept asking for a specific type of thing, seemingly out of nowhere - I’ve neglected other areas/people of the world, and physically my boyfriend has had to eat more to accommodate the repeat visitations. Eventually the Queen gives an ultimatum, essentially offering herself as a replacement for him - and soon everything in the garden looks…different. Brighter, yet more *hostile* and *persistent* in its need to pleasure - (sexually and non-sexually) me. This video clearly puts my feelings about that into terrifying perspective. And I don’t know how to feel.
this series is perfect, working on a commision of a coraline themed painted box, keeping me interested in the theme in the background, very informative content
Weird, I think I just experienced splitting when I watched this amazing video, when it became the baddest most evil sellout video just as the sponsor part came up.
Yup that's splitting alright- immature black and white thinking as a result of you being unable to manage your frustration in a healthy way 😂 sponsors are here to stay bud, accept or stop watching RU-vid vids. Your call.
I think the Other mother having evil behind her in Coraline DOES very much relate to Coraline's psycology as a metiphore. This other mother is an escapist fantasy. As Coraline is drwn deeper into dependence on that fantasy, she comes to realize that there's something deeply toxic about it. What if the things that bother her about her parents are really just inconveniant extensions of other things she likes about them and needs from them? What if these are, in fact, some of the qualities that make her herself -- an adventurous and strong-willed person who may actually be able to be happy depending on them less and being more self-sufficient? Realizing parrents aren't ideal beings hurts, but eventually it allows us to relate to them and also grow apart from them without carrying unrealistic resentment about them. Suddenly the other mother, who exists as a passive homemaker only to please Coraline is perfect, but not relatable. Retreat into the fantasy keeps Coraline from working out complexity in her parrents, an imperfect world and, at worst, herself. Without the self-understanding of working out her problems actively in the world SHE is at risk of having her eye's cutely buttoned up and living forever in the false reality of her own head, while increasingly unable to see(understand) what the truth of her world actually is. This makes her vulnerable to manipulation and, indeed, why would anyone live to encourage her to be this way unless, like the other mother (and the coraline who believes in her), they had very small-minded limits on how far they wanted to stretch their imagination and for what purpose. Coraline, an imaginative and brave explorer at heart, is at risk of being trapped inside one very limiting perspective that cuts her off from learning and from others, eats away at unfillfiied pain unproductively, and makes her an immobile puppet of cercumstances and people arround her.
As a parent, I can understand Coraline's parent's behavior. They are stressed, and when you're stressed, it's difficult to see anything beyond what you're stressed about. Even your child...for a short, hopefully, amount of time. They've got just as much going on as Coraline. Of course, she's a child, and that makes the experience different. It's a fantasy, I think, of almost every child. Their real parents are so much cooler than the ones they live with. I had that fantasy. Of course, my parents are objectively lame (😂)... but hey. It's the introduction to disappointment. A lesson we all need to learn.
Is the Coraline doll sentient? It's a creation of the Beldam's but so were Other Wybie and the Other Father. Is it being used against its will or is an extension of the Beldam in the same way the Beldam's detached hand was?
An open-ended invitation to interpret Coraline's attachment to the doll, you say? What luck!!! Here are some thoughts I have in no particular order- - Coraline is experiencing loneliness at the start of the film but still acts in a somewhat abrasive way towards Wybie and the cat. However, she clings to the doll. Could be symbolising that she feels like she can only rely on herself? Perhaps she isn't ready to open up and trust anyone else yet? Or she feels nobody else can understand her? - the doll is the Other Mother's spy, perhaps it is the transitional object between Coraline and the Other Mother. An early way for Other Mother to foster an unhealthy, dependent attachment between them? - The Other Mother objectifies the children, figuratively and literally. On the other hand, Coraline personifies the doll by playing out it's reactions to things, clearing the fog in the window for the doll to see through ect. Perhaps an early indicator that Coraline will be the antithesis of Other Mother, showing they are opposites?
I really like your thoughts on this. I don't think Coraline knows HOW to open up while at the same time remain true to herself. The fact that Coraline goes through both types of mothers is a good indicator that she is looking find a way to resolve this dynamic. Isn't that how we become individuals? She can take what she learned from the "other mother, " the good traits, and replicate them in a more sincere way. It bridges a gap that she feels her real parents don't fill but in a way unique and meaningful way to her.
@@SleepyLeeeee yes you make some good points! We do see Coraline being more charitable to her neighbours at the end, she even makes them all lemonade, a sure sign she is starting to mature and consider what others might want!
Awesome video as always; I'm concerned why you're currently promoting Neil Gaiman's work though. It seems we as a society should be putting a pause on that during info gathering.
I just got introduced to your channel today with your video about different attachments styles in Coraline. I ended up watching the other videos you had about Coraline and was sad to see there were only a few. So, I was about to watch your videos on Spirited Away. It's unbelievable that you put out another Coraline video today, I'm so happy to watch it! Coraline was my favorite movie as a child as I felt I could relate in a lot of ways. I unfortunately came from a household that caused me to have a disorganized attachment style and I moved from place to place a lot. I love phycology and this movie really helped me as a child who felt so alone and found comfort creating my own world to disassociate to for a bit. Unfortunately, since that was a coping skill i developed as a child and due to having multiple different mental health issues, I struggle with quite a bit as an adult. These videos have really helped me understand myself better, thank you for combining two of my favorites things, psychology and Coraline! 💙🗝 ⚉ 🪡 🐈⬛ P.s I will be sure to finish your Spirited Away videos ❤🚂⛩️🐉🐷
