Always use the old sense of the word

The theme of dysfunctional relationships in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” by Edward Albee and “Despicable me” directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud.

 

Albee presents the relationships of George and Martha and Honey and Nick as the central images the play focuses on. George and Martha being the main characters show some real crazy “love” for one another and it would seem to the audience that their love is at most points in the play, no where to be seen! The play begins in what would seem to be a normal household, however as the audience are more familiarly presented to the pair it would seem that there is so much wrong with their relationship its painful to watch. The pair of them live in a dump of a house – which could be seen as Albee showing Martha rejecting the social stereotypes a woman should live up to, and they talk to each other in a foul way.

 

 

Martha tells George that he makes her “puke” and that George is a “simp.” As well as being out of order, Martha clearly has little respect for George and talks to him like he’s a piece of poo on her prestige shoes. Bearing in mind the way Martha speaks to George, you would expect him to fight back and stand his ground as the man in the relationship, however he seems to just listen to Martha and instead of using verbal abuse, he manipulates Martha and winds her up “its pretty remarkable, considering how old you are,” this is just one example of George manipulating Martha in a way that leads to an aggressive response. So far we would think, of they’re in an unhappy relationship and therefore neither of them are enjoying what’s going on. BUT TO SHAKE UP DA SYSTEM, Martha and George seem to find things funny as they “both laugh.” This gives the impression to the audience that maybe the way their relationship is presented is all an act as they seem to have a level of banter between them giving the impression that there’s not much tension between the pair. For me, my initial reactions of the pair was that they needed some form of intervention or counselling or professional help as the way they carry on isn’t healthy at all.

 

 

So just when you think the way Martha and George behave is a shambles, Albee introduces another relationship into the play, and this is the relationship of the “cool kids” Honey and Nick.

 (Honey is such a spice, or should I say she's the bees knees HA)

 

 On the surface, these two seem to have a bit more stability in their relationship as they treat each other with respect unlike Martha and George. However the way in which they speak to one another comes across as quite awkward and raises suspicion in the audiences mind as to why they behave like this as. Despite this it would seem that Honey (the piffy that she is) conforms to the normal expectations society has of women, and unlike Martha, plays the role of housewife within her marriage with Nick. It would seem that Honey and Nick just like George and Martha are unhappy in their relationship as when Honey talks to Nick saying “Dear! You’re being joshed!” Nick replies “coldly.” SUBTEXT seems to be something very important here as there is something fishy going on between these two, as on the surface they seem like they have this functioning and stable relationship in which they both support one another, but under it all there must be something hiding. George on Martha on the other hand is more expressive with their views and is happy to show their guests the extent to their unhealthy and dysfunctional relationship.

 

In Despicable me, it would seem that dysfunctional relationships are the root as to why each character is the way they are. Taking the girls, Agnes, Margo and Edith as an example, all three of them live in a foster home and although the reason as to why they are there is unclear, it is obvious that the past has lead them to develop the hard exterior they display and be a tight unit as they are now.

 

 

In the same way it would seem that Gru’s past has leaded him to be the ‘evil mastermind’ that he thinks he is. Within the first movie we see how Gru has always been an attentive little boy who always wanted to fly to the mood, however his mother didn’t support him and always put him down leading him to become the scheming mastermind that he is at the beginning of the film.

 

Then there’s VETORRRRR, a weedy kid who’s father expects way too much of. Vectors dysfunctional relationship with his father is what leads him to try and live up to his fathers expectations by trying to steal the moon from Gru. It would seem that all of the main characters within the play have a dysfunctional relationship which leads them to behave or act in a certain way.

 

 

 

Martha and George deal with the expectations each of them have of each other and it would seem that George is heavily oppressed and put down by Martha all the time. He’s constantly being called a “flop” and is abused in various ways including the way Martha speaks of their relationship. As the play goes on, and there is more alcohol consumed, Martha becomes more open about their relationship as she explains to the audience that “it snapped, the whole arrangement” and then explains to George that “I tried with you baby, I really tried.” Again, this reinforces the cracks and broken areas in Martha and Georges relationship which leads them to both be unhappy and exert their feelings of anger towards each other on a regular basis.

In the same way, Gru’s unstable relationship with his mother never being proud of him leads him to want revenge and to seek revenge against her; however he takes this to the extreme with a “liggghhhtttt bulb” moment, and decides to steal the moon!

The role of other characters within both Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and Despicable Me, in a way emphasise the extent to the broken down relationships within each text. In Albee’s play, the presence of Honey and Nick is able to show to the audience that regardless of other people being around them, Martha and George will always be the way they are and that even though there is a continuing battle between appearance and reality here, it doesn’t matter because in reality, around other people, their relationship will never change.

However a main difference between both texts is the way it ends. Albee presents an ambiguous ending in which George and Martha never really resolve the conflict between them and don’t repair the bridges between them that have been broken. The ending of the play is most shocking in the way that its self with a cliffhanger so the audience are left to work out exactly what they make of the situation with George and Martha’s son. We sense an element of compassion to end the play however as “George puts his hand gently on her shoulder.” The lasting image the audience are left with leaves them with the impression that under all of the arguing, bickering and conflict, now that George has completely broken Martha down, she is ready to depend on him once again.

The same could be seen in Despicable Me in a way, as the characters effectively unite around the idea that they can build new relationships to counteract their dysfunctional ones. Agnes, Edith and Margo are able to build a strong beneficial relationship with Gru and Gru becomes a loving father counteracting the unstable relationship him and his mother had. Vector however has more in common with George and Martha in the way that he effectively ends up worse than he started. BUT, there cant always be happy endings in life, we need to remember that although George and Martha are going through the struggle there is still something that is keeping them together. Whereas with Gru and the girls, they overcome the barriers previous dysfunctional relationships have presented to them, and find happiness and a father, two things which they have never experienced properly before! Just remember LEDIAC… to live every day as it comes, don’t let dysfunctional relationships get the better of you…and that is the lesson to learn.

 

Thanks for reading,

Despicable Lea