The movie “Hi, Mom” was a hit in 2021 and I had a chance to watch it recently on PanziTV. The theme of the movie fits well with the May theme of MYSJ, as it is about the love between mother and daughter, so I'd like to submit this essay as my assignment.
This is a story about a daughter (Jia Xiaoling) who has been so ordinary that she has never had a chance to make her mother (Li Huanying) be proud of her even once in her entire 18 years of life and would never be able to do so as her mother was dying. Crying beside her mother's bed in hospital, Xiaoling travelled back to 1981 when her mother was not married. She was determined to change her mother's fate in order to make her happy and proud. She managed to make her mother the first one in her factory to purchase a TV set and tried very hard to hook her mother with the son of the factory chief -even if it meant that she would never have come to this world.
Her match-making effort turned in vain and her mother still chose to marry with her dad – an ordinary factory worker with an ordinary appearance. Up to this point, the movie felt like all about snobbish expectations prevailing in the Chinese society.
Then, the movie took a drastic turn: the travelling to the past was indeed initiated by Xiaoling's dying mother, who wanted to use this journey tell Xiaoling that she never considered her an “embarrassment" despite the all the incidents and was proud of her achievements no matter how small they are. Most importantly, she would still choose to have Xiaoling as a daughter even if she could live her life once more.
The story is based on the life of the mother of the actress, Jia Ling - also a famous comedian in China. She made this movie to pay tributes to her mom, whose life stopped at the age of 48, and she did not have the opportunity to sit beside her mother's hospital bed then. I believe she made this movie for herself and people who consider themselves too ordinary to live up to the expectations of their parents. In this movie, Xiaoling's mom never said "I love you" or“I am proud of you", but her choice is louder than words: she would not want another daughter who is prettier, richer and more successful, because Xiaoling is perfect for her with her love.
Many of us including me are ordinary people with an ordinary life. However, love from people around us has made us special. Those people are our family and friends, those people could be strangers we met on the street, or people we never met in real life: such as the lovely people on MYSJ.
So, thank you all, especially our beloved head: Beautiful Wind.
I know I am perfect in MYSJ because of your love, and please be reassured that you are perfect with our love.
