C'mon C'mon, 2021

March 26, 2022 | EVAN DONNELLY

C'mon C'mon is a movie about a man trying to help out his sister by watching her child as she has to help her recent divorced husband. Johnny, the main character, never had any kids so he is unsure exactly how to take care of one but he is interested in learning. His job in the movie has to do with interviewing children about what they think about the future and many other deep questions. He is clearly interested in learning the interworking of children's brain and how they think. His nephew, Jessie, defiantly has a lot to say but it's hard to get it out of him. At first, it is difficult for Johnny to understand how to take care of a kid because there are so many ups and downs. This is amplified by all of the drama going on in his life with his parents separated. One moment Jessie will be laughing and having fun and the next he could be upset at something or asking all of these crazy questions. It's a whirlwind at first, but then Johnny learns that this is how kids brains works and he embraces it.

In this movie you can see the difference between how parents can deal with there kids very how someone who never had kids deal with it. Viv is an experienced parent at this point and knows the ins and outs of dealing with a scatter brained children while dealing with regular life. Johnny has to learn on the fly as he is trying to deal with work and it is very difficult for him in the beginning. You can see Johnny try to tackle of the problems they encounter like a adult man would, they see the problem and they try to find the solution. Children think like women in the sense that they ardent just looking for the solution to the problem, theres the emotion and meaning behind it. Johnny helps Jessie open up in the end of the movie about how it is ok to not be fine. He helps Jessie see the issue at face value. Johnny also learns that its ok to not have to see everything at face value. Its ok to open up and see the little details of life, ask questions you donut know the answer to, be spontaneous like kids are. Additionally in this movie, you can see how Viv drops almost everything to go and help her ex-husband because he is going through a very rough time from there recent divorce. He is not mentally healthy and needs help to get started and Viv, being on stage three, post conventional moral, has the need to help someone in need even though it may hurt them in the process. Dispute there break up, she still loves him and has to help him.

One interesting thing I found is the reason the movie is filmed in black and white. This movie talks a lot about the future so they decided to you black and white to have a nod to the past. Additionally, the areas they film in or more futuristic with the big cities and the use of cell phone very frequently. It also talks about the phrase "wise kid teaches lessons to grown man". This is seen in Jessie teaching Johnny about the mind of a child. The article also talks about the perspective kids have on the future. Johnny's job in the movies is a radio journalist and he is interview kids and asking them what they think of the future. It is interesting to ask kids this because they are going to be the ones that shape the future. Times are different know with technology exponentially increasing, its hard to tell where it will end up.

March 26, 2022 | BRIANNA ZIEGLER

Care ethics fits this movie because the situations Viv and Johnny are in overrule what they normally would have done. Viv’s decision to have Johnny watch Jesse was only because caring for Paul was more important to her. Johnny decides to take Jesse with him to New York rather than send him back home to a random person was because he cared for Jesse’s wellbeing and wanted to make sure Viv wasn’t anymore stressed out. This movie also talks about how women are supposed to take care of everything and most of the time they don’t know what to do. Throughout the movie, they read poems about mothers, and it shaped the way the viewers see Viv and other women in their lives.

March 26, 2022 | AMANDA SEGRETO

Connection to Carol Gilligan: C’mon C’mon directed by Mike Mills relates to Carol Gilligan’s Care Ethics because of the relationships between the characters. The main character, Johnny, learns how to take care of children, specifically his nephew Jesse. Johnny never realized how difficult it is to take care of a child, especially a child like Jesse. Jesse is the type of child that needs special kind of care; delicate and patient care. We watch Jesse’s mother, Johnny’s sister, run herself down trying to not only take care of Jesse, but her partner, Paul and in the past, her mother. We see that she puts herself and her well-being last in order to take care of others. In Carol’s piece, we learn that many times, women feel responsibility towards others and take care of others extensively because of that feeling of responsibility. Throughout the film, we also listen to students who Johnny interviews; one boy, however, shares that he feels responsibility to take care of his younger sister and does not mind that responsibility. This is important to make note of because in the reading, there were many philosophers that said women feel responsibility to take care of others.

Additional Resources

Online Articles

Alissa Wilkinson, Joaquin Phoenix and a young kid transcend cliche in C’mon C’mon, 2021

Julian Roman, C'mon C'mon Review: Parenting Struggles with Joaquin Phoenix, November 2021

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