Embracing period and puberty with Turning Red | The Daily Star
Skip to main content
T
Sunday, October 1, 2023
The Daily Star
E-paper Today's News বাংলা
  • Home
  • News
    • Bangladesh
      • Investigative Stories
    • Investigative Stories
    • Asia
    • World
  • Opinion
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Culture
  • Life & Living
  • Youth
  • Tech & Startup
  • Multimedia
  • Feature
    • Lifestyle
    • Rising Star
    • Showbiz
    • My Dhaka
    • Satireday
    • Campus
    • Toggle
    • Star Literature
    • In Focus
    • Star Youth
    • Shift
    • Daily Star Books
    • Roundtables
    • Star Holiday
    • weekend read
  • More
    • Environment
    • NRB
    • Supplements
    • Law & Our Rights
  • E-paper
  • বাংলা
Search Epaper T
  • Today's News
  • Home
  • News
    • Bangladesh
    • Investigative Stories
    • Asia
    • World
  • Opinion
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Culture
  • Life & Living
  • Youth
  • Tech & Startup
  • Multimedia
  • Feature
    • Lifestyle
    • Rising Star
    • Showbiz
    • My Dhaka
    • Satireday
    • Campus
    • Toggle
    • Star Literature
    • In Focus
    • Star Youth
    • Shift
    • Daily Star Books
    • Roundtables
    • Star Holiday
    • weekend read
  • More
    • Environment
    • NRB
    • Supplements
    • Law & Our Rights

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Apps
  • Comment Policy
  • RSS
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Conference Hall
  • Archives
SHOUT
Mashiyat Nayeem
Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:00 AM
Last update on: Thu Mar 31, 2022 04:41 PM

Most Viewed

  • Traffic movement: Dhaka ranked slowest in world

  • Cardiac Implants For Children: Top hospitals using unauthorised devices

  • Chaos breaks out in Celebrity Cricket League, altercation leaves stars hospitalised

  • Combating Air Pollution: $2.3b int’l fund fails to improve situation

SHOUT

Embracing period and puberty with Turning Red

Mashiyat Nayeem
Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:00 AM Last update on: Thu Mar 31, 2022 04:41 PM

After years of watching the likes of talking animals and scheming toys, I went in expecting something that centres the power of friendship and not much else. To my surprise, the simple story was a treasure trove of representation across race, gender and culture. The setting or characterisation of the film doesn't limit the relatability factor.

Turning Red follows 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian Mei Lee as she navigates life in Toronto in the early 2000s. Like any pubescent girl, her life revolves around school, friends, crushes, and boy bands. One day, her life changes forever as she wakes up as a giant red panda and subsequently discovers that the transformation is only triggered when she has an intense emotional response. She later learns this is hereditary for the women in her maternal family.

For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.

Mei is alarmed and embarrassed by the sudden change her body is undergoing and desperately tries hiding it from her family. Her mother, Ming Lee, mistakes her daughter's refusal to come out of the bathroom as the arrival of her first period and shows up with an arsenal of period products, attempting to have the uncomfortable but necessary conversation regarding menstruation – a universal experience.

This is a huge step forward not just for Pixar (20 of their 24 films feature a male protagonist), but for mainstream animation as it normalises female puberty for a wider audience. The above-mentioned scene alone encourages children to embrace the messy side of puberty, the emotional extremes and hormonal changes, something I didn't know how to do because the media portrays female growth with just sexualised glow-ups.

At this point, it becomes obvious that Mei's transformation to a red panda is essentially a metaphor for getting your first period, growing body hair, riding the emotional roller-coaster and being thrust into the awkward stage of puberty. 

However, the film is also about a teen's complicated relationship with her mother. It incorporates generational trauma in a way that's much more relatable to not just Asians but to everyone who grew up feeling the weight of familial expectations.

The movie includes the very Asian trope of being the overachieving child but, instead of falling into any clichés, it explores the inner conflict of choosing whether to express one's individuality or keep moulding oneself according to their parents' expectations, something we deshi kids face daily.

Mei never complains about the pressures of being the perfect child. However, her sense of individuality threatens to rear its head every now and then, which leads to problems with her strict, traditional mother. The best part is, not once was it conveyed that Ming's love for her daughter was conditional. She had a fierce love for her family despite projecting her own trauma onto Mei.

Inside Out took a whimsical approach to teen angst. Encanto disguised generational trauma under a magical facade. With Turning Red, however, Pixar takes the coming-of-age arc giving it a realistic and personal makeover, refusing to succumb to the often dreamy media portrayal of growing up.

The result? An allegorical gem that masterfully captures the struggles of adolescence.

Mashiyat Nayeem is mourning the end of online school and the extra hour of sleep. Send her condolences at [email protected]

Related topic:
moviesanimationPixar
Apple Google
Click to comment

Comments

Comments Policy

Related News

Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse poster

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the antithesis of superhero fatigue

Underrated animated movies and TV shows you should watch

5 anime series to catch up on during Eid vacation

5 anime series to catch up on during Eid vacation

A scene from the movie Joyland

Joyland: An aching depiction of living in quiet oppression

Over 100 theatres reopening for Eid

|রাজনীতি

খালেদা জিয়াকে নিয়ে মিথ্যাচার করেছেন প্রধানমন্ত্রী: মির্জা ফখরুল

বিএনপি মহাসচিব মির্জা ফখরুল ইসলাম আলমগীর বলেছেন, শুধু রাজনৈতিক প্রতিহিংসায় খালেদা জিয়াকে নিয়ে প্রধানমন্ত্রী মিথ্যাচার করেছেন।

১২ ঘণ্টা আগে
|বাংলাদেশ

ভিসা নীতি নিয়ে সম্পাদক পরিষদের উদ্বেগ ও মার্কিন রাষ্ট্রদূতের ব্যাখ্যা

৯ ঘণ্টা আগে
Please Click on allow
The Daily Star
Journalism without fear or favour
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Apps
  • Comment Policy
  • RSS
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Conference Hall
  • Archives
© 2023 thedailystar.net | Powered by: RSI LAB
Copyright: Any unauthorized use or reproduction of The Daily Star content for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited and constitutes copyright infringement liable to legal action.
X