Magnolia

 Paul Thomas Anderson is not only the writer of Magnolia but also the producer and the director. He tries to tell us what humanity in  Magnolia. In this essay, I am going to argue Magnolia is a microcosm of  society. .

 Magnolia is a story with nine intertwined plot lines. There are nine main characters. They are a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous missing  son, a police officer, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter. They all have their own stories. The stories of the nine characters happen in our society every day.. On the one hand, they are individuals. On the other hand, they show their  relationships with one another. For example, the dying father, Earl Partridge, is the husband of the young wife, Linda Partridge, and is also the father of the famous missing  son, Frank Mackey. The male caretaker, Phil Parma, who is an at-home nurse who takes care of him. The game show host, Jimmy Gator, is the father of the estranged daughter, Claudia Wilson Gator. Besides, he masters the TV quiz show which the boy genius, Stanley Spector, and the ex-boy genius, Donnie Smith, have participated in. The police officer, Jim Kurring, falls in love with Claudia during a routine investigation. In addition, the nine main characters sing the same song at different places when they all at their most desperated moment. The nine interdependent plot lines are united into one story.

 Magnolia is a microcosm of society. Just like all human beings, they search for some kinds of love. Frank loves his father. Yet, his father leaves  him and his mother. Thus, he hates him. Frank is then in the dilemma between the  love and the hate of  his father. He wants the love from his father but he hadn¡¦t got it . Jim wants another kind of love. He wants a girlfriend. Donnie just wants to be loved. He also wants to love somebody. Yet, no one wants his love. Some of them even lose themselves. Claudia lives on cocaine. She wants to escape from agony, torment and anger. They have to deal with their own family, friends and lovers, so do we. We all have emotion and love. You may be one of them.

 Besides, we find contrast in our everyday life. Anderson uses a contrast to tell the story. Linda, a young woman, once married to an old man for his money. She has big diamond rings and a fur coat. From her appearance, she is a lady . She seems to have everything. She should be very happy. However, from the bottom of her heart, she is suffering. She really loves her husband but he is dying. She is afraid of losing her lover. Her appearance and her heart is a big contrast. Moreover, Jimmy Gator¡¦s image and his real life is another contrast. He is a famous TV quiz show host. Everyone thinks he is a good father and husband. He is an icon of family values. Yet, his life is the antithetic from his image in reality. In fact, he always has sexual intercourse with different women besides his wife. People always have two faces. One is their appearance, the other is their true emotion. These two faces are always in contrast.

 All in all, Magnolia is a very touching story. It inspires us to look for our identity, the meaning of life. Who are we? What is love? Whom do we love? We always lose ourselves. After watching Magnolia, we should try to search for ourselves. Let¡¦s start our self-discovery journey.

 

(619 words)