On the Pulse Series

"Little Fires Everywhere”: Reese Witherspoon, Motherhood & Maternal Ambivalence 

Presented by Associate Professor Mary Zournazi 

Dr Margo Lowy draws on Reese Witherspoon’s character, Elena, in the television mini series “Little Fires Everywhere” to question and reflect on the taboo areas of the mother’s life and how silences surface in her experience of maternal ambivalence. This showcase trawls taboo areas such as the mother who never wanted her child, the mother who lives vicariously through her child and the mother’s experience of her hateful feelings. Questions of contemporary media and mothering are explored, such as: How are mothers presented in the current media? Is this a genuine representation? Have expectations about mothering changed? Do we identify with Elena? This conversation will disrupt our pre-conceived views about mothering from a psychic and social perspective.