![‘Coraline’ Asks What It Means to Be a Good Mother [The Lady Killers Podcast]](https://i0.wp.com/bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/coraline.jpeg?resize=1000%2C600&ssl=1 "‘Coraline’ Asks What It Means to Be a Good Mother [The Lady Killers Podcast]")
“She wants something to love, I think. Something that isn’t her. Or, maybe she’d just love something to eat.”
Mothers come in many shapes and sizes. Some are fantastic cooks. Others are wonderful gardeners. Many may not keep a tidy house, but they’re great listeners and skilled at helping their children work through complex problems. But there’s one thing all mothers have in common. At some point, they will all do something to disappoint or upset their children. Because mothers are human beings too. They may be tasked with caring for the younger generation but they’re still fallible creatures figuring it out as they go. Henry Selick explores the concept of good and bad parents in his stunning stop motion masterpiece Coraline. This 2009 film follows two mothers battling for the love of a young girl who must decide whether she can live a life that’s less than perfect.
Coraline (Dakota Fanning) has just moved to rural Oregon when she discovers a tiny door in the living room of her new apartment. While sometimes blocked by a brick wall, this doorway occasionally leads to a fantastical version of her everyday life. The food is better, the garden grows to resemble her face, and her parents have plenty of time to dote on their precocious daughter. Even her neighbors put on performances seemingly tailored to her liking. All she has to do to stay in this wondrous Other World is allow her Other Mother (Teri Hatcher) to sew buttons onto her eyes. But this revelation seems to spark Coraline’s awareness of the horror behind this perfect facade. Is her Other Mother an ideal parent or a monster who traps children in the mirror to steal their souls?
In the latest episode of Bloody FM’s The Lady Killers podcast, co-hosts Jenn Adams, Sammie Kuykendall, Rocco Thompson, and Mae Shults explore the simple truths at the heart of this jaw-dropping film. What does it mean to be a good mother? What do the buttons represent? Can we separate the art from the artist and how will the film’s legacy change in light of the allegations against Neil Gaiman? They’ll wrestle with these tough questions and more while sharing their love for this powerful film.
Stream below and subscribe now via Apple Podcasts and Spotify for future episodes that drop every Thursday.
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