The Joy Luck Club and the dynamics between mothers and daughters

I have always loved The Joy Luck Club as an exploration of the dynamics between mothers and daughters. Even though I am not Chinese or first generation American, many of these stories speak to me.

There’s one, in particular of one of the adult daughters who has married her high-earning husband. And he makes her pay 50% of all the joint bills, even though he is still her boss, and knows that she still earns far, far less than he does.

It’s only when her mother comes to visit, and sees the grocery list on the refrigerator, and she is FURIOUS that he is making her daughter pay for ice cream (which she is allergic to).

I loved this scene of a mother showing her outrage in defense of her daughter, and how the daughter finally realizes that this marriage is not worth continuing

If you’d like to watch this film, it’s very digestible, because it’s eight or nine vignettes.

Edited to add: it just recently showed up on Hulu.