Impacts of Family, Friends, and the Stresses in Turning Red (Essay Example)

“I'm sorry I'm not perfect, sorry I'm not good enough, and sorry I'll never be like you.” (Turning Red) Meilin’s words, in Domee Shi’s Turning Red, investigate the positive and negative impacts of family, friends, and the stresses you can put on yourself. For example, the pressure from family is demonstrated when Meilin's mom breaks down and confesses to the stress she felt in the past. Also, the pressure friends put on you is proven when Meilin gets told to go to a party. Finally, the pressure you put on yourself is evident when Meilin feels as though she needs to achieve certain things that are unrealistic.

Throughout the film, Meilin’s mother, Ming, changes in such ways that she understands the difference between the healthy and unhealthy pressure she has inflicted on Meilin. For example, at the beginning of the film, we are introduced to Ming. We can see that the healthy amount of pressure she puts on Meilin has created good habits, values, and desires for Meilin. However, we later see that Ming's influence on Meilin has become unhealthy. Since Meilin is beginning to mature, her mother's influence conflicts with her desire to stray away. We can now see Ming is holding her back from chasing her true identity. On top of this, when Meilin says, "Honoring your parents sounds great, but if you take it too far, well, you might forget to honour yourself." (Turning Red) She further proves that the pressure to honour your family can hold one back from being their true self. When she says, “Honoring your parents sounds great.” She concludes that the influence parents put on you can appear as though it is helpful, but it can also be degrading. Overall, stress caused by family can create a healthy or unhealthy environment. The film Turning Red displays just how positive and negative this stress can be on someone.

Not only can family cause harmful pressure, but friends can as well. For example, when Tyler says to Meilin, “If you're there, everyone will come.” (Turning Red) He persuades Meilin into going to his birthday party. This made her feel if she did not go to the party, no one else would. Since Tyler peer pressured her, she did not want to experience the outcome of letting him down. Because of this, she felt that it was up to her to make the party incredible. Tyler's request put a lot of weight on her shoulders, so she decides to go. When Meilin and her friends are talking about going to the concert, her friends say, "Yeah. You in or you out?” (Turning Red) When Meilin’s friends ask her if she is “in or out” to go to the concert, she feels forced to go and not let them down. Without wanting to let her friends down, Meilin decides to ask her mom if she can go to the concert. Thus, friends can also create pressure that can make for very challenging situations. It is challenging to refuse their requests since friendships are meaningful to everyone. 

Pressure does not have to come from your family or friends, but you can also apply unnecessary stress on yourself. When Meilin says, “I’m her pride and joy!” (Turning Red), she shows she has convinced herself she is her mom’s pride and joy. This quote infers that Meilin feels she always needs to be perfect and do anything to make her mom proud. At the beginning of the film, we see Meilin putting stress on herself to make her mom proud of her. Meilin also notes, “The number one rule in my family? Honor your parents.” (Turning Red) Meilin pushes herself to turn out and become just the person her family wants her to be. She strives to achieve perfection and tries to turn out in a specific way to “give back” to her parents. All in all, many different people can cause pressure; you can even put pressure on yourself.

Given these points, Turning Red shows how pressure can hurt someone. This influence can create good habits as well as values. On the contrary, negative stress and pressure caused by family in general are some of the main things that can degrade a person. Peer pressure can also be something that weakens friendships and hurts a person. Finally, the stress you put on yourself can be harmful if you convince yourself you need to be something other than your true identity. “I'm sorry I'm not perfect, sorry I'm not good enough, and sorry I'll never be like you.” (Turning Red)