her entire life, she has never met her mom's standards. Anything that she does or did, was inadequate and always in need of improvement. The decisions she makes in her life can never be perfect. The man she marries, the job she takes and anything else never satisfies her mom. Once again, this type of mother-daughter relationship is not restricted to just the Chinese culture. I have personally felt this. Before I had my "break down," I faced a similar problem with my mom. My makeup could always look better, I could have dressed a little nicer, I could've been a little more "tight" when performing a cheer dance, my toes should've been pointed, bigger smile, curl your hair, paint your nails, a B is alright, but why not an A, fix your posture, your face is broken out, etc. It was awful, to say the very least. Sadly, this didn't affect my love for her. "Love is blind." I hated the way she made me feel, the constant feeling of imperfection, but I still loved her. But one day I just broke down, like the girl in the "Joy Luck Club." After my episode of screaming and crying (completely abnormal and unexpected), my mom was silent. She didn't consciously realize what she had been doing for so long. After she came to this realization things changed. For the past 9 months, things have been so much better. She hasn't said one critical remark. I'm so thankful. It was very interesting and emotional for me to watch such a similar situation on TV. Another incident in the movie that shows tension between mother and daughter is when two mothers compete with their daughters. Each mom brags about their daughter and tries to proof that their daughter far exceeds the other. This creates such rivalry between the mothers, and without much choice, between the daughters also. They compete with looks, intelligence, special abilities and many other things. With this constant feeling and pressure of needing to be better, how can the children ...
