A bit dark and gritty, Earth Mama is making its way to theaters this weekend. Telling the tale of Gia, a pregnant mother of two who is fighting against the system trying to regain custody and keep the baby she’s about to have. The movie gives audiences a deeper look at what its like to live within a system that is made so that you fail.
The movie focuses a lot on the different programs that women are made to go through in order to keep or regain their children. It covers how the women who are often within the system or who lose their children to the system, are fighting the same battles their mothers did. And that without something major changing, the cycle will repeat again. It covers how the kids within this cycle feel, but more over what the mothers feel like – to the contrary of the normal narrative posed by the media. Instead, it shows just how broken the system is, and how helpless the people within it feel.
Earth Mama isn’t an easy movie to watch. Sure, it’s not a big-budget film with blockbuster-named actors – but that has nothing to do with the watch-ability. It actually the opposite – it gives it a more gritty quality to the movie and makes it feel more authentic. Would the story be as heartbreaking if it was a well-known mega-star in the role of a struggling mother? Or would that feel disingenuous? Instead, the story plays out in a believable fashion. But the topic itself is the hard part to watch.
The story of a struggling mother who is fighting within a broken system to be the best mother she can be, despite the cards being stacked against her – isn’t a new one. Instead, it’s one we’ve heard over and over again. But the issue, of course, is it’s easier to ignore that this type of story happens every day. Earth Mama gives audiences a hard look at the reality and plight of a lot of women who live at or below the poverty line, and how no matter what they try are set up to fail before they even start their fight.
While it’s not an easy topic to watch, the message is clear and one that should be heard. What is the answer to fixing this system or trying to help break the cycles? That is a discussion that needs to be had. But even addressing the issue is an important first step. Earth Mama will be in theaters nationwide this weekend.
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About Earth Mama:
With two children in foster care, Gia, a pregnant single mother pitted against the system, fights to reclaim her family. In her close-knit Bay Area community, she works to make a life for herself and her kids, in this singular debut feature from filmmaker Savanah Leaf. A glowing breakout at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival starring Tia Nomore, Erika Alexander, Doechii, and Dominic Fike.