Lars and the Real Girl

(Original)
Living in a small town can have a positive and negative influence on our lives. In a small town people come together to support one another in good times and bad. As seen in the move Lars and the Real Girl, Lars is a self-imposed outsider trying to grasp the insider world, the real world. When a community comes together, they can make an outsider become and insider. An outsider is a person who does not feel connected as insider within the real world. Thus, they throw themselves into seclusion and become further reclusive. Failing to identify with real people or situations, the outsider will find some means to connect to the insider or real world, to feel a sense of realism.

In the movie Lars and the Real Girl, the main character Lars has a social disorder brought on by childhood negative issues with a depressed father and not having a mother. He was living with years of self-imposed isolation from people and social activities. Lars preferred to stay in the family garage which was converted to a small house. Lars was never given the tools to properly interact with society or understand human love and touch. Lars mother died during childbirth, his father had depression from the loss of his wife and older brother Gus who could not identify with all depressiveness going on at home, left the house, and Lars had to fend for himself. Lars could not identify with real couples, such as his brother Gus and Karen. He was trying to figure out how to reach out and feel accepted in the real world or become an insider.
Thus, Lars purchases a plastic doll to help him overcome his social phobias and brings himself into the real world with the help of a small town community. In a scene when Lars first introduces his plastic doll named Bianca to his brother Gus and his sister in-law Karen, the excitement, and eagerness from Lars to be accepted is overwhelming. Lars wants so much to interact on an adult communicative level with Gus and Karen. Gus and Karen are bewildered by what is happening and end up going along with Bianca as their guest. Knowing that Lars needs serious help, Gus and Karen embark on getting Lars help and getting him through this delusion with the support of the small town community. It would be critical for the people of this small town to have tolerance and patience's in order for Lars to heal.

As the community gathers to support Lars, they realize that he does not comprehend that the doll is plastic. They understand that Lars feels that the doll is quite real and is listening and communicating to him. The small town begins to engage the plastic doll into community events, such as volunteering and the VFW and getting the plastic doll a haircut, making her seem real which end up helping Lars. In a scene at Gus's house where the plastic doll is staying, Gus the older brother walks in on Lars in a deep conversation talking at the plastic doll. Gus does not fully understand what is happening. However, the more Lars talks to the doll the more he comes closer to the real world he begins to deal with his issues.

For the movie Lars and the Real Girl, it was the support of the small town community that brought Lars back to the insider world, he was no longer an outsider living in self-imposed isolation. In a small town community, the people rally around to support each other.

(Revised)
My understanding of an outsider is people who are loners, people who do not "fit in” with society. They may be artists, religious people, writers, criminals, adventurers, etc. feeling a sense of failure. One of the methods used to display a sense of failure is by being overly emotional. One of these types of personalities can be romantics falling prey to depression and negative thinking. As a final point, outsiders create their own world, their own comfort zone. Such is the case with Lars.

The movie uses Lars, with these same attributes to define what it means to be an outsider. He is a loner from childhood, never fully developing the ability to fit in. Lars lives, not just alone, but in a garage. Lars is also a semi religious person, as indicated by his regular attendance in church however, even though Lars attends church, he never socializes there, which is sometimes the main reason people join a church. He is also a romantic, which has fallen deeply in love, but a love that is not typical of society’s definition of love and sited as a “delusion of his own creation and for his own reason and purpose.” Furthermore, Lars creates his own world, his own comfort zone, with his Bianca, the lifelike doll.

This movie conforms to my understanding of what an outsider is. I believe that people, that isolate outsiders by rejecting and repressing them, risk making the situation worse and losing the potential of any contribution to society. However, cultures, that include and accept outsiders learn to take advantage of and enjoy the knowledge and contributions outsiders make potentially reducing the discomfort, depression, and isolation that an outsider experiences. Acceptance is clearly in the scene where Lars and Bianca are invited to a birthday party. Even though the situation is extremely awkward to the partygoers, they make Lars feel welcome by interacting and accepting Bianca into the party circle by talking to her.

It is that accepting culture that this writer tastefully depicts by having the community welcome Bianca, treat her as a real person, and mourn her loss. As examples of this in many scenes, the community actively engages Bianca in numerous community events to show Lars that, he was truly an insider and he no longer has to feel alone. The loss of Bianca was Lars way of moving forward with his life, coming back to reality. Thus the community coming together to bury Bianca was critical in his letting go. Lars finally realizes that he is no longer an outsider.

Finally, by reaching out and making a personal connection with Lars, Margo becomes the channel for reducing the discomfort, depression, and isolation that Lars experienced as an outsider. Margo brings Lars back to reality. This is shown in many scenes but particularly when Bianca becomes ill and Margo is there supporting Lars through the difficult times. This makes Lars feel comfortable with Margo and he begins to let his guard down.

This was a truly fascinating movie about community, acceptance, rebirth, and life. People can create their own reality. People can choose to be an insider our outsider. It is the act of other people or societies that can make people feel welcomed or not. These same people can provide an array of love to help these outsiders come out of their own shells. In the end, community can truly bring people together and can teach us about acceptance as depicted in this movie.