Integritus Prime

Is it just me, or is trauma becoming a more and more popular theme in movies? As I mentioned in previous posts that contained movie reviews, there are clear trauma patterns being portrayed and with evidence of deep understanding of those patterns. I find it really great, because viewers will learn more about how trauma manifests in our lives, and how to heal it.

In the Netflix flick, Dog Gone, I found the theme of trauma around grief, and it was embedded in patriarchy enforced by a woman. Let’s unpack it (spoiler alert).

While it was the protagonist, Fielding, who was desperately searching for his yellow lab, Gonkers, in the film, it was Fielding’s mother, Ginny Marshall, who was reliving the loss of her pooch, Oji. Oji was a gorgeous pup gifted to her when she was a young girl.

Now, Ginny’s parents did not care much for the dog, as evidenced by them not caring that Oji was out in the snow while they entertained. Ginny snuck Oji in that evening, and snuggled him up in a blanket on her bed. Her compassion and empathy were clearly strong, while her parents lacked it completely.

Later, one afternoon, when Ginny comes home, her parents not only inform her that Oji got hit by a car and died, but tell her not to cry about it, because “it won’t do any good.” The call from her mother to not emote is a clear patriarchal trait: hide emotions, they show weakness and are impractical. Poor Ginny goes to her bedroom and cries alone.

Ginny’s experience with Gonker’s disappearance is telling, because not only does she relive this painful experience of Oji’s loss, she continues to grieve and to experience abandonment. She shares with her husband, John, played wonderfully by Rob Lowe, that she didn’t want to open her heart to loving another dog, because it would only lead to hurt. John gently reminds her that this is not Oji, and that Gonker will be found.

After more than two weeks of searching – there is a desperate need to find Gonker because he needs his Addison’s disease shot on time – he is found, and Fielding and John bring him home. When Gonker approaches Ginny, we see that it is really Oji in Ginny’s mind, and she consciously releases his spirit, says goodbye, and is able to embrace Gonker.

The lesson here is that only by opening the heart, even in the face of fear of getting hurt, can we truly heal, release pain and love again. The reason Ginny’s grief is traumatic is because she wasn’t able to let it go for decades. She had buried it, but Gonker’s unconditional love opened her heart again, where the grief was residing.

Dogs are incredibly loving creatures, giving us unconditional love that heals us. Gonker’s loving presence not only healed Ginny, but also helped John see that the best way to love his son, Fielding, was to accept him just as he is, even as he worried that his son hadn’t figured out his career. He saw this because of Gonker’s unconditional love for Fielding. Once John was able to let go of his expectations of Fielding, Fielding was able to heal too, in more ways than one.

This film packs a lot of learning about unconditional love, healing and accepting each other as we are. I highly recommend it.