Two-Wheeled Competition

Two-Wheeled Competition

By Lucy Harkins

Defining exactly what love is at a young age is a difficult thing to do but how can you win someone's heart over a two-wheeled competition? Marry Me (2008) is a short film that was written and directed by Michelle Lehman and will have you wondering how the lead character, Chloe, will discover the truth about young love. This memorable film of the 2008 Tropfest short film festival encourages us to reflect on the theme of identity and belonging through the symbol of a bicycle that the film is primarily built around.

Only 7 minutes in length, Marry Me captures Chloe's (Jahla Bryant) struggle as the protagonist to find a way to make the object of her imagination sit up and take notice. Set largely in her neighbourhood where the action mainly took place, Chloe desperately desired to be noticed and will go so far to try and impress Jason (Ryan Fitzpatrick) only for him to ignore her.

Button (animated short film)

Dara (short film)

Littlefee Chloe

Jason was stereotypical enough to say 'no, it's a girl's bike' and that 'it's pink'. Is it any wonder that Chloe aches to be noticed by her true love when she has such limitations placed upon her gender, according to Jason? The plot effectively contributes to our understanding about identity and belonging as it represented how boys and girls were thinking at that age.

For some it may be difficult to be just as determined as Chloe about young love. Jason's yearning to belong to the crowd and all the advantages that come with it, including riding with the older boys on a two-wheeled bike, is effectively contrasted to playing with a 'girl'. We all can relate to the significance of belonging and trying to please others. In Marry Me we are given an insight...