I really enjoyed Jodie Mack’s animation, “Yard Work is Hard Work”, namely because of the catchy songs and her amazing use of magazine clippings. But I also really liked it because the couple in the story tried to work through their problems instead of giving up. Many couples call it quits when things get hard and nothing can be more emotionally distressing than money problems. They cried with each other, they fought with each other, but in the end they tried their best work through it.
I took the renovation of their house to symbolize a renovation of their relationship. They both agreed that they needed to make a change and they worked very hard to do it. Yet, in the end they did not win the competition, even after all of the hard work on their house. I took this loss to also mean that even though they tried hard at their relationship, something still wasn’t right. I interpreted the end of the animation as having the message that even after a couple works really hard at their relationship, sometimes things just don’t work out. The ambiguity of the ending made me think that the couple had two choices: try again, or give-up. Regardless, I admire the character for trying hard in the first place, especially in a world where it has become the standard to just give up.
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