In our discussion of Crooklyn’s final scenes, I was struck by the repetition of one pose. First, Troy is pictured in her father’s lap. She has just been physically sick, because she is completely overwhelmed by the shock of losing her mother. Her father holds her, wipes her lips clean, and comforts her. In this scene, Troy is a child who has lost her mother and needs her father.
Yet, even in this scene, she comes to terms with her mother’s death by recognizing her mother’s suffering and interpreting her mother’s death as a release from pain. This very adult observation may signal the moment when Troy becomes an adult.
Indeed, in the very next scene, Troy holds her brother in her own lap. She is no longer the child; she has taken on the role of caretaker and substitute parent. She will now help, love, and care for her younger brother as though she were a mother.
As Troy transforms from the child in the parent’s lap to a ‘parent’ with a child in her lap, this contrast takes on particular significance. The first scene is particularly sad in this light, because the viewer may feel that Troy is too young to lose her childhood. The second scene is particularly inspiring, as the viewer appreciates the importance of the role Troy has taken on.
http://sljoints2.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/troy-the-caretaker/
Womanhood in Spike Lee Joints 