Maid in Manhattan

What makes something meaningful? Many philosophers have pondered this question and have come up with their own interpretation. Aristotle wrote that a work is meaningful if it creates a larger understanding of the world or human condition. Specifically, he argued that a comedy, in addition to a tragedy, can fit this criteria. A dramatic comedy follows the story of an person with average morals that deals with real life problems, that person rises in fortune in some way, and the work enhances our understanding of the human condition or world. In my education so far I have been biased to think that only tragedies are meaningful pieces of literature. After reading Aristotle's ideas, I am defending the movie, Maid in Manhattan, as a piece of art.

In the movie, sympathetic Marisa Ventura is a single mother who is a maid at the Beresford Hotel in Manhattan. She is encouraged by her friend to try on an expensive coat from one of the guest's rooms, right as senator hopeful Christopher Marshall walks in. He mistakes her as a rich woman and they spend time together. Eventually the truth that she's a maid comes out and the management at the hotel fires her. Marisa's son persuades Christopher to give her a second chance and asks him at his press conference whether people should be forgiven for their mistakes. At the end of the movie Marisa and Christopher are a happy couple.

This movie develops a perspective of society as a place where love can extend "barriers" of class or circumstance, but also a place that should not underestimate insights from young kids. It was Marisa's son that pointed out the larger idea of forgiveness (when it is and is not due), and even referenced former president Nixon. I would say this movie is an exception to the trend of movies in the 2000s. The mid to late 2000s had some romantic comedies that were more comedic just to be funny. Maid in Manhattan I felt has more underlying ideas about class, first impressions, and forgiveness. Overall, Maid in Manhattan is no King Lear by Shakesphere, but I would argue that both are meaningful works in their own way.