One of only two characters in the film who treats Katie like a human being is the jovial trucker named "Bear." At one critical point in the film, Katie is describing how she wants to leave the bleak existence of her impoverished Arizona desert world to move to San Francisco and become a hair stylist. But Bear attempts to put Katie in her place by saying "we all got our place in the world." Bear's words are worth examining in the context of the world view presented in this film.
"Katie Says Goodbye" implies a bleak naturalism in which the angelic Katie is exploited by her mother and the men of the small Arizona town. Mr. Daniels was her teacher in the local school, yet he forces Katie to have sex with him. Dirk and Matty are regulars at the diner where Katie works, and they brutally rape Katie. Bruno is the ex-con, looking to start a new life after serving time for grand theft. He is incapable of recognizing Katie's soul or seeing how she has been abused. By the end, Bruno will be returning to prison. Katie's mother recognizes her own depravity in sponging off of her daughter, when she bluntly asserts that "I'm not a very good person."
The second person to provide support to Katie is Maybelle, her supervisor at work. But Maybelle is not a keen observer of the culture of the diner. Otherwise, she would have recognized long ago how Katie was being manhandled by the predators. She would have also known without asking that it was Chris, the daughter of the repellent Mr. Daniels, who stole the $40 from the cash register and not Katie.
So, the question that lingers is what degree of agency does Katie have in her life? Is Bear is correct in assuming that Katie needs to know her "place in the world" and never entertain the possibility of rising from her squalid existence? Or is there hope for Katie to realize her dream of becoming a stylist?
Through Katie's incandescent spirit and her resilience, the film offers a ray of hope for Katie to discover like-minded, decent people on a life's journey to happiness after her trial in hell.
"Katie Says Goodbye" implies a bleak naturalism in which the angelic Katie is exploited by her mother and the men of the small Arizona town. Mr. Daniels was her teacher in the local school, yet he forces Katie to have sex with him. Dirk and Matty are regulars at the diner where Katie works, and they brutally rape Katie. Bruno is the ex-con, looking to start a new life after serving time for grand theft. He is incapable of recognizing Katie's soul or seeing how she has been abused. By the end, Bruno will be returning to prison. Katie's mother recognizes her own depravity in sponging off of her daughter, when she bluntly asserts that "I'm not a very good person."
The second person to provide support to Katie is Maybelle, her supervisor at work. But Maybelle is not a keen observer of the culture of the diner. Otherwise, she would have recognized long ago how Katie was being manhandled by the predators. She would have also known without asking that it was Chris, the daughter of the repellent Mr. Daniels, who stole the $40 from the cash register and not Katie.
So, the question that lingers is what degree of agency does Katie have in her life? Is Bear is correct in assuming that Katie needs to know her "place in the world" and never entertain the possibility of rising from her squalid existence? Or is there hope for Katie to realize her dream of becoming a stylist?
Through Katie's incandescent spirit and her resilience, the film offers a ray of hope for Katie to discover like-minded, decent people on a life's journey to happiness after her trial in hell.