Analysis Of The Movie The Stepfather

1. One of my favorite movies of all time is “The Kids Are Alright”. It centers on a lesbian couple, Nic and Jules, and their two children, Laser and Joni. Laser and Joni are biologically half brother and sister, sharing the same sperm donor father. Laser is only fifteen, but interested in getting to know his biological father. He convinces his older sister to look him up, knowing he would have to be eighteen to do it himself. The movie follows the repercussions of the discovery of their biological dad, and also examines Nic and Jules’ relationship, and Laser’s development of independence, self, and identity.

How many 40-year-old unemployed slackers do you know? Now imagine 2 of them under the same roof obnoxiously fighting about childish things. Step Brothers from start to finish is exactly this displaying 2 outrageously comical actors in Will Ferrell and John C Reilly bickering back and forth trying to learn how to cope with one another. The glory of this film comes from the constant one liners that make no sense but fit the film perfectly, the childish behavior, and the elementary school comebacks mixed in with the adult language which adds a different but great comical sense that few movies have been able to portray before. Such as when Ferrell refers to Reilly as a “Big, fat, curly-headed f***”. This line had me rolling on the floor due to the seriousness of Ferrell and the reaction of Reilly and the fact that it is a simple 3rd grade insult with an F-bomb thrown in there that just makes it all that more funny. Although Talladega Nights and the Anchorman trilogy had better storylines none compare to the pure comedy that Step Brothers provides. Step Brothers is Will Ferrell’s most entertaining movie made to date, and is one that can be watched over and over without losing its humor.

The movie Parenthood (1989) revolves around the psychological stresses that are faced by families. From the name of the movie, the main theme is coined, involving the issues that are faced by parents while raising up their children. The movie is centered in the family of Gil and Karen, and their extended family. Set in a middle-class white society, the anxieties and pains of raising children are presented in the movie. Gil Buckman is a parent and businessman. His wife, Karen, comes out as a nearly perfect parent, and always stays at home. Gil and Karen have three children. The oldest child is Kevin, a nine-year old boy with emotional problems. The emotional problems that are experienced by Kevin form a very significant aspect of the movie,

The movie Parenthood cover’s many of the topics we have discussed this semester in class. But it obviously focused very strongly on parenting and marriage. During the course of the movie we see the four Buckman children’s very different style of parenting. Although all four were raised by the same parents the culture of their individual families are all look very different. Gil Buckman felt abandoned and ignored by his father and therefore responded, with his wife Karen, by being a very active and attentive parent. Gil and Karen are on the authoritative end of the parenting spectrum, and their families’ culture revolves around activities such as baseball games, Kevin’s baseball game, Birthday parties, school plays and basically having fun together (Lecture, 4/22). On the opposite end of the parenting spectrum are Nathan and Susan. They are very authoritarian and reminded me of the “tiger Mom’s” of China. The culture of their family means that they don’t have their daughter in preschool, they are waiting a prescribed amount of time to have a second child and Nathan is continuously drilling facts into their daughter. Susan feels like she should be playing with children her own age but Nathan’s feelings have taken over their family’s culture.

In the film Babies, 4 infants are being observed for the first two years of their lives. Each babies comes from different culture, which shows how the various customs can impact the child’s development. Ponijao is the youngest one in his family and lives in a village in Opuwo Namibia. Bayar lives in Bayanchandmachi, Mongolia. Mari is the first child of a couple who lives in Tokyo Japan, and Hattie lives in Sans Francisco California. The film shows the babies develop cognitively, physically and socially-emotionally, during the infancy and toddler years. The Infancy and toddlerhood period is from birth to 2 years. “This period brings dramatic changes in the body and brain that support the emergence of a wide array of motor, perceptual, and intellectual capacities” (Berk & Meyers, 2016, p.6).

Divorce is common in the United States; remarriage is just as common. As a result many marriages result in a blended family. A family in which both of the parents have children from previous marriages. Often the blended family shares a permanent residence. Clair Cartwright and Kerry Gibson state in their 2013 report, The effects of co-parenting relationships with ex-spouses on couples in step-families, that in the United States in 2008, around 9% of households and around 12% of cohabiting households were blended families ( Teachman & Tedrow, 2008). A blended family is an excellent place to observe symbolic interaction theory.

Psychological disorders are very real and present in many people we come in contact with daily, however, are very rarely talked about. Learning about these disorders can help us to understand others and ourselves better by telling us why we do and think the things we do. One effective way that we can observe and learn about psychological disorders is through movies. “Mommie Dearest” was directed by Frank Perry. It is centered around the actress Joan Crawford, who suffered from various psychological disorders. Joan’s daughter, Christina, wrote a book about her mother and her many problems and it was later turned into a movie. It is very effective to use movie analysis as a way of learning, especially in psychology, because it provides a great way to observe without distractions. When you’re looking at disorders, it’s difficult to find a person who has many of these disorders and will allow you to observe them. Psychological disorders can be split into two major groups, personality disorders and mood disorders. Personality disorders are patterns of traits that can get in the way of your social or work life and may interrupt the individual’s normal lifestyle. Mood disorders are inconsistent and unreliable changes in mood by the affected individual. (Rathus, 1998). With all of this being said, it brings me to my point that I will be talking about for the rest of this essay. Joan Crawford demonstrates the personality disorders of histrionic, narcissism, and OCPD. When it comes to mood disorders, Joan demonstrates bipolar disorder.

The Parenthood film depicts average family that are changing life course which is the building block of many families. We have the father and mother with marital disfigurations of attachments, and lack of attachment between themselves and the relationships involving their four adult children and grandchildren. Furthermore, in this paper a description of accepting the shift generational roles and Structural Theory is analyzed and discussed in an article moreover, the Buckman’s family members accept financial responsibility for self and their families. Lastly, the subsystem chosen for the analysis, speculation is Larry.

Certain individuals in our society display a certain pattern of disregard and violation for the rights of others by engaging in deceitful, aggressive, and antisocial behaviors. These people generally exhibit a lifelong pattern of unsocialized and irresponsible behavior, along with little to no regard for the safety of themselves or others. These abnormal behaviors are distinct features of antisocial personality disorder, of which most can be labeled as psychopathy, and are exemplified through the characteristic qualities of Frank Abagnale Jr. in the film, Catch Me if You Can. By exploring the character of Frank Abagnale throughout the film, the gradual development of antisocial personality disorder can be seen manifesting in response to one

They are your neighbors. They are your friends. Maybe they are even your family. You talk with them often, and have even had them over for dinner on occasion. Perhaps your children play in the same playground or spend time in the same social group. Although you have noticed some quirks and idiosyncrasies, you would never know the difference, and you would never expect the worst. After something bad happens that draws your attention to them, you have been forced to accept the truth: someone you know has Antisocial Personality Disorder.

As defined by the American Psychiatric Association (2013), individuals diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) exhibit “a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood. Individuals, both with and without ASPD, often find themselves facing stiff consequences when they break the law by violating the rights of others. The propensity of individuals with ASPD to break such laws is one possible explanation for the prevalence of ASPD increasing from a range of 0.2% to 3.3% in the general population to 47% in prisons (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Fazel & Danesh, 2002). With such a disparity between the general and prison prevalence of ASPD, it is clear that society is adroit in isolating the undesired behaviors of individuals with ASPD; however, society also has a responsibility to protect the rights of those diagnosed with a bonafide illness. If ASPD is the cause of an individual’s incarceration, then their successful reintegration into society relies on treating the underlying diagnosis, and in order to do that, it is important to understand the neurobiological foundations of ASPD.

Individuals with antisocial personality disorder frequently commit illegal acts like destroying property, stealing, and harassing others. They often employ manipulation and deceit to obtain profit or pleasure. The criterion of impulsivity is often seen in a lack of planning. In other words, these individuals live in the present, not thinking about the past or future. This is often seen in numerous and sudden job changes, homes, or significant others. They tend to repeatedly fight with others and commit physical assault. A reckless disregard for one’s safety and that of others is often shown by unsafe driving behavior like drunk driving, drug abuse, or high risk sex. Those diagnosed are irresponsible. For example, it is not uncommon to see erratic work history, large gaps in employment (even when employment was readily available), departing a job with no plan to get another, and repeated unexcused absences

It is hard to first distinguish someone with this disorder because most of them are very friendly, outgoing, and have very likable personalities. Since they often feel no guilt or remorse they repeatedly leave behind a trail of friends, family, and unknown victims with a sometimes-irreversible damage of lies, manipulation, frustration and broken promises. The lack of moral or emotional development gives an antisocial person a lack of understanding for other people's feelings. This enables them to be malicious and deceitful without feeling remorse about their actions. They are incapable of having long lasting, close, warm and responsible relationships with

Furthermore, psychopathy was considered during the twentieth century, the most widely used term to describe antisocial behavior (Reed, 1996). In the 1980s, the committee who devised the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for the American Psychiatric Association recommended the term antisocial personality syndrome to be changed to antisocial personality disorder (Ellis & Walsh, 2000). Antisocial Personality Disorder Hare & McPherson (1984), were successful in pushing the idea that there is a significant correspondence between violent and persistent delinquent and criminal histories and antisocial personality disorder diagnosis. Acute persistent child conduct disorder behavior symptoms, also known as conduct disorder, have been directly linked to serious criminality and antisocial personality disorder (Ellis & Walsh, 2000). Although criminality and antisocial personality disorder ought not be equated, they should be seen as closely linked behavioral phenomena (Ellis & Walsh, 2000). Vitella (1996) believes that individuals with childhood conduct disorder have a higher than normal probability of being both criminal and diagnosed antisocial personality disorder in adolescence and adulthood, and persons with serious criminal records have a higher probability of being diagnosed psychopathic than those with little or no criminal history. Nevertheless, Ellis & Walsh (2000) in caution pointed out that these

This paper explores articles and information that describe, assess and offer theories and treatments regarding antisocial personality disorder.