Term Paper on "Portrayal of American Family in Recent Films"

Term Paper 7 pages (1961 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Portrayal of American Life Through Films

Portrayal of the American Family in Recent Films

It does not take an expert in sociology to see that the landscape of the American family has changed during the last few decades and these changes have been reflected through several movies such as "Kramer vs. Kramer," "Ordinary People," "American Beauty," and "In the Bedroom."

By the 1970's divorce was well under way to becoming a normal part of life for the American family, however, what was not apparent was how custodial rights were being battled out in the court system. In 1979 director Robert Benton provided a glimpse into this issue in "Kramer vs. Kramer." Ted and Joanna Kramer are married with a young son, Billy. Ted is so busy struggling up the ladder in his career that he never noticed that his wife was unhappy until one day he comes home from work one day and finds Joanna with her bags packed announcing that she is leaving. Not only is she leaving to find herself, the person she was before she married, but she is leaving Billy behind. Through this entire scene Ted does not really hear what exactly she is saying and therefore of course does not take any of her words seriously. He assumes she is simply going off somewhere to cool off about something she is upset about and will be back by morning at the latest. This is apparent by his response to Billy's questions the following morning:

When's mommy coming back?" don't know, Billy. Soon."

How soon?"

Soon."

Will she pick me up after school?"

Probably. And if she doesn't I will."



What if you forget?" won't forget."

What if you get run over by a truck and get killed?"

Then Mommy will pick you up." (Benton 1979).

Benton not only shows the denial that Ted is in, but how detached he has been throughout the marriage. When Ted is walking his son to school, he asks, "What grade are you in," clearly indicating that he has been minimally involved in his family's life (Benton 1979).

Joanna does not return soon and Ted's life is thrown into domestic chaos as he learns to cope with raising a child alone and try to keep his career from spiraling down. As time passes he confronts Joanna's friend Margaret who responds by saying, "Joanna is a very unhappy woman and it took a lot of courage to walk out this door" (Benton 1979).

It is important to keep in mind that this decade was perhaps the height of feminism and Joanna was the symbol of every housewife stuck at home who had evolved into a 'non-person,' meaning someone who had no true identity outside of mother and wife. The act of leaving one's child in the care of the father to go off and 'find yourself' was unthinkable and unheard of except in instances where the mother was truly unfit.

When Joanna returns and wants Billy back, the battle begins. Although she deserted her son and Ted has been sole caretaker and provider, she wins custody, primarily because she was the 'mother' and the court considered her parental skills better than Ted's. It is interesting to see how her lawyers turned evidence against Ted to make him look like the bad parent rather than Joanna. In the end Joanna realizes her mistake and leaves Billy with Ted. Today, however, Joanna would most likely have a tougher time gaining custody after desertion even though she was the 'mother.'

The 1980 movie "Ordinary People," directed by Robert Redford, is a look behind the door of a perfect family. Where Joanna longed for an identity outside the family, Beth Jarrett's identity is the family and she relishes in it. Beth is the perfect housewife and mother and her husband Cal is a successful attorney. The movie begins just as this perfect picture begins to dissolve. Beth and Cal's older son was recently killed in an accident, leaving only the younger boy Conrad who has spent his entire life in his older brother's shadow. Conrad has just returned home from a psychiatric hospital where he was sent after a suicide attempt following his brother's death. Beth is not only trying to cope emotionally from the loss of her favorite son, but is also trying to cope with Conrad's therapy. Her picture perfect world is no longer and she is forced to face some unpleasant realities about herself and her family relationships.

The movie's theme revolves around the complex issues of love. Although Beth and Cal and Conrad all love one another, all are blocked by inner issues. Conrad believes his mother does not possess the same love and adoration she felt for his brother. Cal is unable to show or voice his love to Conrad and Beth is unable to face the fact that she did love the older son more. Redford shows Beth's lack of coping skills and the tension between the parents. Cal confronts Beth saying, "He just wants to know that you don't hate him' (Redford 1980). To which Beth responds:

Hate him! How could I hate him?

Mothers don't hate their sons! Is that what he told you? You see how you believe everything he tells you? And you can't do the same for me, you can't!

God, I don't know what anyone wants from me anymore" (Redford 1980).

Redford allows each character to grow and evolve through the course of the movie and discusses the issues of family dynamics in an intelligent and thoughtful venue that had never been done before in cinema.

The 1999 movie "American Beauty" by director Sam Mendes is another look behind the closed doors of suburbia. Lester and Carolyn Burnham and their daughter Jane represent the all-American family of the 1990's. Lester and Carolyn both have careers, Jane is a cheerleader, and they live in an up-scale neighborhood. The neighbors on one side are a successful homosexual couple, Jim and Jim, while one the other side is another family, the Fitts, Frank is retired military, wife Barbara, a stay at home mother and wife, and son Ricky, a drug dealer. Just a typical neighborhood in the 1990's.

Carolyn is obsessed with her real estate career and with presenting the perfect look to the world, right down to matching gardening shears and shoes. Lester has lost his spark for life and has fallen into a mid-life crisis. He become enamored with Jane's friend, Angela, and begins to fantasize about her constantly. He also become friends with Ricky, when they share a joint together outside a real estate seminar he's attending with Carolyn. Similar to Joanna, Lester begins seeking the person he was before he became a non-entity in his family. From Angela, he gathers the stamina to start working out to build his body, and from Ricky he regains sense of himself that had long been buried, including his love for old rock music.

Lester quits his job and embarks on a journey of discovery. He begins to enjoy life again. Mendes allows the audience to peer into his secret fantasies and portrays the all-American family as anything but what most would consider normal. Carolyn finds all of this very disconcerting. Mendes shows how obsessed she is with materialism when Lester tries to seduce her on the couch and almost spills his beer. When he remarks that it is just a couch, Carolyn responds, "This is a four thousand dollar sofa upholstered in Italian silk. It is not just a couch," to which Lester remarks, "It's just a couch" (Mendes 1999).

The movie deals with secret fantasies and the homophobia of society. Frank represents the epitome of homophobia. He rules his house with such a stern hand that his wife appears in a daze and reacts almost robot-like and his son lives in fear of being physically abused by him. When Frank discovers his neighbors are gay, suspicion goes out of control.

Of the three neighbors, Mendes portrays the gay couple as the 'most normal' and happiest household, a sharp twist for the 1990's.

The 2001 movie "In the Bedroom" directed by Todd Field is a new look at domestic violence. Matt Fowler is a doctor, his wife Ruth teaches music at a local college, and their son Frank has just graduated from high school and is preparing to leave for college. However, he has started an affair with Natalie, a mother of two sons, and wife of estranged husband Richard.

Ruth is very concerned about the affair and fears it will steer Frank away from his education, as well as involve him in another man's family. Matt believes the affair is a harmless summer fling before college and secretly admires his son a bit for being involved with such an attractive woman.

Slowly it is revealed that Richard is an abuser and when Natalie calls for help after he has ransacked her house, Frank comes to her rescue, however, Richard returns and ends up shooting… READ MORE

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