Analysis Of The Movie 'Boyhood'

1872 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Boyhood movie psychological analysis

INTRODUCTION

“Mason: So what's the point?
Dad: Of what?
Mason: I don't know, any of this. Everything.
Dad: Everything? What's the point? I mean, I sure as shit don't know. Neither does anybody else, okay? We're all just winging it, you know? The good news is you're feeling stuff. And you've got to hold on to that.” (Boyhood,2014)

Time goes by fast. And every second that passes by is us drawing closer to the end. What then is the purpose of life? Is our struggle for success worth the effort? Does it truly make us happy? This review attempts to critically analyse Boyhood, a coming of age movie that pushes us to question the blur of life and the race that we have turned our lives into today.

CHARACTER ANALYSIS

MASON: the central protagonist, …show more content…

is a divorcee husband. At the beginning of the movie, he seems to be a rather irresponsible, childish man. Without a job and a proper earning or a home to call his own, he is the typical free spirited, happy go lucky guy. He desperately wants to be a part of the kids’ lives and he takes huge amounts of pain to come off as the fun dad. It is very evident that he loves his children wholeheartedly as he travels miles in order to spend time with them. He has no custody over the children but Olivia and Mason sr. on the whole get along very well throughout. He is quite a steady character and the movie also captures well the way he, despite already being an adult, slowly matures in …show more content…

My life is just going to go. Like that. This series of milestones. Getting married. Having kids. Getting divorced. The time that we thought you were dyslexic. When I taught you how to ride a bike. Getting divorced... again. Getting my masters degree. Finally getting the job I wanted. Sending Samantha off to college. Sending you off to college. You know what's next? Huh? It's my fucking funeral! Just go, and leave my picture!” (Boyhood,2014)

Peer pressure: Peer pressure too is constantly stressed upon in the movie. The children constantly change their appearances from time to time. When Mason’s head is shaved he refuses to go to school as he is afraid of humiliation. He is later bullied in school. The effect of appearances and acceptance is most evident in Samantha. Her peer group is her priority and she takes utmost pains to remain within it. Her discomfort about moving is evidence to this fact.
Society’s expectations: Our entire lives are built around this very crucial factor. Society often dictates what we should and should not be, and on the way stifles dreams and voices that could have changes lives. We are too often busy being afraid of what the word will think, that we forget to pursue dreams, find oneself, show courage in difficult situations and take the joy and sorrow in stride. Whether we will ever truly break out of this maze, only time will

Show More
Related

  • Sonia Sanchez's Story 'Norma'

    489 Words  | 1 Pages

    In conclusion, the story describes that life changes, and nothing stays the same throughout it. It is in the hands of the people to decide that how they want their life to be. They can make it as beautiful as they want to and they can also make it worse than it has ever been

    Read More

  • The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... loss of loved ones like Junior in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Andi in Revolution or faced your own inevitable passing like Hazel Grace in The Fault in Our Stars, you are not alone. In confronting and facing death, these characters learn that death is merely a small part of living. It is an element of the human experience. To return to the wise words of the late Steve Jobs, “Almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important…There is no reason not to follow your heart.” Living is the adventure. In facing their fears and sadness, these characters learn how to be courageous, how to hope, how to love, and how to live. Join them on their journeys by checking out one of the spotlighted books at your local library.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Boyhood, Selma And American Sniper

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mason has only one opportunity in the film where he comes close to observing the

    Read More

  • The Struggle in Black Boy to Find a Figure of Manhood to Emulate

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    Black Boy is an autobiography about Richard Wright’s life, and his struggle for freedom. Throughout this book, Richard strives to find a model of manhood to emulate, but ultimately fails.

    Read More

  • Reflection Of The Movie Babies

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    The director of this film shows how the babies develop from infancy to toddlerhood at different developmental stages. As you watch the film, you see the babies develop physically, socially and cognitively. Culture and socioeconomic status provided these families with the

    Read More

  • Psychology and the Media: The Breakfast Club

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    The movie teaches us to look beyond the cover and into who someone is as a person.  We also learn that sometimes contact with people makes us reconsider our judgement towards them, to find out the real person underneath.

    Read More

  • Into The Wild Movie Analysis Essay

    1673 Words  | 4 Pages

    Into the Wild, a 2007 nonfiction film based on New York Times bestseller book written

    Read More

  • James Joyce's Dubliners

    1410 Words  | 3 Pages

    The emotions throughout the society are shared with the individuals throughout their confusing times, and by their shared experiences. The times spent together of the characters brought the individuals closer together through the dark negative times, and through the light positive situations of society. The confusing part of peoples lives are brought together and are shown throughout the status of society. The stories of the “Encounter,” “Eveline,” and “The Dead” come together with similar experiences of situations of light and dark. The society bring the individuals closer together by shared times.

    Read More

  • Film Analysis of Boyz in the Hood

    2158 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the movie “Boyz in the Hood” director John Singleton, paints a clear image of the problems that happen very often in the African American communities. The movie deals with issues such as: the importance of a father in a young man’s life, the ongoing violence of black on black crime, and how black people are put in situations where they are put to fail and not succeed in life.

    Read More

  • The Loss of Innocence in Alberto Alvaro Rios’ “The Secret Lion”

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    The boy’s growing maturity, autonomy, and painful disillusionment are used by Rios to impart the loss of innocence theme. He discovers his carefree times are taken away by nature, his mother, or merely because he is growing up. His experiences equate to that of the lion’s roar, wondrous and unforgettable, much like the trials people are subjected to when they begin maturing and losing their innocence. In the end, the boy develops into a mature and self-sufficient individual who discovers a new way to enjoy life and all its intricacies.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Samantha Mason In The Movie 'Boyhood'

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mason was throughout the movie a continually evolving character, both biologically, cognitively and socio-emotionally. The film takes place over the course of 12 years, and it was shot over the course of 12 years. So basically, we watched Mason and the actors getting older for real for 12 years. It makes the movie and characters more original. Ellar Coltrane was a 6 year old boy when he was casted to be the character as Mason for the movie “Boyhood.” Mason was just entering in middle childhood, and basically the next 12 years of his life was already planned out for him. Mason was a little skinny child at the beginning of the movie. His older sister Samantha; was taller than Mason, and she loved to frustrate him. Mason did not like that. Samantha

    Read More

  • Lad Flicks: A Hybrid of Buddie Movies, Romantic Comedies and Chick Flicks

    2008 Words  | 5 Pages

    ‘Lad flicks’ or ‘lad movies’ is a type of film genre that emerged in the late 1990s. They are defined as a “‘hybrid of “buddy movies”, romantic comedies and “chick flicks”, which centre on the trials and tribulations of a young man as he grows up to become a ‘real man’. ‘Lad flicks’ respond in part to the much-debated ‘crisis in masculinity’” (Benjamin A. Brabon 116). This genre of film explored what it meant to be a ‘real man’ in the twentieth century and in order to do so, they would have to grow up and leave their juvenile ways behind to enter the heterosexual world. Gender relations in ‘lad flicks’ portray masculinity as a troubled, anxious cultural category hiding behind a humorous façade and also rely greatly on a knowing gaze and irony. The two ‘lad flicks’ that will be analyzed are The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Judd Apatow 2005) and Role Models (David Wain 2008).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of David Sheff's Beautiful Boy

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    David Sheff’s memoir, Beautiful Boy, revolves around addiction, the people affected by addiction, and the results of addiction. When we think of the word addiction, we usually associate it with drugs or alcohol. By definition, addiction is an unusually great interest in something or a need to do or have something (“Addiction”). All throughout the memoir, we are forced to decide if David Sheff is a worried father who is fearful that his son, Nic Sheff’s, addiction will kill him or if he is addicted to his son’s addiction. Although many parents would be worried that their son is an addict, David Sheff goes above and beyond to become involved in his son’s life and relationship with methamphetamine, making him an addict to his son’s addiction.

    Read More

  • The Blind Side

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    The film exhibits and analyzes the story of NFL player Michael Oher’s life through high school as he endures various adversities and difficulties in his life. It tells Oher’s story of being the son of a cocaine addictive mother and absentee father, who is homeless due the circumstances of his family. Despite not having either of his parents in his life he did have Big Tony, who was his friend’s dad. Big Tony would allow Michael to sleep on his sofa some days when he did not have anywhere else to live and he also was the main cause to Michael being admitted to the Wingate Academy Christian School. At this school Michael meets S.J., who is the son on the Tuohy’s. S.J. begins a friendship with Michael at a time when no one else would and on a rainy day after S.J.’s thanksgiving play, the Tuohys see Michael walking. They ask him ...

    Read More

  • Growing Up in About a Boy by Nick Hornby

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    About a boy is a novel which follows the lives of two people: Marcus and Will. Marcus is a strange kid who struggles with growing up, he is in need for acceptance outside of his own family, he is searching for his own identity, he is a victim of constant bullying and is suffering with his lack of parental care. Will is the complete opposite to Marcus. He is a 36 year old who is in his own extended childhood, he is searching for his identity not wanting to lose his youth, he ‘prides himself on his cool’ and simply can’t find a way to grow up. It is when these two opposing characters meet that they soon act as catalysts for each other. From their dependence on others they find independence for themselves within one another.

    Read More

More about Analysis Of The Movie 'Boyhood'

Open Document