Numerous movies, books or TV shows have plenty of character that shows development throughout the course of their lifetime, series or whatever the case may be. In this case I decided to choose Dale Doback and Brennan Huff from the movie, Step Brothers. These characters play an enormous role in this movie due to the fact they are the step brothers the title was referring to. Brennan and Dale were both in their forties, they were both unemployed, still living at home, and self- centered, spoiled men. Neither of them had the slightest intentions of moving out of their parents’ houses. Brennan’s mother meets Dale’s father at a conference, there they hit things off. These two end up getting married and moving in with each other. Which was how …show more content…
After their parents broke the fight up, they were sat down and punished. Their punishment was they would have to get jobs. Brennan and Dale started to realize their parents are right. These two both went through identity development at this point. Identity development was when one begins to realize who they are going to be, where they are going in life, and how they define themselves. According to Eric Ericson, one must endure eight different steps to truly have gone through the process of identity development. These stages are trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs., role confusion, and intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation and finally, integrity vs. despair. Ericson believed one would experience these issues before the age of ten, but would go back to these topics throughout life. At this time Brennan and Dale could be going through multiple of these things. For instance, they were having to make a decision on whether they wish to mooch off their parents for the rest of their lives. They were also taking the initiative in realizing they need to get jobs. A specific stage they were experiencing was identity vs. role …show more content…
The two that are more of negative ways to resolve identity are foreclosure and diffusion. Foreclosure is when a commitment is made but one has not explored their options. Almost as their life is predestined. An example of foreclosure in Step Brother was after Brennan went through the MAMA period. Things did not work out in the job market so his brother hired him to work for his company. Brennan’s mother suggested this at the beginning of Brennan’s job hunt, but he did not aspire to work for his brother. Now diffusion is where one has made no commitments and has not even tried to explore their options. One in diffusion is simply just drifting through life. A prime example of diffusion was Brennan and Dale. Before the fight happened these two were living off mom and dad, they did not consider entering the workforce so they did not recognize it as an immediate problem. As one can grasp Eric Ericson’s theories are definitely predominant throughout this
Identity, in general, is the way people are molded through the experiences of one’s life. The text Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks portrays the validity of the quote by Bernice Johnson Region “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are”. Aspects of one’s life is determined by multiple influential factors, that may result in positive or even negative effects such as family, cultural/social expectations, class structure and social inequality, and race.
People change over time, and no past history sets the future in stone. Developmentalists divide life into different segments based on age known as growth stages (Berger, 2009). Each stage affects the others causing development at every stage to build upon the other (Berger, 2009). Development does not follow a straight line, it instead moves up and down, back and forth, and it moves at different speeds (Berger, 2009). Although there are several theories of development, and it would be remiss to subscribe to only one; however for the purpose of this paper, I will focus on Erik Erikson’s Theory of Initiative versus Guilt; Industry versus Inferiority; and Identity versus Role Confusion. I also prefer to take an eclectic approach in the application of counseling theories and techniques; however for the purpose of this paper I will utilize three different therapies for each stage of development.
Erikson’s Stages of Development was seen most widely in Freaks and Geeks. Whenever there is a mix of freshmen age children in with older adolescents, there is always that awkward stage. When I was in the 9th grade, the school system I was in was still utilizing the junior high school and we would not enter high school until the ninth grade. The year that Freaks and Geeks was to take place, I myself was in the 9th grade, so I sympathized with the show somewhat. Sam and Rory from Gilmore Girls had trust from their mothers, where on the other hand, Danny from geeks and Lane, from Gilmore, dealt with mistrust because of how their mothers were. Danny’s mother expected him to drop everything and get what she needed, even if that meant missing school, and Lane’s mother did not allow her to
Identity is formed through the mindset of oneself. Many would bring in deductive reasoning to argue that identity is indeed based on one’s family history/ background, however relating to Cold Blood, identity is rather formed through associations that lead to belligerent actions. Perry Smith, one of the antagonists in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, relates the life of crime he has taken upon himself to his aggressive and tortured childhood of “. crying. Scared because of the thought of my father going to hurt me, also because he was beating my mother” (Capote 274).
In “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates,” written by Wes Moore the author writes about two boys growing up in Baltimore that share the same name and similar backgrounds but end up taking drastically different paths in life due to many varying factors. The author goes on to earn a college degree, become a Rhodes Scholar, a veteran and more while the “other” Wes cannot avoid the inevitable fate of dealing drugs and ultimately spends his life running from the police and in prison. This reflects how both Wes Moore’s became products of their environment as the way a person is shaped and guided in their developmental years does unquestionably play a large role in the type of person they will become as adults. A lot of elements come into play that help to determine a person’s success or failure, but at the end of the day the most important factors are family, education and opportunities.
Role Confusion is the main stage that can be observed. Identity vs. Role confusion takes place from around 12 to 18. The four boys in this movie are all around 18 or so and are trying to figure out where to go from high school. Ego identity is one’s self-image, it integrates our ideas of what we are and what we would like to be whereas the identity confusion is looked at as failure to bring together previous developments into a consistent self-image. This confusion often results in feelings of worthlessness. Out of this stage of Erikson’s theory comes the virtue of fidelity, or the, “faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support” (Dictionary).
Erickson’s Theory has 8 stages (Schriver, 2011). The following text will give the developmental crisis of each stage and relate it to Shannon’s life personally. In Erikson’s Theory developmental crisis “did not mean an impending catastrophe as much as it meant “a turning point, a crucial period of increased vulnerability and heightened potential”” (Schriver, 2011). The first stage of Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development is Trust vs. mistrust (0-1 year) and its crisis is “in establishing trust” (Schriver, 2011). Shannon had developed trust early on in her life due to the loving, caring, and nurturing home she grew up in. She had a sense of physical comfort which eliminated fear and allowed trust. The second stage is Autonomy vs. shame (1-3 years) and the crisis is “parental restrictions vs. autonomy” (Schriver, 2011). Growing up Shannon started learning to walk at 11 months which is a normal age for children to emerge into that. Due to her parents being supportive, it allowed Shannon to start exploring her curiosities and still be loved while doing so. The third stage is Initiative vs. guilt (3-6 years) and the crisis is “in taking initiative without experiencing guilt” (Schriver, 2011). This again correlates to the supportiveness of Shannon’s parents which allows her to be her own person and encourages her to experience her life in her own way. The fourth stage is Industry vs. inferiority (6-12 years) and the crisis is “in striving for competence” (Schriver, 2011). Shannon had a great group of friends growing up and that gave her the inclusion she needed to feel equal to her peers and not inferior to anyone. The fifth stage is Identity vs. role confusion and the crisis is “uncertainty about the future and the child’s role in it” (Schriver, 2011). At this time in Shannon’s life she had already strengthened her hope (trust), will, purpose, and
In life, people basically know who you are only if they know your identity. But the meaning of identity can be a factor of things that represents who they are based on a person's belief. For some people, their name is their identity. In the article, "Why Should Married Women Change Their Names? Let Men Change Theirs" by Jill Filipovic, the author argues how women, who change their last names to their husband's, consequently lose their "basic marker of their identity" (Filipovic 25). The author makes this argument to question if there is a such thing as family unity if a woman gives up her last name to "[subsume her] own identity into [her] husband's" (Filipovic 26). The author's claims and views on the issue may seem not completely fair since
Identity is primarily described primarily as what makes a person who they are. While it is seen as an individual asset, one’s identity can be shaped and persuaded not only by life experiences, but by society as well. Bryan Stevenson speaks on several controversial issues and proclaims certain societal problems and the typical behaviors noticed in response to them. How one approaches the issues that are spoken about may expose their true identity. Stevenson argues that how one reacts to racial inequality within the criminal justice system may regulate their identity. In addition to that, how dealing with the nation’s history may force a growth on one’s identity, eventually bringing peace and acceptance to the nation. Lastly, how one views the
Step Brothers is not a movie just about Dale and Brenan’s evolving relationship and their shenanigans. The movie has cultural contexts such as: family, gender, and wealth. Michael Kimmel’s article, “Bros Before Hos”: The Guy Code, has a lot in common with this film. Dale and Brenan subconsciously follow the bro code by performing and talking about sex, fighting, and participating in the culture of cruelty. The myth of the modern family is challenged due to the fact that Dale and Brenan are 40-year-olds living with their step parents. Dale’s father is a successful doctor and his one true love is his boat and sailing around the world. Adam McKay, the director of Step Brothers, utilizes strong dialogue, scene structure, and montages to express the cultural contexts of the film.
What is identity? Identity is an unbound formation which is created by racial construction and gender construction within an individual’s society even though it is often seen as a controlled piece of oneself. In Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum’s piece, “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who Am I?’, Tatum asserts that identity is formed by “individual characteristics, family dynamics, historical factors, and social and political contexts” (Tatum 105). Tatum’s piece, “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who Am I?’” creates a better understanding of how major obstacles such as racism and sexism shape our self identity.
Identity is a state of mind in which someone recognizes/identifies their character traits that leads to finding out who they are and what they do and not that of someone else. In other words it's basically who you are and what you define yourself as being. The theme of identity is often expressed in books/novels or basically any other piece of literature so that the reader can intrigue themselves and relate to the characters and their emotions. It's useful in helping readers understand that a person's state of mind is full of arduous thoughts about who they are and what they want to be. People can try to modify their identity as much as they want but that can never change. The theme of identity is a very strenuous topic to understand but yet very interesting if understood. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez and Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki are two remarkable books that depict the identity theme. They both have to deal with people that have an identity that they've tried to alter in order to become more at ease in the society they belong to. The families in these books are from a certain country from which they're forced to immigrate into the United States due to certain circumstances. This causes young people in the family trauma and they must try to sometimes change in order to maintain a comfortable life. Both authors: Alvarez and Houston have written their novels Is such an exemplifying matter that identity can be clearly depicted within characters as a way in adjusting to their new lives.
In this paper I will be focusing on Erikson’s Theory mainly about identity versus role confusion. Finding one’s identity is not always an easy task. Everyone at some point in his or her life has had, as Erikson puts it, an identity crisis. Everyone experiences different struggles that can have either a positive or negative impact on their identity. On my path to identity, I have reached identity achievement, which means I have explored and made commitments. I will also be focusing on two articles highlighting a fifth possible outcome regarding identity and looking at identity statuses as developmental trajectories.
In conclusion, the formation of one’s identity has many components. Beginning at the onset of adolescence and continuing to expand, grow and form and reform as we live through the struggles or success of life. Many theorists have endeavored to clarify the development of identity formation. However, Erik Erickson offered one significant theory involving the formation of one’s identity. Expounding on Erickson theory, Marcia developed his Identity Status Model according to the existence or absence of crisis and commitments. These four statuses, diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium and achievement can combine in various ways to produce a self. One’s sense of identity is determined largely by the choices and commitments made, therefore, having a well-developed sense of self can provide an individual with insight to their strengths, weaknesses, and individual uniqueness. An individual that finds themselves
Also as I was a toddler (play age), if I did a mistake my parents wouldn’t shame me about my mistakes, but they would do the right thing by showing me how to do it right, which promotes autonomy, which it would also help me to make the right decision. When I first started to go to school (school age), I was raised to be a hard worker, to work with industry, meaning that success doesn’t work with hard work, and that’s a method I use till now. And this where it gets harder for me, my adolescence years. In these year people find out who they are in life, to be honest I’m 19 years old and I still don’t know where I’m going in my life, I really don’t know what is the cause of this, I don’t like to blame people. Hopefully journey in college helps find where I belong at. I might be curious, confident in my choices, and a hard worker, but I’m still on the journey of finding myself, and that’s how I relate to Erik’s identity formation.