“Silver Linings Playbook” A Closer Look The research for this paper would be based on the film, “Silver Linings Playbook”, directed by the filmmaker, David Russell. This film intrigues the audience with its content and portrayal of mental illness. One of the key issues shown in this film is the status quo of social and economic disparity that exists among people. The characters of the film and their respective journeys in life are shown for the purpose of establishing this thematic content. A close scrutiny of the narrative and specific scenes in the film would enable one to analyze the expression of socio-economic disparity more closely. The mesh of inter-personal relationships that link with the socio-economic status is perfectly delved into in the course of the narrative. This film has been received well by the critics and the general audience, adding to the relevance of the scrutiny of the film’s content. The dysfunctional nature of the portrayed family can very well be seen as a comparison of present day society in America that is marked by economic social injustice. The film aptly shows how the common …show more content…
His critique focuses on the fact that the actors add that dash of perfection in portraying the vulnerabilities and insecurities that are subtly linked to the socio-economic factors that constitute a major theme of this film. This review enables one to understand how the film portrays the societal and economic issues that focus on the inter-personal realtionships of both the family and the main protagonists. It can be comprehended that many of the aspects of this film are left to be explored by the both viewer and the critical analysis. There is specific information in the film about the characters, such as the fact that pat is a major focal point of economic downfall, that establish the story and its link with the
The film’s brilliance lies in the choice to show three distinct familial units with varying and different responses to their disadvantaged circumstances. The three boys who are the main subject of this film each experience a set of challenges and disadvantages associated with growing up in poverty. Appachey lives with his mother and younger siblings and has little to no adult supervision because his single mother must work long hours to support the family. Harley lives with his grandmother because his mother is incarcerated for attempting to kill the man who sexually abused her son. Harley suffers from anger and personality disorders and has a difficult time fitting in at school. Andrew lives with his father, mother and sister but is subject to repeated and frequent moves due his father’s inability to secure stable employment. His mother also suffers from significant mental illness and bouts of manic
Being in a lower socioeconomic status puts a lot of stress on the caretakers of the family. The film shows the struggles Gilbert has taking care of his family while trying to be a normal boy. Compared to a normal boy Gilberts age, he is put under an immense amount of stress and responsibility. Other families that are wealthy in the film aren’t struggling or working as hard as Gilbert is to support his family. The film gives the viewer an opportunity to see how life is for the underprivileged families trying to get by. Gilberts life is stressful and complicated but yet he still finds meaning and happiness in what he has. It goes back the theme of the film, don’t judge a book by its cover. You don’t know what someone’s gone through or what they have done to get where they are today, its best to approach new people empathy and the desire to understand
The Frontline documentary “Two American Families” produced by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), portrays the life of two typical middle class families living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Frontline Video, 2013). This follows the life of the Neumann family and the Stanley family as they pursue the ideal type of life, The American Dream from 1991 through 2011 (Frontline Video, 2013). Although, the pursuit for their fantasy quickly turned into a fight for economical struggle (Frontline Video, 2013). These struggles were all brought upon by the new shaping economy (Frontline Video, 2013).
She’s considering having an abortion. On the other hand the daughter wants to get merry to her African boyfriend he wants her to move with him to Africa. Momma is very excited to own her first home and they also refuse to take the money from Mr. Linden, they are tired of living in the apartment, momma thinks a house is the best investment. The son is going through some extremely hard times after losing all that money trying to open a liquor store. In the story the son faces more problems the son has the most problems for example he’s in charged of the house after his father die he took over all the responsibility he’s father had. During the 1950s after the father die the son usually took over the family and all its
The idea of characters fulfilling and working towards their dreams is a common and relatable theme throughout today’s entertainment culture. From television shows to feature films, it becomes a main focus because many spectators can relate to the exact dream or inspires them to reach for or create a similar dream for themselves. The film “A Raisin in the Sun” takes place in Chicago featuring an African American family living in a small, three-bedroom apartment in the 1950’s. This apartment is not big enough for such a large family and, as a result, the youngest has to sleep on the couch in the living area because there is not enough room or money for a bed for him. Since money is very tight within the family, the insurance check for the death of the father of the family is much needed, but also a source of conflict within the family because they must choose the best way to spend this money to help all achieve their dreams. The Younger family is full of dreams and aspirations, both as a family and as individuals.
Both the Younger family and the Johnson family are similar because both share their ambition in wanting to achieve the Black American Dream. However, only the Younger family is able to achieve it because they have goals, working adults, money, and support. They have the freedom to move into their new home in Clybourne Park, despite White supremacy, stereotype, and greed standing in the way. Unfortunately, despite meritocracy, not all Blacks have money and support to transcend themselves into upward mobility. The Johnson family is not able to achieve the Black American Dream because there is no goal set, only one working adult, and no money and support involved in their lives to offer them freedom. It is a lot harder to have upward mobility with no family support especially when society is against the individual. The Johnson family’s unsuccessful attempt to achieve the Black American Dream illustrates that it is not meant for all Blacks living in America. Perhaps it is impossible for all Blacks to excel in America because not all Blacks are privileged to have what other Blacks
This movie is a wonderful production starting from 1960 and ending in 1969 covering all the different things that occurred during this unbelievable decade. The movie takes place in many different areas starring two main families; a very suburban, white family who were excepting of blacks, and a very positive black family trying to push black rights in Mississippi. The movie portrayed many historical events while also including the families and how the two were intertwined. These families were very different, yet so much alike, they both portrayed what to me the whole ‘message’ of the movie was. Although everyone was so different they all faced such drastic decisions and issues that affected everyone in so many different ways. It wasn’t like one person’s pain was easier to handle than another is that’s like saying Vietnam was harder on those men than on the men that stood for black rights or vice versa, everyone faced these equally hard issues. So it seemed everyone was very emotionally involved. In fact our whole country was very involved in president elections and campaigns against the war, it seemed everyone really cared.
The “American Dream” was originally centered around the pursuit of happiness, but during this time was contaminated by greed and corruption. Americans were blinded by materialistic wealth, prosperity and fame. America, once the land of equal opportunity, now became engrossed in becoming successful by any means necessary. In turn, moral values and family ties took a backseat and were no longer the center of society. The poor were exploited by the rich for their own personal gain. The author describes this era and characters objectively, while allowing us to interpret the characters’ motivation on our own. By doing so, we get a better sense of the difference between their social classes and their way of
This movie is about David and Jennifer, who live in Southern America in the ‘90s which was said to be a liberal state, are sent from reality to a TV show ‘Pleasantville’ in 1950s. From reality looking through this TV show, Pleasantville looks like an ideal place for people to live in, but getting a closer look and being part of this world you actually realize that it is very different from what is shown on TV. After David and Jennifer arriving to Pleasantville, they become colorless, everything there is either black, white or gray. People then expose their conservative lifestyles with suppression of sexuality, discrimination and restrictive of personal liberty and imagination. In Pleasantville, people assume that there is no outside world other
Even though both stories take place in collective societies family life differs greatly. A “normal” family for “Harrison Bergeron” is two loving parents and a child raised by the offspring’s parents. While in Anthem, there is no family, parents don’t know the children and no one knows what love is. Sixty nine percent of American families with children under the age of eighteen live in families with two
It tells the story of a person, family and community in which individuals suffer from mental disorders much the same way as people do in the real world. Not only did I find this movie quite accurate concerning mental illness but I also established some important messages concerning mental illness in today’s society. The film takes into account that mental illness is a part of society and overall has a positive outlook on it. Their illnesses don 't define their identities nor are they even the main point of the story. In coming together, the characters find the mutual support that enables them to approach their struggles and redirect their lives in a more positive direction. To some degree, this film addresses stigma and the fact that persons with mental illness should be allowed to participate in society over being kept in a hospital, in other words, it gives
It is evident the amount of work director David Fincher put into the creation of this masterpiece of a film, from the cast who seemed to almost be born for their roles to a brilliantly written screenplay and very fitting music. From the very beginning, the film is one which is easy to become completely enthralled in, exposing the numerous fallacies of modern day society. It is clear that the fundamental point of the film is to illustrate that consumerism is running rampant in our own society. Thus, this pernicious way of life has transformed masculinity into a brand and turned self-worth into a commodity which people believe can be strengthened through the acquisition of goods. Though much of this movie discusses the detriments of society, the film offers tangible ways to combat these incessant problems.
Throughout Society, many families have seen struggle and lived through poverty. The economy is not always thriving which takes a toll on people who suffer through unemployment or low wage jobs. The Frontline documentary, “Two American Families”, is the perfect example of struggle in the United States. It shows the lives of two struggling families and their efforts to survive. Two essays, “The Sociological Imagination” by C. Wright Mills, and “The Uses of Poverty: The Poor Pay All” by Herbert J. Hans, support the analysis of the video strongly. They express many ideas that relate to the world and struggle throughout society. Also, there are many sociological terms that depict the events that occurred in the documentary.
Throughout the movie, the filmmakers showed a how a family struggle from their daily lives'. One example from the movie is when Linda, Chris's girlfriend and mother of Christopher decided to leave San Francisco and go to New York for a better job. This scene shows how difficult is their situation that Linda would leave her family to look for a better life. Throughout the movie, it also shows how a husband and wife argued because of money issues. Chris and his family live in San Francisco where his son goes to a school where they can't even spell happiness right. In this place they spell happiness to "Happyness" instead of the letter "i". There this one scene when Chris talking to his son's teacher because of how the teacher let's the children's watched a TV show called "Bonanza and Love Boats." By this Chris tried to talk to the teacher because trying it is not appropriate for them to watch TV during their school time. But the teacher argues that it's for history. The lady says it's navy history, but Chris responded by telling her that they are paying them $150 a month. The teacher responded backed by saying that they pay his son's tuition late. Chris is complaining about this, but the lady said with them paying their son's tuition late she is complaining too. Why did Chris's put his son to a school where I think all their students are Asians in the ...
This film was written and produced in the middle of the Great Depression, and the depiction of the poverty and unemployment is very evident throughout the entire film.