What Is The Dysfunctional Family In The Movie Ordinary People

In the Academy Award winning film Ordinary People, is about a highly dysfunctional family, the Jarrett family. This family consists of Beth Jarrett, Calvin Jarrett, and Conrad Jarrett; all of whom are highly dysfunctional. Conrad tried to commit suicide after the death of his older brother, Buck. Conrad lives through the accident, however, Buck dies. Conrad feels guilty for having survived. Beth and Calvin are distraught over the death of Buck, but are glad that Conrad lives. Beth, however, favors Buck and becomes angry with Conrad that he tried to kill himself. Calvin tries to help Conrad out all he can by attempting to talk to him. Had the Jarretts talked out their problems freely to each other, divorce could have likely been avoided. Had the Jarretts used more of conflict management strategies, such as: Contrasting, Creating Safety, STATE, and AMMP, they would have felt more secure about their relationships with each other.

In one instance, when Conrad is on the phone with Dr. Berger at school, Conrad has periods of silence where Dr. Berger thinks he has hung up on him. This is probably due to the fact that Conrad knows there is a problem with himself, however, he is unwilling to get help for himself; therefore, making him unsure of himself when he is talking to Dr. Berger. In another instance, Conrad loses his temper on his parents when his father is trying to take a picture of himself and his mother. Conrad is resentful towards his mother for not loving him enough, and as a result, is reluctant to take a picture with her. So when his father insists, Conrad yells and curses at his father, redirecting the anger away from his mother. Conrad’s favorite most often used conflict management strategy is contrasting. Contrasting is differing from, be at variance with, be contrary to, to conflict with, go against, be at odds with, be in opposition to, disagree with, clash