An individual’s well-being can ultimately define their attitude and ability to sustain a high quality of life. The film, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? revolves around a family living in the town Endora. It centers around the Grape family, but mainly Gilbert Grape and his younger brother, Arnie Grape, who has neurological growth problems. One day, Gilbert meets a young woman named Becky. Gilbert experiences a great change in his well-being from the beginning of the film, compared to the end. Caring for his brother, his family, and the house are demands that were placed upon him years ago. It weakens his ability to maintain a healthy emotional state of mind, as he is engrossed in his family’s life. When emotional wellness is tainted, it is not …show more content…
In the beginning of the film, Gilbert started to speak of his family and stated that, “‘Some days you want him [Arnie] to live...some days you don’t.’” This describes Gilbert’s feelings associated with the relationship between Arnie and himself, and even his family. Gilbert is so caught up in making Arnie happy, protecting Arnie, and making sure he gets to bed on time, that he does not do those things for himself. Around the middle of the film, Gilbert and Becky are about to watch the sunset together, when he remembers that he was to bathe Arnie that night. He leaves Becky and tells her that he will be back, and after preparing the bath, he says to Arnie, “The big boy’s gonna wash himself. [...] I gotta go.” Gilbert is realizing that he needs to stop neglecting himself and his needs, and takes the first step into a better emotional well-being. This is the first time that the largest responsibility put upon Gilbert does not hold him back. Although this choice ended with Arnie being left in the bathtub for hours, it was a decision that was starting to lead Gilbert in the right direction. Speaking to Becky allowed Gilbert to open up and become vulnerable. Releasing all the negative thoughts about how he was ashamed of his family lifted a weight off of his chest. His emotional well-being improved, leaving him able to be more at peace with himself and …show more content…
Gilbert commentates the film in the beginning, and he mentions that “[his] dad built the house...and it’s [his] job to keep up the repairs.” Taking into account that his father built the house that the Grape family lives in, it can be inferred that the house is quite old. That means that there are many issues that need to be fixed, and as said, Gilbert must uphold them. As he is the only working member of the family, they cannot afford to hire professionals to handle the larger repairs, and again, it falls on Gilbert’s shoulders. It could be argued that this means he is physically well because of all the drudging tasks he fulfills, but all of that stress and hard work would leave anyone, especially one that has many more responsibilities, exhausted. Near the end, Gilbert says that he’s “not going to let her [Mama] be a joke.” After Mama dies, the Grape family decides that burning the house is a decision that would benefit them all, even Mama. Mama would be able to keep her dignity after death, and the house would be gone, getting rid of bad memories and a portion of Gilbert’s responsibility with it. When assessing a person’s physical welfare, it is important to take into account their mental wellness as well. Gilbert’s mental well-being was not at a very high place in the beginning, he was always tired from the work he
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, is a movie directed by Lasse Hallstrom in 1993. Leonardo Dicaprio and Johnny Depp, play Arnie and Gilbert, two brothers who have a bond unlike any other. Arnie is autistic and it is Gilbert’s role in the family to lead him through each step in his life, whether it be the simplest of tasks or the most complex process, Gilbert is there. The title itself is a question that is not rhetorical, but rather a question the viewer must answer themselves. Gilbert appears to have the burden of being the father figure in Arnie’s life. Gilbert must keep Arnie in line and perform standards up to Arnie deserves. With a father that has passed away and an absent mother, Gilbert
What's Eating Gilbert Grape portrays a family dealing with the trials, misfortunes, and also great times of having a member with a disability. The Grape family consists of Gilbert, Ellen, Amy, Mama (Mrs.Grape), and of course, Arnie. They live in an isolated town of Endora in a house that seems to be in shambles since their father died, causing their mother’s depression and becoming morbidly obese. Considering that there is only one parent left, their family structure single parenting and trends in a laissez-faire family pattern.
According to Ronald B. Adler and Russell F. Proctor II “competent communication involves achieving one’s goals in a manner that, in most cases, maintains or enhances the relationship in which it occurs” (Adler and Proctor, 22). There are many different ways to be competent in communication. The way someone communicates depends on the personality of the communicator and who they are trying to communicate with. It also greatly depends on the situation in which the communication occurs. For example a “joke that would be ideal would probably be inappropriate at a funeral” (Adler and Proctor, 22). There are many different factors that determine whether someone is communicating competently, and there is a huge range of different behaviors
The family dynamics in the Grape family is close and reflects a general sense of caring. Each character on some level interacted with one another in order to keep the family together. While Gilbert works tirelessly as a caregiver for his brother, he also works to provide for his family. When Ellen is not preoccupied with herself, she also helps take care of her mother. Bonnie, while immobile for much of the movie, runs her family unit from her spot on the couch, and she is included in meals when they bring the table to her in order for them to eat together. Newman & Newman (2012) suggested that the demands of household management stimulate development. As each character is involved in this role in some sense,
In the film "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" directed by Lasse Hallstrom in 1993, one of the main ideas is that of struggle and hardship. This idea is significant to the film because it relates to each character in a different way, making the storyline more interesting. Three different techniques used by Lasse Hallstrom to illustrate the idea of struggle and hardship include Gilberts voice over, the extra close-ups of Bonnie as she climbs the stairs and the double up of dialogue, where Mrs Carver is talking to Gilbert, and Mr Carver is heard tying to entertain their children in background.
Everyone has to deal with struggles during their everyday life. Some people’s problems are more serious than others, and the way that people deal with their problems varies. Everybody has a coping mechanism, something they can use to make the struggle that they’re going through easier, but they’re usually different. Some people drink, some people smoke, some people pretend there is no problem. There are healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms, and people will vary the one they use depending on the problem they’re facing. In The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, the author and her family deal with their struggles in multiple different ways as time goes on. However, the severity of her situation means that the methods she uses to deal with it are very important. That’s why it’s bad that Jeanette’s and her family have such unhealthy coping mechanisms, such
Mental illness can have a tremendous effect on not only the individual suffering, but to their family. "Mental illness often has a ‘ripple effect’ on families, creating tension, uncertainty, troubled emotions and big changes in how people live their lives" ("Families and friends"). A family member who suffers from a mental illness can have a great impact on numerous physical, psychological and social aspects of the family. Creating nursing priorities can help to create developmental and behavioral functions of a family to help the family bond and cope with a mental illness. The film “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” by Lasse Hallstrom, portrays a family who struggle to cope with the enormous impact that a mentally challenged child “Arnie” can have on a family. Although the whole family is involved in Arnie’s care, it is clear that Gilbert, Arnie’s older brother, takes on the primary giver role. Throughout the movie, many scenes tend to dramatically show the amount of stress, frustration, aggression, and separation on the family that is ultimately created from Arnies mental illness. In this paper we are going to discuss the impact of chronic illness on the grape family, two family centered priorities we have chosen using the Calgary Family Assessment Model and one nursing intervention for each priority using the Calgary Family Intervention Model.
To help my peers and I become a more culturally competent we chose to watch the movie “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” in hopes to become more aware and knowledgeable about the differences of values and beliefs in our society. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape; a film produced in 1993, address many issues everyday people face in society such as socioeconomic struggle and mental or physical discrimination.
In the story, each character's mental and physical health changes, whether it is prominently obvious or not. Their health declines – whether it be a rapid decline, as in the father's case, or a graduating descent, like the the rest of the family – and they become older and less attached to the real world, more attached to each other. They retain their habits from the camp and it affects the way that they live amongst other people, in the outside world. The permanence of the changes is evident in each character and will strongly affect the way they live the rest of their life from that point.
Gilbert loves his mom, but she’s too much for him. Since Gilbert is the man of the house it’s up to him to take care of his family, which is a lot of pressure. At one point in the film Gilbert says, “I wanna be a good person.” This quote shows how much pressure Gilbert puts on himself to be a good person for his family. Gilbert’s family relies on him for so much and Gilbert does all he can to provide do to provide everything they want. All of the pressure of being relied on is a lot and starts to show up in his
Mental disorders are a common condition that many people and families have to live with and go through in their lifetime. The disorders are more common than one may think, and in fact they are all around us we just may not know. In the 1993 film “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”, the movie stars Johnny Depp who takes the role of a small-town man, Gilbert Grape, who takes care of his fatherless family of five. The movie shows many characteristics of autism, depression, and eating disorders. It shows examples of the life that those effected with the disorders have to live with every day.
Social Psychology is the study of how we think and relate to other people. These psychologists focused on how the social situation influences others behavior. We see social influences everywhere we go, but might not notice it. Like when watching a movie for fun you do not notice it as much as when you are actually looking for the behaviors, like in the film The Breakfast Club. There are several examples of social psychological behaviors in the film.
The movie utilized for this assignment was What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. This movie explored the life of the Grape family consisting of Gilbert, Ellen, Arnie, Bonnie and Amy. (Hallström, Blomquist, Matalon, Ohlsson, Teper 1993). The movie reveals the struggles that the family face while raising Arnie who had a chronic mental illness (Hallström et al., 1993). This paper will discuss the priority concerns and corresponding interventions that are pertinent for the Grape family based on thorough use of the Calgary family assessment model. The focus of this papers assessment on the family will be on the functional aspect; however the structural and developmental aspects have been assessed.
Gilbert Grape or the protagonist in the movie, is a young man who works in a grocery store to provide for his family and attempts to be the main caretaker of his 17 years old handicapped brother Arnie. The movie begins with Gilbert, standing with his autistic brother Arnie, while they look at the people who are camping by their caravans in the town. One of the campers’ lorry breaks down and a girl named Becky is stuck in the town with her grandmother. Grape’s family consists of a mother, which suffers from depression, was one of the prettiest women in the town. But when her husband committed suicide, she lets herself go and turns into the most obese person. Gilbert has two sisters, Amy is the oldest girl who undertakes the motherly role in the family by cooking for the rest of the family and Ellen is the youngest girl who suffers from self-admiration.
In Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris’ 2006 movie Little Miss Sunshine, they depict the tribulations of a dysfunctional family trying to get their daughter to a beauty pageant, while encompassing strong portrayals of common issues in the United States today. It communicates the individual’s struggle to be perfect, as well as the difficulties of the average middle class family in society. In this paper I will analyze three characters; Olive, Dwayne, and Richard Hoover, identifying their life stages, psychosocial development, role in the family and their resiliency through the stories challenging circumstances.