Identity Foreclosures: A Film Analysis

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To measure the amount of aggressiveness and social withdrawal among children who were rejected by their peers, (Bolger, & Patterson, 2001) used data from “teacher ratings, peer nominations, and self-report composites”. The multiple sources of data were used to ensure accurate conclusions could be drawn. The study found a statistical significance between kids who are rejected by peers being more aggressive and withdrawn, than those who are accepted by their peer groups. There was also information found that those who are rejected by peers also often have higher chance of suffering from maltreatment at home. Although Mark was not being maltreated, we do see how the rejection from his family and school peers led to his extreme social withdrawal. …show more content…
He is blindly willing to accept whatever Tom tells him in order to make him proud. To do this he joins the football team and tries to keep his grades up even though it is obvious that he is unhappy with this life. Later in the movie we start to see the beginning of Charlie’s transition to a moratorium stage of identity as he becomes increasingly tired of his high school life and the pressures of school. He starts to talk back to Tom, questioning his authority and finally ends up withdrawing so much that he gets kicked off the football team. He almost drops out of school as well until Tom empathizes and asks him to at least get his diploma. We see Charlie slowly move into the moratorium stage of identity by saying “the minute I get my diploma, I’m out of here” (Levy, 2003). In the second film, we see Charlie tell his dad that he wants to be a mechanic and open his own shop, an idea that Tom becomes increasingly content …show more content…
We see this relationship causes significant distress throughout the film as it is obvious that her boyfriend is not liked by the family. Kate at one point tells Tom, “she’s too young to have her own life”, showing an attitude that represents a collective identity among the family (Levy, 2003). Nora is most likely in the identity foreclosure stage, knowing exactly what she wants to do in life and how she wants to get there. Many individuals in the identity foreclosure stage are independent, have high self-esteem ratings, and high amounts of critical thinking. It is apparent that Nora has these attributes as she is strongly relied on by the family and Tom. The restraints that her family puts on her however, makes it difficult for her to move out, start her own life and be the independent person she wants to be. In real life, we see the same sort of struggle by many young adults wanting to leave the nest, who are held back by their family’s wants and needs, such as the need for them to stay close to home for support or over controlling behavior by