One True Thing: Movie Analysis

Words: 1850
Pages: 8
Open Document
This analysis will feature six communication terms embedded within the movie One True Thing, directed by Carl Franklin. Within the movie, the Gulden family faces a crisis when the mother Kate’s diagnosed with cancer. The daughter Ellen is a successful writer, who resides in New York, but her father enforces her to choose between her family and her career. The father, George works as a Professor at College level, and the son Brian attends Harvard. The importance of the career paths that the family reside in speaks volumes when considering the family roles. The six communication terms included within this analysis are: denial of reality, family roles, role conflicts, loyalty conflict and stages of family crisis. From the opening of the movie …show more content…
Conflict may also occur when people disagree about what the expectations are for a particular role or when someone simply has difficulty satisfying expectations because their duties are unclear, too difficult, or disagreeable” (Crossman, 2015). Considering this definition the two characters in the movie closely related would be Ellen and George. There is one part in the movie where Brian illustrates his dissatisfaction regarding the expectations that George has for him. Brian regards his conflict when he explains to Ellen, “I Brian Golden, son of Mr. English Literature and the Romantics, failed American literature” (Franklin, 1998). Ellen exhibits role conflict more than her family members. First, her role as the daughter following her mother’s footsteps is less favorable. She defies everything that Kate represents. In one point George appears to mock her when he is advising her to write with less emotions. Also, when George asks Ellen to write an intro for his second collection of essays, then piles a collection of dirty laundry in her arms with instructions of no starch, and stitching the pockets. This scene highlights George’s acceptance that Ellen is a journalist, but also downplays it with stereotypical female household duties. Ellen discovers that her role as a devoted daughter is questioned when Kate asks for a …show more content…
First, the prior stage identifies conflict that has evolved from previous experiences. One example in the movie is the relationship between Kate and Ellen. From the beginning of the movie there has been tension between the two females. The scene in the car, when Kate describes the baby cows, and Ellen disregards her with a rude reply. From this point, Ellen’s actions and responses indicate this conflict. The next stage in family conflict is frustration. For example, when George asks Ellen to return home to assist with her mother. The frustration emerges when Ellen says, “I can’t just drop everything. I may never catch up again. It could ruin my career. You can get a nurse and I will come home every weekend” (Franklin, 1998). Following this stage is the active conflict stage. The scenes with Ellen and her father escalate towards hostile interactions. There are two different scenes in the movie where Ellen exhibits tantrums of rage and frustration towards George. The next stage is the solution or non-solution stage. The movie does not indicate any form of compromise between George and Ellen till the very end of the film. Although, there seems to be a peaceful resolution regarding the attention directed towards Kate’s final days. The follow up stage and the resolved stage both occurs following Kathy’s death in
Show More

Related Documents: One True Thing: Movie Analysis

Essay on July at the Multiplex

DATE: June 12, 2012 TO: Mr. Plex, Owner, Royal 16 Theater FROM: Team 8 RE: Analysis of Liability for Fraud Based off of your request, we have completed an analysis concerning Royal 16 Theater’s liability for fraud assumed by the customer, Tommy. Please contact us if any additional information is needed. July at the Multiplex Executive Summary What are the standards of selling a service or product so the customer will not get furious? If we tried out best but they are still unsatisfied, what…

Words 3349 - Pages 14

The Return Of Martin Guerre Analysis

French author and director. Born in Moulins, Allier, France, in 1942, he is best known for The Return of Martin Guerre (1982), One Woman or Two (1985) and Fatou la Malienne…

Words 1951 - Pages 8

Essay about Arts And Media Project

Overview 1. “Unbroken”, a movie produced and directed by “Angelina Jolie”, and based on the 2010 non-fiction book written by “Laura Hillenbrand”, was published in 2014 December 25. This movie has spoken a hearing breaking tale of survival and preserving through the darkest of times. Unbroken, a movie that can greatly impact our belief and yet it is a motivation movie to encourage people nowadays not to give up easily. This movie is available in countless places online, but one location is at http://mintmovies…

Words 1310 - Pages 6

Essay on Film Analysis - Social Penetration Theory in the Breakfast Club

(Griffin 133). These layers are made up by different things that hide an individual’s true self. One’s true self can include his or her hopes, fears, likes, dislikes, aspirations and other things that one thinks about. For individuals to become close, they must get past all of the facades and disclose their true selves to one another. In the movie The Breakfast Club, each of the main characters exemplifies this theory. At the beginning of the movie, characters Claire, John, Andrew, Allison, and Brian…

Words 2133 - Pages 9

Polysian Myths Vs Moana Analysis

Polynesian Myths vs Moana When watching a movie, the watcher isn’t usually thinking of the meaning behind the movie. The movie could be telling a story told from a book, a myth from the culture, or just for entertainment. With that being said, watching a movie is learning a story and knowing the meaning behind the story. For example, if you look at the movie Moana and analyze the characters features and characteristics, you will realize that they are Polynesian. The movie Moana follows Polynesian culture…

Words 1925 - Pages 8

Media Moguls Midterm Paper City Of God

Frederico Castellanos! City of God, by Fernando Meirelles ! ! City of God (2002) is arguably one of the most critically acclaimed films of recent years, and it most definitely became a trademark in Brazilian cinema and culture. Based on the novel “City of God” (1997), written by Paulo Lins and his eyewitness testimony of the bloody turf war which for years raged in Rio De Janeiro's most notorious slum, the movie got adapted and written in screenplay format by Bráulio Mantovani and was directed by now…

Words 2511 - Pages 11

Goodfellas Criminological Analysis

When applying a criminological theory to popular media, I chose the film Goodfellas- a drama and crime film from 1990 based on a true story. This movie portrays many theories in which we have learned in class, but the one I found to occur numerous times in the movie was that of Rational Choice Theory (RCT). Many laws- such as murder, insurance fraud, assault, and theft- were committed in Goodfellas- along with many others. The men involved in this form of media did anything and everything that was…

Words 1498 - Pages 6

Glory Movie Historical Accuracy

Is the “Glory” Movie Accurate? “Glory”, a 1998 film starring the illustrious film stars Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman directed by Edward Zwick, describes the true nature of the treacherous acts against the African American race during the Civil War of 1861 to 1865. Like any historical film, it brings to the mind a question to all historians, “Was the movie accurate to the real historical events?” After a precise analysis, I’ve concluded that the events taken place in the film were, for the…

Words 529 - Pages 3

OHalloran M CMST10 Movie Analysis Final Essay

Interpersonal Communications Movie Analysis Final Conflict in Interpersonal Relationships By Michelle O’Halloran I chose the movie Hitch and will incorporate my movie analysis with conflict in interpersonal relationships. “Interpersonal conflict is an internal strain that creates a state of ambivalence, conflicting internal dialogue, or lack of resolution in one’s thinking or feeling”. Interpersonal conflict has multiple dimensions, but ultimately focuses on the interaction among humans. Although…

Words 3777 - Pages 16

The Lion King And Hamlet Comparison

A famous childhood movie, known as The Lion King, is thought to be very innocent. What many people may not know is that it is based off of the play Hamlet, written by Shakespeare. It is strange that a Disney family movie was based off a tragedy written by the famous Shakespeare. The story line and characters resemble many aspects within the play. When taking a closer look, one can see the character relations with Nala, Simba, Scar, etc., as well as a relation between the plots of the two stories…

Words 1501 - Pages 7