Billy And His Father example essay topic

In the movie Kramer vs. Kramer, divorce plays an important role in the life of a child and his father. The film looks at a different aspect of divorce from what society normally would see by showing the father's point of view throughout the custody hearing. The film is about a wife who leaves her unhappy marriage to fulfill her goal of making it on her own and having a career of her own. Along with leaving her husband, Joanna also leaves behind her five year old son Billy to be brought up by his father who he really has no relationship with. This is a perfect example of how families were put together in our early society. Due to the fact that the father had to bring home all the money, he never got a chance to really get to know his child.

This is an important aspect in the rest of the film. After eighteen months, Joanna decides that she wants custody of Billy and takes the father, Ted to court. During the eighteen months that Joanna is gone, Billy and his father build a close relationship with each other. During the trial, the lawyer brings up the fact that Ted had no relationship to his son before his wife left, and that since his wife left he lost his job due to the fact that he had made his son his top priority. The court took this is a bad manner and looked down upon Ted for this, and also the fact that Billy had fallen at the park and had to have stitches on his face. The court made it sound as if it was Ted's fault that Billy had fallen, but in turn what child doesn't get hurt at the playground at least once in their life?

The court tried to make it sound as if Ted was a bad parent due to the fact that he was the male figure in the childs life. In the end, Joanna gets custody of Billy but decides that living with her would not be the best thing for Billy. Normally in society, the fact that the mother would decide to give back the son to the father is not even considered. In most custody cases the mother wins, even if it is the father who is the better parent. Men seem to be thought of as bad parents just because it is normally the father that leaves, and the mother is left to take care of the child.

This film is one that hits home with a lot of its audience. Most kids have seen the effects of divorce and have seen how it affects kids when they are separated from one of their parents. The part in the movie that really effected me was when Ted and Billy were making breakfast before Joanna came to pick up Billy to move him to her place. Billy breaks down and cries that he has to leave his father.

This is sentimental because the same scene first occured when Joanna first left and they were making breakfast. At first Billy wanted his mom to come home, but after he got to know his father and how much he loved him, his opinion of his father changed completely. This was a great movie about divorce and how men do not have equal rights to women. This movie shows the affect of divorce cases from the viewpoint of the father instead of taking the mother's side as most of society does. Kramer vs. Kramer. Dir.

Robert Benton. Perf. Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. 1979. Video Cassette.

Columbia, 1993..