Buckman Family example essay topic

"Parenthood" Every person has their own personalities, making each of them unique. However, psychologists of yesterday and today have come up with theories to generalize the stages in which our personality is developed. In the movie, Parenthood, we see a large family, more specifically a grandmother, her son and his wife, their four kids, and their separate parts of this large family, all with their different personalities. But some stand out more than the others do. And each has their own separate situations in their part of the family. The movie goes on to show each problem the family does have and how they all eventually work out in the end.

Kevin Buckman is one of the children of one of the four Buckman siblings. He is nine years old and the oldest of three (four at the end of the movie). Kevin seemed to have one of the larger problems with his personality. His teachers claimed he needed special needs and couldn't be in public school anymore. He would get very upset over the smallest of issues. And was terrified of being embarrassed.

This could most relate to Erickson's stage Industry vs. Inferiority, where a child between the age of 6-11 has an ego-crisis. Meaning, the child, is either over confident or overly shy. Unfortunately, Kevin became overly shy. Kevin needed constant approval from his friends or any of the other kids at his school. If he didn't get it, he would become very upset. He would do anything to get the approval.

If he wanted the coolest birthday cowboy, it was only because all the other kids thought it was cool. Larry Buckman is the youngest of the four siblings. He surprised the family after a three-year hiatus with a new addition to the family. He then claimed that he had a new idea that would make him very rich very fast.

What he really had in mind was borrowing money from his parents so he could gamble and hopefully get rich off of it. As most people in his state, he didn't. This can most relate to Freud's theory of personality, more specifically, an abundance of the "Id" factor. He would always speak of himself and how he needs money and never thought of how it would affect his family or even his own son.

He was only out to satisfy himself. Also, Larry had an addiction that everyone, especially his father, saw was evident but he just kept on denying it. He had a gambling addiction. Which is another part of the "Id" in Freud's theory, denial. Last would be Grandma Buckman, the oldest member of the entire family. She always seemed like the happiest of the family.

She never had anything bad to say and always seemed to have a good time. Whether it be breathing in Helium and then talking at Kevin's birthday party or referring to life as one big roller-coaster ride, she always brought light to the Buckman. A Theory that could describe her would be Erickson's theory Ego Integrity vs. Despair, which happens between the age of 65-death. In this stage of Erickson's theory, a man or a woman who is nearing death will start to wonder if their life has been fulfilled. I think the way Grandma acted throughout the movie, that she feels her life is complete. She created a family that all love each other very much.

And she is very wise. She may not speak her philosophy in the most sophisticated of terms, but you can tell that she is smart. I think if you were to ask if her life is complete, she would say yes. Personality is very unique in each individual.

Some personalities are good, can make people laugh. Others can be very depressing. But all of them make the people we are today. The Buckman family is not different. They each have their own problems and also have deal with other members of their family's problems.