Social & Psychological Viewoint in Popular Films

In both Antwone Fisher and Girlfight, we see that the main characters respectively, Antwone and Diane, are exposed to a number of risk factors that act as barriers to their development. This is particularly true with respect to resiliency. We also see how race, ethnicity, gender, and class all combine to influence individual development. Such social elements present barriers to individuals as they try to mature into young adulthood with the resiliency that enables them to cope with life challenges and stresses. Both films demonstrate the significance of the role that social context plays in human development.

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tually, she can no longer take such teasing and tells her mother, ôMother, just because I wear trackies and play sports does not make me a lesbian!ö (Chadha 2002). Such experiences show how parents and educators often add to the environment or culture that promotes social and psychological damage to children, by being part of the problem and not part of a support network. It also shows how children are often socially ostracized and psychologically damaged by teasing that is based on roles of sex and gender. In Billy Elliot, we see another contemporary investigation of sex roles and norms, but in this case Billy is a young boy who has a natural interest in ballet. Billy is continually teased or shunned by his macho dad and older brother. They believe he should be a boxer, something that he has no skills in and even less interest in pursuing. Once again, we see the social and psychological perspectives of males or females interested in careers that go against social norms and values. Like Jess and Jules were perceived as being masculine or lesbian because of their interest in soccer, so Billy is perceived as feminine and homosexual because of his interest in dancing. As BillyÆs father tells him, when BillyÆs Nana says she
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3156
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)