ty women being supported by males, particularly women who wish to pursue unconventional careers, represents a major change in such popular film portrayals over the past ten years.
It is quite often the case that individuals such as Antwone and Diane must go outside of their culture or family networks in order to find the support they need to develop properly. This is particularly true when their development goes against accepted social norms and values. Antwone chooses to make it out of a crime oriented, abusive environment, while Diane chooses to adopt a male profession in a machismo culture. Both of them must rely on an informal network of kin and neighbors, peers and elders, for counsel and support when they face developmental crises. Since males are less inclined to seek out such support, they are often even more at risk for developmental problems than girls. We see that Diane has more support from those in her personal life than does Antwone. However, through the support of Dr. Davenport and Joy Bryant, his girlfriend, Antwone is able to
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