For a psychology class, I was assigned three movies to compare and analyze based on concepts of aging and development. While the subject matter itself did not interest me too greatly, I am pleased with how concise, yet comprehensive I was able to make this paper. It is a difficult task to convey complex ideas in as little space as possible, and I feel that I accomplished that here. (Also I wrote this paper in three hours because I was procrastinating so I feel good that I managed to write something decent last minute).
Age’s Effect on Self-Esteem and Life Satisfaction: A Movie Comparison
A trait common to all human beings is that they grow, they age, and they eventually die. Various cultures have handled aging differently, specifically people from eastern societies tend to be more content in old age than people in western societies (C. Floether, Personal communication, January 30, 2018). Movies are a cultural product that can help illustrate the differences among people of different age groups in categories such as life satisfaction and self-esteem.
The story of Juno followed a sixteen-year-old girl with the same name, who unexpectedly became pregnant (Halfon, Malkovich, Novick, Smith, & Reitman, 2007). According to Erikson’s theory, Juno would have been going through turmoil due to the sudden change of her role in society (C. Floether, Personal communication, March 6, 2018; Halfon, et al., 2007). Juno would also be dissatisfied with her single status (Baily & Snyder, 2007; Halfon, et al., 2007) and have a lower self-esteem than most parents because of her young age (Halfon, et al., 2007; Orth, et al., 2010). All of these factors combined should have made Juno’s journey a very critical one in her lifetime. Her decisions could have resulted in poor forms of self-identity and self-esteem (C. Floether, Personal communication, March 6, 2018; Orth, et al., 2010) but instead she persevered, possibly as a result of youth’s tendency for high levels of hope (Baily & Snyder, 2007; Halfon, et al., 2007).
The journey of hostile Alvy Singer (Joffe & Allen, 1977) highlighted the particulars of the young adult stage of human growth. Alvy was in the middle of becoming either intimate or isolated (C. Floether, Personal communication, March 6, 2018). His relationship with his girlfriend Annie Hall, after whom the show was named, was sporadic and filled with arguments (Joffe & Allen, 1977). These conflicts combined with Alvy’s paranoia drove the two of them apart throwing him into isolation (C. Floether, Personal communication, March 6, 2018; Joffe & Allen, 1977). His low life satisfaction which he expressed, and his lack of hope for the future are in keeping with current research on the topic (Baily & Snyder, 2007). Alvy did, however, seem to retain his self-esteem, blaming the situation more than his own quality (Joffe & Allen, 2007). Orth, et al. (2010) supported this by finding that relationship status had no effect on the self-esteem of any age group. By the end of the story, Alvy showed all the signs of being isolated while moving on to the next stage, middle aged.
Ryan Bingham, from Up in the Air (Dubiecki, Clifford, Reitman, & Reitman, 2009), was just starting to experience the difficulties of being middle aged. His life satisfaction was very high at the beginning of the story, despite his single status (Dubiecki, et al., 2009; Baily & Snyder, 2007). When his work environment was threatened, and questions of relationships were brought up, Ryan’s hope and satisfaction dropped (Dubiecki, et al., 2009; Baily & Snyder, 2007). He was in Super’s maintenance theory, which means these events would have caused danger for his position in society (C. Floether, Personal communication, February 20, 2018). Ryan entered his mid-life crisis.
These three examples provide good insight into the ways different ages handle psychosocial development and threats to that development. Juno handled her stress with a high level of hope, lower self-esteem, and ended with a relationship and a healthy level of life satisfaction (Baily & Snyder, 2007; Halfon, et al., 2007; Ortho, et al., 2010). Alvy’s story ended very differently, since he had low hopes, higher self-esteem, and was single and dissatisfied (Baily & Snyder, 2007; Joffe & Allen, 1977; Ortho, et al., 2010). Finally, Ryan ended up single with moderate hope, low self-esteem, and moderate life satisfaction (Baily & Snyder, 2007; Dubiecki, et al., 2009; Ortho, et al., 2010)
References
Baily, T.C., & Snyder, C. R. (2007). Satisfaction with life and hope: A look at age and marital status. Psychological Record, 57(2), 233-240. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.centhsally.centenaryuniversity.edu:2048/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=4da89ea9-9b98-47f5-ad77-af43f88aa9da%40sessionmgr102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=24658187
Dubiecki, D., Clifford, J., Reitman, I., Reitman, J., (Producers) & Reitman, J., (Director) (2009). Up in the Air. [Motion picture]. United States of America: Paramount Pictures
Halfon, L., Malkovich, J., Novick, M., Smith, R., (Producers) & Reitman, J., (Director) (2007). Juno. [Motion picture]. United States of America: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Joffe, C. H., (Producers) & Allen, W., (Director) (1977). Annie Hall. [Motion Picture]. United States of America: Rollins-Joffe Productions
Orth, U., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Robins, R. W. (2010). Self-esteem development from young adulthood to old age: A cohort-sequential longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98, 645-658. http://dx.doi.org.centhsally.centenaryuniversity.edu:2048/10.1037/a0018769
Harbored Thoughts 