When Harry Met Sally: Relationship Analysis

1933 Words4 Pages

Directed by Rob Reiner, When Harry Met Sally (1989), begins as Harry Burns and Sally Albright, two University of Chicago graduates, leave for their post-graduate lives in NYC. During the trip they both discuss various things, relating to themselves, and men and women in general. As they drive they conclude that “men and women can’t just be friends” (Scheinman & Reiner, 1989) and they soon part ways. They meet again a few years later on an airplane, where they discuss Sally’s one-month relationship, with Joe, and Harry’s upcoming marriage to Helen. Six years later, they meet again, this time at a bookstore, where it’s revealed that Sally and Joe broke up, as did Harry and Helen, who are now divorced. They soon form a friendship and go through a rollercoaster of emotions trying to figure out their feelings. Eventually at a New Years Eve Party, they reveal their love for each other. This paper will analyze Harry and Sally’s relationship, focusing on normative attachment, while still considering the individual differences that play a part in their relationship. The paper will further divulge into how their relationship can be analyzed using themes such as, conflict, support, and capitalization. Like many other relationships, Harry and Sally, become friends at first, and as their relationship progresses they change from friends to lovers. Throughout the movie we can see that Harry and Sally’s attachment to one another steadily grows. At first they have an initial attraction (Cobb, 2014a) to each other, then as they frequently meet they have an established relationship as acquaintances, finally when they have actually been friends for awhile, they form a long-term relationship that slowly transitions from friends to intimate partners.... ... middle of paper ... ...imon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC. Cobb. (2014). Lecture C on individual differences. Personal Collection of R. Cobb, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC Cobb. (2014). Lecture D on communication and conflict. Personal Collection of R. Cobb, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC Cobb. (2014). Lecture E on support. Personal Collection of R. Cobb, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC. Cobb. (2014). Lecture F on capitalization and forgiveness. Personal Collection of R. Cobb, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC. Hazan, C., Gur-Yaish, N., & Campa, M. (2003). What does it mean to be attached? In W. S. Rholes & J. A. Simpson (Eds.) Adult Attachment: Theory, Research, and Clinical Implications, (pp. 55 – 85). New York: Guilford. Scheinman, A. (Producer), & Reiner, R. (Director). (1989). When Harry Met Sally [Motion picture]. United States: Castle Rock Entertainment.

Open Document