Schemas and the Self Presentation in World’s Greatest Dad
The 2009 Robin Williams movie, World’s Greatest Dad, provides an interesting outlook on schemas, as well as self presentation. Our main protagonist is Lance Clayton, a high school English teacher and failed author. His son, Kyle, was a student at the same high school, and he accidentally kills himself in a humiliating way. To avoid embarrassment, Lance writes a fake suicide note and hangs his son in the closet to cover it up. After a few weeks, the fake suicide note is released to the public, and everybody is amazed as to how well written it is. Lance, surprised by the response, goes on to write more fake journal entries as the persona of his son. He publishes them in a book, which
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Trying to think on his feet, Lance grabs a Bruce Hornsby CD he had sitting in his car, and gives it to her (earlier in the film, it is noted that Kyle hates Bruce Hornsby). The student is confused and disgusted at first, until Lance says “That [CD] was his favorite”. The student all of a sudden changes her attitude, and acts very grateful and emotional. Her initial reaction to the CD shows that she thinks Bruce Hornsby is an odd choice, but once she receives further information, she acts as if he is the best singer ever. She seemingly forgot about her previous reaction because it fits the schema surrounding Kyle’s note. Later in the film, two girls are fighting over the Bruce Hornsby CD, with one saying, “You didn’t even like Kyle!”. This implies that the student did like Kyle when he was alive. In reality, nobody liked Kyle. These students are forgetting just how terrible of a person Kyle was because it does not fit their schemas. Every student wants to be relevant, so they pretend to have been best friends with Kyle. The previous hatred for him is best summarized with Lance’s speech at the end: “You guys didn 't like Kyle. But that 's okay, I didn 't either. I loved him. He was my son, But he was also a douche …show more content…
His son hated him, none of his books got published, and his class at the high school was so unpopular that it might have been cut. He did have a girlfriend, although they kept it a secret from everybody else. There was another English teacher at the school, Mike, with whom Lance often did a social comparison with. Mike was a young, fit, teacher with a very popular class that was always full, and he was also stealing Lance’s girlfriend. Lance was understandably jealous of him. When Mike got an article published in the New Yorker, Lance tried to to make a downward comparison by saying, “It 's not a national [magazine]”. (Also, as a side note, in this scene, Mike was being very modest about his
The concepts that Kathleen Genson discusses reinforces the analysis Kramer presented in Chapter 4 “The Family and Intimate Relationships” of The Sociology of Gender. First and foremost, both authors would agree that family is a structure that institutionalizes and maintains gender norms. Both authors would also agree that “families tend to be organized around factors that the individual members cannot control.” In Genson’s chapter “Dilemmas of Involved Fatherhood,” the most prominent forces are the economy and social expectations, both listed and explained by Kramer. Genson’s explanation of how it is unfeasible for men to withdraw from the workforce and focus more time and energy on being involved fathers is an example of the economic factors.
Other People’s Words: The Cycle of Low Literacy by Victoria Purcell-Gates recounts the author’s two-year journey with an illiterate Appalachian family. Purcell-Gates works with Jenny, the mother, and her son, first grader Donny, to analyze the literacy within the household. Throughout the journey, we learn the definition and types of literacy, the influences of society and the environment, and the impacts of literacy on education from the teacher’s perspective. In order to evaluate literacy in the household, one must study multiple types, including functional, informational, and critical literacy. As the name implies, functional literacy incorporates reading and writing as tools for everyday survival. Informational literacy is used through text to communicate information to others. The highest level of literacy, critical literacy, requires critical interpretations and imaginative reflections of text. In her study, Purcell-Gates strives to teach Jenny and Donny functional literacy.
Alison Bechdel isn’t a normal author. She uses graphics, and wordplay to tell a very engaging, and interesting story. One of these stories titled “The Ordinary Devoted Mother”, Bechdel tells the story of her trying to write a memoir about her mom. One of the major themes in this story is reading, and writing. Bechdel explores what writing is, how it is important, and how she perceives writing herself.
“The Father” by Carolyn Osborn is a story about Darwin and Casey, a couple who meet and begin a whirlwind love affair. This love affair leads to an unexpected pregnancy. Casey, the mother, leaves when the baby is just one month old only to return when the child is three years old. Soon, Darwin is caught in a court battle for custody of a son. Two days before the court date, Darwin discovers he is not the biological father of the child. This makes no difference to Darwin as he has loved and cared for the child since he was born. The central idea of this story is that sometimes the best parent isn’t always the biological parent.
Daniel Meier uses “One Man’s Kids” to demonstrate how he, inspired by benefits that could not be spent or calculated, surpassed the stereotypical presumptions of others to become a first grade teacher. Meier begins by introducing readers to his life in the classroom: injuries, fighting, questions, and an endless need for multitasking. Despite the chaos surrounding him, Meier argues his work is not “traditionally male”(1). To him, there is no end goal, no final achievement, no rights to be earned. He states, “My energy is spent in encouraging, supporting, consoling, and praising my children” (Meier 1). As a responder to the emotional distress of a room full of six year olds, he finds himself unable to submit to stereotypical bluntness and
Lindsey, for example, is one of those people. Not the type to go face to face with reality, she cloaks herself in a big jacket so she can hide from the world. Originally known for being the smartest kid in school, she doesn 't want to be seen as the smartest anymore. The confusion she is facing causes her to push her friends; and family away, Leaving her vulnerable to poor decisions. To try and makes herself feel better she tries to become friends with the “cool kids”. These “cool kids”, are known for their bad habits of smoking, doing drugs, and treating others poorly. While she seemed to become more confused about her own image, a friend realizes her issue and decides to help her seek what she desires. Lindseys friend Nick, introduces her into his drumset. He explains, “it 's my drum kit. This my passion. This is the essence of who I am now. But before I had this, I was lost too.” When she heard this she understood that she needed to find her own drum kit. The Man with the drums evolved, into the person that she will
Claire Standish was known as “the princess”. She dressed in pink and acquired many material items because of her rich parents. Many students envied her life, and considered her to be stuck up and snobbish because she received whatever she wanted. Andrew Clark was known as “the athlete”. He wore a letter jacket with all of his accolades displayed and seemed to discriminate and bully kids whose social statuses were below his. This is especially apparent in his reason for the detention: bullying a fellow student in the locker room. In addition to this, both Claire and Andrew’s reference groups and family social contexts guided them to the detention that day. Andrew’s father and friends encouraged him to perform the bullying act that landed him in detention. His father was happy that Andrew was attending the detention because he believed it would give him a better reputation in the athletic world. Claire’s father allowed her to skip school one day to go shopping. It seemed that Claire’s family believed that material items and wealth was more important than school. Claire displayed this belief and landed a spot in detention. Although Claire and Andrew did not reside in the same high school cliques, their cliques were near the top of their high school hierarchy. Their cliques defined what everyone thought they wanted, but the stereotypes that surrounded these two individuals was a façade. They also discovered through the journey of the film which was the realization that everyone is the same on the inside, even though their outsides are
Jesse and Leslie show us the importance of friendship through out the novel. When Leslie first goes to Lark creek elementary she meets Jesse, her new neighbour, and friend. During her first day Leslie proves that she doesn’t act like the typical girl at lark creek, instead of playing with the girls and gossiping abut boys she joins the boys in their running competition. Leslie’s personality grows on Jesse so he helps her fit into the school and her new house. Another example is when Leslie says to Jesse,“Thanks to you, I think I now have one and one-half friends at Lark Creek School.”
This student takes us back to his childhood in Smallville and re-examines with us his upbringing, race relations in his town, his own awareness, and ultimately his and our need for change. He does this beautifully with the use of vivid and poignant imagery, juxtaposition, and allusions. Along the way, He takes us not just to Smallville but into our own lives and minds.
Just before World War II Rudi Kaplan starts learning a very important lesson. A Father’s Promise is a historical fiction written by Donnalynn Hess. The setting is in 1939 right before World War II in Warsaw, Poland.
all of which generated their own groups. Dada was the first conceptual art movement where the
Kahan, Dan M. “Shame is Worth a Try.” Models for Writers. Ed. Alfred Rosa, Paul Eschholz.Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012 574-577. Print.
Up north at Chico State University, a young man confessed to his friends that he sends his rough-draft essays to his mother for "proof-reading." His mother essentially woul...
When someone thinks about the definition of a father, he or she thinks about the support, care, love, and knowledge a father gives to his offspring. Most people automatically believe that biological fathers, along with the mothers, raise their children. However, that is not always the case. There are many children across the world who are raised without their father. These children lack a father figure. People do not realize how detrimental the lack of a father figure can be to the child, both mentally and emotionally. Enrolling boys between the ages of 5 to 16 without father figures in programs, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, that involve building a relationship with someone who can serve as a role model is essential to prevent males from depression, difficulty in expressing emotions, and other consequences of having an absent father figure.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a book that educates readers about financial literacy. Robert Kiyosaki, the author, has two dads – one rich and one poor, although the rich dad is not his, but his friend’s dad. Both dads have different views about earning money, and Robert had the choice of contrasting both views while growing up. His rich dad’s views were more powerful and useful to Robert. The author guides the reader through six main lessons his rich dad taught him on how to let money work for you, instead of working for money.