In the movie, Stepmom, the struggles of divorce, trust, and dealing with a new stepmom are being tried. There are many different issues within the movie that deal with conflict. Which is why I chose the topic conflict for this paper. The first concept and scene I chose for conflict stems from the management style compromise. The management style compromise is the style that attempts to find the middle ground in a conflict (pg. 235).
One particular scene stood out to me in the movie and that scene had to do with the father Luke and the mother Jackie.
After Isabel (the stepmom) had been working a long day at her photo shoot and trying to keep an eye out on Anna and Ben the worst happened, Ben was lost. After Ben was safely found at the zoo, Jackie wouldn’t budge and demanded a court order for Isabel to never be with the kids alone again. This was something Jackie and Luke agreed to never do so Luke was not going to let this happen now. He went over to Jackie’s house and talked it out with her to give Isabel another chance and to not go to court. After much consideration, Jackie agreed not to get a court order.
I feel this was a compromise because they both agreed to that middle ground for the kid’s well-being in the end. Another concept I chose for conflict was the ego conflict style. Ego conflict style is a conflict in which the original issue is ignored as partners attack each other’s self-esteem (pg. 226).
The Essay on Management and Negotiating Conflict Style
1. Hastings had a reputation of being hard headed, and not being able to take criticism. He used the autocratic style to push for his ways of doing things. They said he would sometimes embarrass employees, and roll his eyes at them. And when they had an idea he might call their ideas “dumb ideas”. He was so bad at this he actually established the nickname “Animal”. Hastings was young when he ...
The scene I chose for this concept was the scene where Isabel wanted to take Anna to the Pearl Jam concert. Jackie was completely against it because the concert was on a school night and Anna was to not be out that late. Isabel dropped it for respect for Jackie.
Later on Isabel was to find out that Jackie deliberately got tickets to the concert and took Anna instead. I felt like this was ego conflict because it came off as a personal attack against Isabel and Jackie showed no remorse for going behind her back. Jackie’s intent to buy those tickets was from jealousy and anger towards Isabel and to me that is a personal stab. I know that Jackie also did it to please Anna and to bond with her too. It just was not the best way to go about it. Another concept I am using is a part of the conflict process, the middle or active conflict.
The middle also known as the active conflict of the conflict process is when the individuals communicate with each other about the differences and the conflict becomes an expressed struggle (pg. 219).
I chose the scene for this concept when Isabel buys the dog for Anna and Ben. This was the last straw for Anna and she exploded at Isabel saying, “She kind of looks like you and smells like you too! ” She then proceeded to her room and blared her music. Isabel then comes into the room and tells her that she needs to listen to her and Anna shouts at Isabel that she is not her mother.
Isabel proceeds with the statement, “well thank god for that! I chose this scene as the active conflict because this is when the beating around the bush finally comes out. Throughout the movie it’s obvious that Anna resents Isabel for “ruining” their family and this scene in particular expresses the emotions both Anna and Isabel have been feeling. The next concept I chose I also part of the process of conflict, the end resolution. The end resolution stage is when the individuals begin to seek ways to manage the conflict (pg. 219).
The Essay on Conflict In “The Chosen”
Danny s Conflicting ForcesIt is a classic story of two fathers and two sons and the pressures on all of them to pursue the religion they share in the way that is best suited for each. In the book The Chosen by Chaim Potok, we get to know the characters Reuven and Danny. They are two unlikely boys that become friends, as a result of an accident. As Reuven and Danny mature they realize in each other ...
The scene I chose for this concept was the scene where Ben, Anna, and Isabel are in the vehicle driving to Jackie’s house.
During this drive Isabel is putting on lipstick and it is obvious that Anna is intrigued by the lipstick Isabel has. Isabel offers Anna to put some on and Anna is more than excited to try it out. As this is happening the song Ain’t No Mountain High comes on the radio and they all sing it together. I feel like this was the starting point to an understanding between Anna and Isabel. Obviously this does not make them best friends, but it was the beginning to something great. The last concept I chose was simple conflict. simple conflict is a conflict that stems from different ideas, definitions, perceptions, and goals (pg. 23).
The scene I chose for this concept was the scene where Luke tells Isabel that he is going to be gone for the weekend and that he was going to find someone to watch the kids. Isabel go instantly mad because she knew what he was thinking, that she could not handle watching the kids on her own. She was instantly offended by this even though Luke did not mean it like that. He just knew that Isabel is a busy women especially with the job that she has. She made it clear to Luke that she would have no problem watching the kids and that she could handle it.
Luke then agreed for her to watch the kids. I chose this as simple conflict because they understood each other, but had a disagreement when it came to watching the children. Luke was willing to put complete trust in Isabel when she confirmed that she would help out. All of these scenes are scenes the portray conflict very well. These are just some of the scenes in the movie Stepmom that portrayed conflicts. These were just the ones that stuck out to me. This movie is a perfect example of the obstacles that are gone through when divorce and remarriage comes into play.