Ordinary People Movie Essay

Words: 547
Pages: 3

The movie, Ordinary People, is set in the city of Chicago and involves an upper-middle-class family in dire need of conflict management. Buck, the Jarrett’s first son, dies in a boating accident and leaves the family grieving and looking for ways to vent their emotional turmoil. Conrad and his mother, Beth, are always fighting and arguing since none of them understands the other. Conrad tries to ignore questions about his well-being and resolves to silence. A collaborating strategy would help deal with the strife between the two if they were willing to do so. Calvin, Conrad’s father, is always caught up in the middle of the fights between Beth and Conrad. He would employ avoidance as a strategy of dealing with the situation.

Conrad is dealing with survivor’s guilt to the point of contemplating suicide. He feels that no one understands his grief and that avoiding the
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He is also trying to deal with the loss of a son and the constant fights and episodes of silence between his wife and the surviving son. Calvin listens to his wife and does not talk much about Buck. He is, however, courageous enough to scold Beth concerning her attitude when they took a trip to Houston. Talking about his observation and feelings helps foster communication as opposed to if he kept them inside. He now has to deal with the fact that his wife has left and he has a son to care for on his own. He has to collaborate with Conrad to deal with the loss of his wife and the life he is to begin.
The Jarrett family has to come to terms with their loss and work towards dealing with their emotions. Despite the fact that they are now separate as a family, each member has to deal with their feelings if they are to maintain and form any new relationships in the future. They have to walk through the debris of the life they still had and accept that it is now gone. Talking and striking compromises would help each of them deal with their issues without hurting the feelings of