Amazing Amy Elliott Case Study
Part I – SHORT SYNOPSIS Amy Elliott, a former writer commonly known by the stage name of “Amazing Amy”, met and then married Nick Dunne, also a writer from a men’s magazine. After quite some time, Amy then found out that Nick had a mistress named Andie who was also his student in a college, after being fired from his job as a writer and then being hired as a teacher, which in turn gave Amy the reason to exact revenge that would convict her husband of Amy’s murder. Having laid-out her plan, she escaped to a secluded place with big wads of money however, with her neighbors knowing this fact which in turn resulted to her neighbors robbing her of her own money, she fled for help to her ex-boyfriend, Desi Collings, but after seeing the interview
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of her husband, and with her husband saying that he still loves her, she then thought about murdering Desi with the motive to come back to her husband. After completing her plan regarding Desi; she then went back to Nick, told him the truth, and confessed to him that she was, in fact, pregnant which then forced Nick to live with her but only because of the unborn child.
Part II – KEY CHARACTERS
Amy Elliott-Dunne – wife of Nick Dunne
Nick Dunne – husband of Amy Elliott-Dunne
Detective Rhonda Boney – detective of the Dunne’s case
Tanner Bolt – lawyer of Nick Dunne
Margo Dunne – twin sister of Nick Dunne
Desi Collings – ex-boyfriend/friend of Amy Elliott-Dunne
Part III – ANSWERS to CASE QUESTIONS and REQUISITES
1.) Explain how the film portrays the following by citing specific examples.
a. Socialization and the particular effects of unique individual experiences on the development of a person. - By the time Amy knew about the dishonesty of her husband, she constructed a plan to get revenge for her husband. She made their house look like it was robbed and that there was foul play done during the crime furthermore, by the time her husband came home, she was already missing which, in reality, was that she was actually escaping from the scene she made herself. During the course of the investigation, Nick Dunne was accused of being his wife’s murderer due to the disappearance of his wife and the evidences found against him. However, this was not the case before Amy found out about Nick’s deception in which Amy was a very good wife but because of her husband’s immoral actions, Amy began to change into a person she did not want to turn into.
b. Social Interaction and how it shapes individual behaviour and …show more content…
character. - When Amy felt that Nick was only staying with her because of his sexual desires and the financial support Amy funded in the bar Nick and Margo—his sister—owned, Amy began to despair in keeping their relationship and the future of their family intact. Amy began nagging at Nick— especially about having a baby in which case, Nick did not want to have. Amy and Nick also acted according to the public’s favor during the scenes wherein they had to face the public, (i.e. in interviews) either individually or together. c. Learning as we grow and develop ourselves as part of groups and organizations. - While Amy was on her journey in escaping from framing her husband, Nick Dunne, she acted like a whole new different person in such ways that her accent and the way she behaved changed all-throughout in order to fit-in through the crowd and in order to avoid being noticed.
2.) Character: Nick Dunne a. Roles – Nick Dunne is a husband who is required by society to love and care for his wife; a teacher required by society to teach individuals; a brother assumed by society to understand and protect his family/sibling b. Statuses - a husband, teacher, brother c. Role Conflicts – being a husband and a brother, he had to look after his wife and his family’s well-being however, he was also required to attend the programs/activities presented by the college he was working in. d. Role Strains – as a husband, he was assumed to be in a wreck and full of worries due to the disappearance of his wife however, because of his marital affairs, he was perceived by the public as someone who did not care about his wife’s disappearance.
3.) How does the film case portray a. master statuses – being known as “Amazing Amy”, she was portrayed to have a blissful life and thus contributed to Amy yearning for a life which is quite similar to “Amazing Amy” b. role exit – Nick Dunne became an ex-writer due to the lay-offs at their magazine company.
4.) Explain how the distinction between primary and secondary social groups is shown. Primary - Nick and Margo’s relationship as siblings shows a much more personal and intimate relationship and still supported each other until the end. Secondary – The Police and the Volunteers are an example of this social group since they present a short-term relationship with one another that is only centered on one goal: finding Amy.
5.) What type of leadership roles and styles are portrayed in the film?
The Secondary Social Group portrayed the Instrumental Leadership since they have leaders who are vocal about the goal to be accomplished and how the group would accomplish it, while the Expressive Leadership Role was portrayed by Nick who in the end sought to sustain the unborn child that Amy was nurturing in her womb.
The Authoritarian Leadership Style applies to the Secondary group since the parents of Amy took charge of the search for their daughter, while the Democratic Leadership Style apples to the Primary group since in the process of decision-making, he still included his sister and even his lawyer, Tanner Bolt.
6.) In the film, how is Bureaucracy portrayed and what are the characteristics demonstrated?
With Tanner Bolt on Nick’s side, his lawyer made sure that before anything else, Nick must be prepared to say what the public wants him to say and as such, gave Tanner Bolt the opportunity to defend his client more efficiently which then portrays Technical Competence.
7.) In what ways does the film exemplify the “McDonaldization of Society?”
The McDonaldization of Society was exemplified through Amy’s works, starting from her plan until the innovation and success of her plans. In this case, Amy’s control over the events can be likened to her being the “machine” with Amy employing herself to take control in order to minimize casualties against her.
Part IV –
CONCLUSION
Through the film, the Symbolic Interaction Perspective was presented as the foundation of how everything started between Nick and Amy Dunne being that their interaction with each other fueled their passion, hatred, and despair for one another. With Amy being portrayed as someone who appeared to Nick as someone cool, this gave Nick the opportunity to fuel his ego as someone special. He was treated as if he was a superhuman and that he could do anything with Amy. However, with Amy slowly unwinding the “real” Amy Elliott, Nick started to slip from her grasp which then presented wrath and despair for both Amy and Nick. With Nick having marital affairs in the process, this then draws the final straw for Amy therefore resulted to Amy and Nick having heavier loads on their marriage. With Amy’s revenge enacted on Nick and Amy having the advantage of social power, the Social Conflict Theory is then presented. With the people acting-out the power they have and abusing it through controlling others in order for these people to achieve their goals and get the result they wanted in the end just as Amy had done through-out the progress of the film, in which Nick did not achieve justice at the end. This then creates conflict among the society as presented by Nick having forced to stay with Amy due to the advantage Amy had which is the unborn child within her. These then resonates in the society today wherein people in higher positions more often act like someone you could trust at first and then after achieving their goals, changed and started to take control over the things that the greater good of people could have benefitted from. Even student leaders nowadays who promise to serve their constituents with the greater good in mind, actually act as though they are doing what the public expects them to do however, this is not the case because even now, as the semester is ending, students have answered on campus-wide surveys that they did not feel the things that people in power had promised them. And with the problems on students’ academic performance now slowly arising due to “peer pressure”, “Family problems”, and etc., interaction with people are now getting harder especially in today’s society wherein there are various cases of “peer-driven” crimes committed mostly by people in their teens.
of her husband, and with her husband saying that he still loves her, she then thought about murdering Desi with the motive to come back to her husband. After completing her plan regarding Desi; she then went back to Nick, told him the truth, and confessed to him that she was, in fact, pregnant which then forced Nick to live with her but only because of the unborn child.
Part II – KEY CHARACTERS
Amy Elliott-Dunne – wife of Nick Dunne
Nick Dunne – husband of Amy Elliott-Dunne
Detective Rhonda Boney – detective of the Dunne’s case
Tanner Bolt – lawyer of Nick Dunne
Margo Dunne – twin sister of Nick Dunne
Desi Collings – ex-boyfriend/friend of Amy Elliott-Dunne
Part III – ANSWERS to CASE QUESTIONS and REQUISITES
1.) Explain how the film portrays the following by citing specific examples.
a. Socialization and the particular effects of unique individual experiences on the development of a person. - By the time Amy knew about the dishonesty of her husband, she constructed a plan to get revenge for her husband. She made their house look like it was robbed and that there was foul play done during the crime furthermore, by the time her husband came home, she was already missing which, in reality, was that she was actually escaping from the scene she made herself. During the course of the investigation, Nick Dunne was accused of being his wife’s murderer due to the disappearance of his wife and the evidences found against him. However, this was not the case before Amy found out about Nick’s deception in which Amy was a very good wife but because of her husband’s immoral actions, Amy began to change into a person she did not want to turn into.
b. Social Interaction and how it shapes individual behaviour and …show more content…
character. - When Amy felt that Nick was only staying with her because of his sexual desires and the financial support Amy funded in the bar Nick and Margo—his sister—owned, Amy began to despair in keeping their relationship and the future of their family intact. Amy began nagging at Nick— especially about having a baby in which case, Nick did not want to have. Amy and Nick also acted according to the public’s favor during the scenes wherein they had to face the public, (i.e. in interviews) either individually or together. c. Learning as we grow and develop ourselves as part of groups and organizations. - While Amy was on her journey in escaping from framing her husband, Nick Dunne, she acted like a whole new different person in such ways that her accent and the way she behaved changed all-throughout in order to fit-in through the crowd and in order to avoid being noticed.
2.) Character: Nick Dunne a. Roles – Nick Dunne is a husband who is required by society to love and care for his wife; a teacher required by society to teach individuals; a brother assumed by society to understand and protect his family/sibling b. Statuses - a husband, teacher, brother c. Role Conflicts – being a husband and a brother, he had to look after his wife and his family’s well-being however, he was also required to attend the programs/activities presented by the college he was working in. d. Role Strains – as a husband, he was assumed to be in a wreck and full of worries due to the disappearance of his wife however, because of his marital affairs, he was perceived by the public as someone who did not care about his wife’s disappearance.
3.) How does the film case portray a. master statuses – being known as “Amazing Amy”, she was portrayed to have a blissful life and thus contributed to Amy yearning for a life which is quite similar to “Amazing Amy” b. role exit – Nick Dunne became an ex-writer due to the lay-offs at their magazine company.
4.) Explain how the distinction between primary and secondary social groups is shown. Primary - Nick and Margo’s relationship as siblings shows a much more personal and intimate relationship and still supported each other until the end. Secondary – The Police and the Volunteers are an example of this social group since they present a short-term relationship with one another that is only centered on one goal: finding Amy.
5.) What type of leadership roles and styles are portrayed in the film?
The Secondary Social Group portrayed the Instrumental Leadership since they have leaders who are vocal about the goal to be accomplished and how the group would accomplish it, while the Expressive Leadership Role was portrayed by Nick who in the end sought to sustain the unborn child that Amy was nurturing in her womb.
The Authoritarian Leadership Style applies to the Secondary group since the parents of Amy took charge of the search for their daughter, while the Democratic Leadership Style apples to the Primary group since in the process of decision-making, he still included his sister and even his lawyer, Tanner Bolt.
6.) In the film, how is Bureaucracy portrayed and what are the characteristics demonstrated?
With Tanner Bolt on Nick’s side, his lawyer made sure that before anything else, Nick must be prepared to say what the public wants him to say and as such, gave Tanner Bolt the opportunity to defend his client more efficiently which then portrays Technical Competence.
7.) In what ways does the film exemplify the “McDonaldization of Society?”
The McDonaldization of Society was exemplified through Amy’s works, starting from her plan until the innovation and success of her plans. In this case, Amy’s control over the events can be likened to her being the “machine” with Amy employing herself to take control in order to minimize casualties against her.
Part IV –
CONCLUSION
Through the film, the Symbolic Interaction Perspective was presented as the foundation of how everything started between Nick and Amy Dunne being that their interaction with each other fueled their passion, hatred, and despair for one another. With Amy being portrayed as someone who appeared to Nick as someone cool, this gave Nick the opportunity to fuel his ego as someone special. He was treated as if he was a superhuman and that he could do anything with Amy. However, with Amy slowly unwinding the “real” Amy Elliott, Nick started to slip from her grasp which then presented wrath and despair for both Amy and Nick. With Nick having marital affairs in the process, this then draws the final straw for Amy therefore resulted to Amy and Nick having heavier loads on their marriage. With Amy’s revenge enacted on Nick and Amy having the advantage of social power, the Social Conflict Theory is then presented. With the people acting-out the power they have and abusing it through controlling others in order for these people to achieve their goals and get the result they wanted in the end just as Amy had done through-out the progress of the film, in which Nick did not achieve justice at the end. This then creates conflict among the society as presented by Nick having forced to stay with Amy due to the advantage Amy had which is the unborn child within her. These then resonates in the society today wherein people in higher positions more often act like someone you could trust at first and then after achieving their goals, changed and started to take control over the things that the greater good of people could have benefitted from. Even student leaders nowadays who promise to serve their constituents with the greater good in mind, actually act as though they are doing what the public expects them to do however, this is not the case because even now, as the semester is ending, students have answered on campus-wide surveys that they did not feel the things that people in power had promised them. And with the problems on students’ academic performance now slowly arising due to “peer pressure”, “Family problems”, and etc., interaction with people are now getting harder especially in today’s society wherein there are various cases of “peer-driven” crimes committed mostly by people in their teens.