Family Case Study
Family Case Study: “Couples Retreat”
Introduction
“Couples Retreat” is a movie about four couples who take a trip to an island resort on a package deal proposed by one of the couples who plans to fix their marriage. The couples then realize that they too must participate in couple’s exercises such as therapy and communication building. This case study will focus on Ronnie and Dave, a couple with two kids and seem content on the outside. The tasks on the island bring out problems in Ronnie and Dave’s relationship that both of them have been ignoring. For example: Dave comes home from a long day at work and Ronnie asks him questions about their home renovations and he refuses to answer because he is too tired, leaving Ronnie to deal with them herself thus feeling neglected. As the movie unfolds, they become aware of the issues they have in their marriage and manage to figure out how to overcome them.
Roles
In this movie, Dave has the role of parent, husband, salesman, and friend. Because he is a parent and a husband, he feels society tells him that he is the one who should “bring home the bacon”. This mentality leads to his role as a salesman having more priority than his other roles. This is evident when he refuses to discuss home improvements with his wife after a long day at work. His role as a friend is what brings him to the island. If his friend, Jason, hadn’t approached him and begged him to help him save his marriage, then Dave most likely wouldn’t have even gone to the resort in the first place. Ronnie plays the role of wife, stay-at-home mom, and friend. Her role as a wife traditionally requires her to be fully supportive of her husband, Dave, in whatever he is doing. As he is off selling video games, she is home taking care of the kids, the house, and the home renovations so he can focus on his work. Her role of a stay-at-home mom affects her because society tells her that she should be able to handle all of this because she doesn’t have a “real
Introduction
“Couples Retreat” is a movie about four couples who take a trip to an island resort on a package deal proposed by one of the couples who plans to fix their marriage. The couples then realize that they too must participate in couple’s exercises such as therapy and communication building. This case study will focus on Ronnie and Dave, a couple with two kids and seem content on the outside. The tasks on the island bring out problems in Ronnie and Dave’s relationship that both of them have been ignoring. For example: Dave comes home from a long day at work and Ronnie asks him questions about their home renovations and he refuses to answer because he is too tired, leaving Ronnie to deal with them herself thus feeling neglected. As the movie unfolds, they become aware of the issues they have in their marriage and manage to figure out how to overcome them.
Roles
In this movie, Dave has the role of parent, husband, salesman, and friend. Because he is a parent and a husband, he feels society tells him that he is the one who should “bring home the bacon”. This mentality leads to his role as a salesman having more priority than his other roles. This is evident when he refuses to discuss home improvements with his wife after a long day at work. His role as a friend is what brings him to the island. If his friend, Jason, hadn’t approached him and begged him to help him save his marriage, then Dave most likely wouldn’t have even gone to the resort in the first place. Ronnie plays the role of wife, stay-at-home mom, and friend. Her role as a wife traditionally requires her to be fully supportive of her husband, Dave, in whatever he is doing. As he is off selling video games, she is home taking care of the kids, the house, and the home renovations so he can focus on his work. Her role of a stay-at-home mom affects her because society tells her that she should be able to handle all of this because she doesn’t have a “real