Up Movie Essay

Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory is presented throughout the whole movie Up, a movie about aging and empowerment. Erikson’s psychosocial theory is described as a development occurring in eight different stages across the lifespan. In each stage there are different conflicts, areas of focus, and outcomes. Usually, there is a challenge in of the eight stages, which is considered to be a normal and healthy part of getting through the stage and developing.
In the movie Up, when Carl Fredrickson's, wife, Ellie passes away, both him and a wilderness explorer named Russell, start a journey to to fulfill all of Carl's childhood wishes. In the movie, the adventure begins with the two of them in a balloon driven house. Throughout the rest of the movie,
During this stage individuals face the loss of friends, relatives, and sometimes their own life, in which they have to give up. They start to understand their meaning and purpose to their own life, relationships, achievements. It is important to accept responsibility for one's life, in order to fully achieve a sense of integrity and coming to terms with death, in this stage. This also helps one feel more satisfactions and feel a sense of fulfillment.
This movie connects to Erikson’s stages in the sense that Carl has been experiencing stage eight, Integrity vs. despair. Carl experiences this final stage, by losing both his wife and home. He regrets that his wife and him did not have any kids and were not able to fulfill all their dreams they have been saving up for. When individuals in this stage feel remorse and regret, they feel a sense of failure rather than fulfillment.
Throughout the movie, Carl goes through many challenging events. He loses everything during the movie, in which he used to acquire comfort from. He used Ellie's’ memory book of “stuff I'm going to do” to help him with the challenges. Carl finally reaches stage eight and feelings of acceptance and hope when he reads the last entry note, “Now go have an