What Is The Theme Of Intimacy Vs Role Confusion
Brian (dork): I believe Brian to be in both the identity vs role confusion and intimacy vs isolation stages. Identity vs role confusion comes in for Brian because he doesn't have any real friends right now. He is considered a dork and has only has people to talk to in his educational clubs. His parents aren't a big help either because of the pressure they have on him to be nothing less than above average. He even planned to commit suicide because of the F he got in shop class. The fact that he wanted to end his life because of a grade shows how confused he is in who he is or wants to be in life. Intimacy vs isolation is shown through the fact that he is a virgin. He obviously doesn't get much attention from girls which is probably a stage where
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he will struggle in for a while. Also, the lack of friends, which goes with the intimacy vs isolation stage, definitely shows his inability to have or keep close intimate friendships, which he should be looking for. Not being able to be intimate with others is because he has kept himself isolated by being a dork, he feels comfortable that way. He is categorized in the level/stage of conventional because he believes that “society defines what is ‘right’.” I think this because in the beginning of the movie, Bender, starts tampering with the door in the library. Bender removes a screw so the door will be unable to stay open. While Bender is removing the screw, Brian frantically squeals “Don’t mess with school property, Bender!” At this moment, Brian was more concerned with breaking the law (and school rules) than allowing Bender to prevent Principal Vernon from watching the group of students in the library. He does not believe this because his “parents say so,” but he believes this because he actually thinks that certain behaviors are wrong. Another instance that shows Brian in level two, stage four is when the students have escaped detention and follow Bender to a hallway where he is the only one questioning why everyone is following Bender to his locker. He also asks questions like “what if we get caught?” and “is it worth the risk?.” He seems to be really freaked out a the idea of getting caught. When they do get to Bender's locker, he finds out that he's there to get weed. Brian freaks out and does not agree with this. He repeatedly says “marijuana, that's marijuana.” he obviously is completely against not following school rules/laws. Also, when Alison talks about his sex life and that she screws her shrink, Brian flips out and says, “are your parents aware of this?!” he is obsessed with the idea that the parents and the law set those rules and everyone has to follow them. I think Brian is at the Identity Moratorium stage. He is exceptionally smart and can get an A in any academic based class but I don't think he's discovered what he really wants to do after high school. There is no mention of his future, just his good grades. I do believe he is determined and will not have to go through an identity crisis. I think right now is his time to take classes that interest him and find out what he wants to do and be in life.
Bender (criminal): Bender is definitely struggling in the intimacy vs isolation stage.
In the movie, Bender shows Claire his wallet, full of pictures of different girls. This portrays to me that he isn't able to connect with just one partner yet. He constantly hangs out with different girls, probably at the same time and isn't committed to any of them. I'd say he is promiscuous and doesn't think that real relationships are important. He isn't trying to find love, which tells me that he's developing at a later pace. Also, he doesn't seem to have good friendships either, which goes along with the intimacy vs isolation stage. He acts rude to anyone he meets, regardless of the their authority. He also has difficulties in the identity vs role confusion stage. I know this because he's a criminal. He has no sense of direction in his life, or even an attempt to find what he wants to be as an adult. This could be due to the fact that his parents don't care about him and even abuse him. This horrible home life is what probably caused him to not want to search for an identity. I believe Bender to be in level 3, stage six of Kohlberg's moral development stages. This stage is called the Post-developmental stage. I think this because he's the only person that has hosted and led any wrong-doing among the group. For example, he's the one that enables privacy by taking the screw out of the door and forcing it to close. Bender thought that it wasn't right for the teacher, Mr. Vernon, to peep in on them whenever he wanted so he took matters into his own hands, by breaking school rules. Another example was when Bender led the group to his locker. This is definitely against Mr. Vernon's rules of detention. In the hallway, Claire asked him questions like “Do you know when he'll (the principal) be returning?” and “Do you know where he went?, Bender didn't know any of those answers which goes to show that he will do what he wants for his own sake. Also, in the beginning he kept
back-talking to Mr. Vernon and therefore adding a month's worth of detention, all because he thinks he's right. I believe that Bender suffers from Identity diffusion. He has no sense of direction nor is showing any attempt to find himself. He's living high school as a joke and gets in trouble whenever he can just for the hell of it. He refuses to look at life beyond these four years. For example, he has a lot of detentions already lined up because he just doesn't care about himself.
Andrew (sporto): I'd say that Andrew is developing well in his intimacy vs isolation stage. It isn't talked about in the movie but I can infer that he does well with relationships and keeping them. I think this because he was able to connect with strangers on a intimate level. For example, he talked to Alison especially in a romantic way. They talked about their problems and later they even kissed. These acts show that Andrew is responsible and able to connect in an intimate way. Therefore, he is not isolated and is quite popular. Andrew has a confusion in his role/identity because everything he's done so far, in terms of athleticism, was all for his father. He has been pushing Andrew to win all the time and that he won't stand for losers in their home. Andrew is lost in identity because he even beat up some poor guy because he looked weak. This isn't who Andrew is, he is lost because he is confusing what he wants with what his dad wants for him. I'd consider Andrew to be in Level 2, Conventional Morality. I think this because he mostly does follow the law and school rules. He only wants to fit in, not stand out. And I also think this want will cause him to do illegal things. Of couscous, these are not his morals but I can see that people are able to influence him in bad ways. For example, his own father is brought on this action of violence (wrestling team). This cause him to beat up some guy that didn't deserve it. His father got him obsessed with being so buff and manly that the sight of someone lesser than he is, disgusted him. He felt really bad about if after which showed me that these weren't his initial morals and that his father's pressure can be really bad. But all in all, he can be brought to believe different and illegal things when thoughts are put into his head. Also, when Bender was trying to close the door of the media center, Andrew did object to it, which means he does follow rules because he knows he'd have to pay the consequences of breaking them, even if he wasn't the one closing the door. I also think he wouldn’t be one to stop someone from wrong-doing, again I believe he only wants to be cool and fit in and not cause any problems with other people. I think this because when they all were going to Bender's locker, he didn't really express any objections to it but I could tell that he was nervous because he kept looking around. Andrew definitely is in the Identity Foreclosure state. His father has enforced the athleticism trait on him for several years because that's what he did in his day. An example of this was when his dad was talking to him in the car before he got dropped off and he told Andrew that what he did was okay because it's what boys do. But he yells at him saying how he shouldn't have gotten caught and schools aren't going to want to accept “disciplinary cases.” Then, he talks about the enormous pressure he puts on him to be the best and starts crying. Clearly, Andrew hasn't had the ability to explore other options and find who he is. Right now, he is what his father wants him to be and nothing else. He also tells them that he wishes he would get injured to he wouldn’t be able to play and would be relieved of all of this pressure.
Claire (princess): I see Claire doing pretty well in keeping intimate relationships. She isn't isolated, in fact she's very popular. In the movie, she told Bender that she believes in a 1 boy and 1 girl relationship, showing signs of matureness. Also, even though she is a virgin, she allows herself to try and interact with the opposite sex and form relationships that are not based off of sex. She mentions that she has tons of friends but is still very cliquey and won't really talk to people outside of that. Although she doesn't agree with her friends all the time, she claims that she has to force herself to be with them, which isn't healthy. I think when she decides to ditch the fake friends and find real ones, she will have developed as an adult, but then again, she may never get there. She has extreme role confusion in many areas of her life. Since her parents have problems, she has issues with trust. She tells the group that she wouldn't say hi to them at school and that's how it had to be because her friends would say something about it. She obviously doesn’t know where she stands in terms of who she wants to be. I think Claire is in level 2 of Kohlberg's morality stages. She agrees with following the law because when Andrew talked about what he did to be there (jumped someone weaker than him) and she replied “Oh my god”, with a sincere look of discontentment along with disbelief of this. When Bender is back-talking principal Vernon, Claire says “cut it out!” so she clearly understands that there are consequences for your actions and she is trying to help him. This conversation she had with Alison about her sex life shows her morals of doing what society believes to be decent: Alison says, “I don't think that from a legal standpoint what he did can be construed as rape, since I paid him.” Claire says, “He's an adult.” (showing that she doesn't believe in an adult-teen relationship and that it is wrong) “Yeah, he's married too.” “Do you have any idea how completely gross that is?” says Claire. “Well, the first few times...” “The first few times? You mean you did it more than once?” “Sure” says Allison. “Are you crazy?” this conversation showed her morals and her belief that a teenager having any kind of sexual relationship with an adult is wrong. Later on in the conversation she asked Allison if it bothers her that she sleeps around without having any real feelings towards the guy, further showing that her morals are in line with society's rules and laws that have been taught to her. Claire is also in the identity Moratorium state. I believe this because she seems to have direction and a want to succeed in life. She also portrayed a person that's determined to find who they wants to be after high school. But, like most high school students, she is still searching for her niche and I believe she will find it at an appropriate time.
Alison (basket case): Alison doesn't have friends. She is experiencing extreme isolation. She can't seem to form intimate relationships and enjoys scaring people of with her weirdness. She has resorted to this probably because of her parents that don't care about her. Since she isn't able to form these long lasting relationships, it will be harder later on in life to form them and keep them. The identity vs role confusion comes in big time because since she was planning to run away, she is very lost. She doesn't seem to have any direction in who she wants to be because she doesn't have parents that can be loving or helpful during this stage, nor any friends to give her some direction. Also, when claire did her makeup and fixed her clothes, she ended up kissing Andrew, which she wouldn't have done if she was dressed in her goth clothes and makeup. These easy changes show that she doesn't know who she is yet and is comfortable changing. Alison is definitely in stage 2 of the Moral development stages. She knows what wrong and mainly lives her life by these rules. I think this because she had a conversation with Claire and said this: “I already have. I've done just about everything there is except a few things that are illegal. I'm a nymphomaniac.” Even though she reveals later that she lied about the whole thing, she brought up that she does everything but the illegal stuff. I think that she does care about the laws and follows by them if she included that in her statement when she could have easily lied about it. I think that the fact that she's a compulsive liar is something else to consider in her moral development. She doesn't seem to care about the consequences of lying and continues to do it. Yeah, she told the truth afterwards but she didn't really seem to think the lying she had done was a big deal. Alison doesn't seem to want to know who she is. Because of this, I think she's in an Identity diffusion state. She doesn't show interest in school, but mainly focuses on lying. The fact that he parents “ignore her” isn't a help either since they should be guiding her right now more than ever. She seems lost and maybe with real therapy she can be able to get out of this identity diffusion and become something of herself.
he will struggle in for a while. Also, the lack of friends, which goes with the intimacy vs isolation stage, definitely shows his inability to have or keep close intimate friendships, which he should be looking for. Not being able to be intimate with others is because he has kept himself isolated by being a dork, he feels comfortable that way. He is categorized in the level/stage of conventional because he believes that “society defines what is ‘right’.” I think this because in the beginning of the movie, Bender, starts tampering with the door in the library. Bender removes a screw so the door will be unable to stay open. While Bender is removing the screw, Brian frantically squeals “Don’t mess with school property, Bender!” At this moment, Brian was more concerned with breaking the law (and school rules) than allowing Bender to prevent Principal Vernon from watching the group of students in the library. He does not believe this because his “parents say so,” but he believes this because he actually thinks that certain behaviors are wrong. Another instance that shows Brian in level two, stage four is when the students have escaped detention and follow Bender to a hallway where he is the only one questioning why everyone is following Bender to his locker. He also asks questions like “what if we get caught?” and “is it worth the risk?.” He seems to be really freaked out a the idea of getting caught. When they do get to Bender's locker, he finds out that he's there to get weed. Brian freaks out and does not agree with this. He repeatedly says “marijuana, that's marijuana.” he obviously is completely against not following school rules/laws. Also, when Alison talks about his sex life and that she screws her shrink, Brian flips out and says, “are your parents aware of this?!” he is obsessed with the idea that the parents and the law set those rules and everyone has to follow them. I think Brian is at the Identity Moratorium stage. He is exceptionally smart and can get an A in any academic based class but I don't think he's discovered what he really wants to do after high school. There is no mention of his future, just his good grades. I do believe he is determined and will not have to go through an identity crisis. I think right now is his time to take classes that interest him and find out what he wants to do and be in life.
Bender (criminal): Bender is definitely struggling in the intimacy vs isolation stage.
In the movie, Bender shows Claire his wallet, full of pictures of different girls. This portrays to me that he isn't able to connect with just one partner yet. He constantly hangs out with different girls, probably at the same time and isn't committed to any of them. I'd say he is promiscuous and doesn't think that real relationships are important. He isn't trying to find love, which tells me that he's developing at a later pace. Also, he doesn't seem to have good friendships either, which goes along with the intimacy vs isolation stage. He acts rude to anyone he meets, regardless of the their authority. He also has difficulties in the identity vs role confusion stage. I know this because he's a criminal. He has no sense of direction in his life, or even an attempt to find what he wants to be as an adult. This could be due to the fact that his parents don't care about him and even abuse him. This horrible home life is what probably caused him to not want to search for an identity. I believe Bender to be in level 3, stage six of Kohlberg's moral development stages. This stage is called the Post-developmental stage. I think this because he's the only person that has hosted and led any wrong-doing among the group. For example, he's the one that enables privacy by taking the screw out of the door and forcing it to close. Bender thought that it wasn't right for the teacher, Mr. Vernon, to peep in on them whenever he wanted so he took matters into his own hands, by breaking school rules. Another example was when Bender led the group to his locker. This is definitely against Mr. Vernon's rules of detention. In the hallway, Claire asked him questions like “Do you know when he'll (the principal) be returning?” and “Do you know where he went?, Bender didn't know any of those answers which goes to show that he will do what he wants for his own sake. Also, in the beginning he kept
back-talking to Mr. Vernon and therefore adding a month's worth of detention, all because he thinks he's right. I believe that Bender suffers from Identity diffusion. He has no sense of direction nor is showing any attempt to find himself. He's living high school as a joke and gets in trouble whenever he can just for the hell of it. He refuses to look at life beyond these four years. For example, he has a lot of detentions already lined up because he just doesn't care about himself.
Andrew (sporto): I'd say that Andrew is developing well in his intimacy vs isolation stage. It isn't talked about in the movie but I can infer that he does well with relationships and keeping them. I think this because he was able to connect with strangers on a intimate level. For example, he talked to Alison especially in a romantic way. They talked about their problems and later they even kissed. These acts show that Andrew is responsible and able to connect in an intimate way. Therefore, he is not isolated and is quite popular. Andrew has a confusion in his role/identity because everything he's done so far, in terms of athleticism, was all for his father. He has been pushing Andrew to win all the time and that he won't stand for losers in their home. Andrew is lost in identity because he even beat up some poor guy because he looked weak. This isn't who Andrew is, he is lost because he is confusing what he wants with what his dad wants for him. I'd consider Andrew to be in Level 2, Conventional Morality. I think this because he mostly does follow the law and school rules. He only wants to fit in, not stand out. And I also think this want will cause him to do illegal things. Of couscous, these are not his morals but I can see that people are able to influence him in bad ways. For example, his own father is brought on this action of violence (wrestling team). This cause him to beat up some guy that didn't deserve it. His father got him obsessed with being so buff and manly that the sight of someone lesser than he is, disgusted him. He felt really bad about if after which showed me that these weren't his initial morals and that his father's pressure can be really bad. But all in all, he can be brought to believe different and illegal things when thoughts are put into his head. Also, when Bender was trying to close the door of the media center, Andrew did object to it, which means he does follow rules because he knows he'd have to pay the consequences of breaking them, even if he wasn't the one closing the door. I also think he wouldn’t be one to stop someone from wrong-doing, again I believe he only wants to be cool and fit in and not cause any problems with other people. I think this because when they all were going to Bender's locker, he didn't really express any objections to it but I could tell that he was nervous because he kept looking around. Andrew definitely is in the Identity Foreclosure state. His father has enforced the athleticism trait on him for several years because that's what he did in his day. An example of this was when his dad was talking to him in the car before he got dropped off and he told Andrew that what he did was okay because it's what boys do. But he yells at him saying how he shouldn't have gotten caught and schools aren't going to want to accept “disciplinary cases.” Then, he talks about the enormous pressure he puts on him to be the best and starts crying. Clearly, Andrew hasn't had the ability to explore other options and find who he is. Right now, he is what his father wants him to be and nothing else. He also tells them that he wishes he would get injured to he wouldn’t be able to play and would be relieved of all of this pressure.
Claire (princess): I see Claire doing pretty well in keeping intimate relationships. She isn't isolated, in fact she's very popular. In the movie, she told Bender that she believes in a 1 boy and 1 girl relationship, showing signs of matureness. Also, even though she is a virgin, she allows herself to try and interact with the opposite sex and form relationships that are not based off of sex. She mentions that she has tons of friends but is still very cliquey and won't really talk to people outside of that. Although she doesn't agree with her friends all the time, she claims that she has to force herself to be with them, which isn't healthy. I think when she decides to ditch the fake friends and find real ones, she will have developed as an adult, but then again, she may never get there. She has extreme role confusion in many areas of her life. Since her parents have problems, she has issues with trust. She tells the group that she wouldn't say hi to them at school and that's how it had to be because her friends would say something about it. She obviously doesn’t know where she stands in terms of who she wants to be. I think Claire is in level 2 of Kohlberg's morality stages. She agrees with following the law because when Andrew talked about what he did to be there (jumped someone weaker than him) and she replied “Oh my god”, with a sincere look of discontentment along with disbelief of this. When Bender is back-talking principal Vernon, Claire says “cut it out!” so she clearly understands that there are consequences for your actions and she is trying to help him. This conversation she had with Alison about her sex life shows her morals of doing what society believes to be decent: Alison says, “I don't think that from a legal standpoint what he did can be construed as rape, since I paid him.” Claire says, “He's an adult.” (showing that she doesn't believe in an adult-teen relationship and that it is wrong) “Yeah, he's married too.” “Do you have any idea how completely gross that is?” says Claire. “Well, the first few times...” “The first few times? You mean you did it more than once?” “Sure” says Allison. “Are you crazy?” this conversation showed her morals and her belief that a teenager having any kind of sexual relationship with an adult is wrong. Later on in the conversation she asked Allison if it bothers her that she sleeps around without having any real feelings towards the guy, further showing that her morals are in line with society's rules and laws that have been taught to her. Claire is also in the identity Moratorium state. I believe this because she seems to have direction and a want to succeed in life. She also portrayed a person that's determined to find who they wants to be after high school. But, like most high school students, she is still searching for her niche and I believe she will find it at an appropriate time.
Alison (basket case): Alison doesn't have friends. She is experiencing extreme isolation. She can't seem to form intimate relationships and enjoys scaring people of with her weirdness. She has resorted to this probably because of her parents that don't care about her. Since she isn't able to form these long lasting relationships, it will be harder later on in life to form them and keep them. The identity vs role confusion comes in big time because since she was planning to run away, she is very lost. She doesn't seem to have any direction in who she wants to be because she doesn't have parents that can be loving or helpful during this stage, nor any friends to give her some direction. Also, when claire did her makeup and fixed her clothes, she ended up kissing Andrew, which she wouldn't have done if she was dressed in her goth clothes and makeup. These easy changes show that she doesn't know who she is yet and is comfortable changing. Alison is definitely in stage 2 of the Moral development stages. She knows what wrong and mainly lives her life by these rules. I think this because she had a conversation with Claire and said this: “I already have. I've done just about everything there is except a few things that are illegal. I'm a nymphomaniac.” Even though she reveals later that she lied about the whole thing, she brought up that she does everything but the illegal stuff. I think that she does care about the laws and follows by them if she included that in her statement when she could have easily lied about it. I think that the fact that she's a compulsive liar is something else to consider in her moral development. She doesn't seem to care about the consequences of lying and continues to do it. Yeah, she told the truth afterwards but she didn't really seem to think the lying she had done was a big deal. Alison doesn't seem to want to know who she is. Because of this, I think she's in an Identity diffusion state. She doesn't show interest in school, but mainly focuses on lying. The fact that he parents “ignore her” isn't a help either since they should be guiding her right now more than ever. She seems lost and maybe with real therapy she can be able to get out of this identity diffusion and become something of herself.