Summary of the Movie
The Lilo and Stitch movie is an American animated science fiction film released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2002. Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois played a significant role in directing the film. The film received a general rating implying that anybody can watch it.
It focuses on a character named Lilo, a young girl raised by her older sister in the Hawaiian region after their parents died in an accident (Parent & Hall, 2020). Due to a lack of social contact and personality disability, her sister Nani suggests adopting a pet for her. They adopt an ugly “dog,” an alien experiment that has escaped from the galaxy, and Lilo decides to name the dog Stitch. The three faced considerable difficulty developing a family and encountered obstacles throughout the narrative.
Families largely contribute to a child’s character and general development. Lilo’s lack of social skills and the anguish she experienced from losing her parents make it evident from analysis that she may have a variety of personality and mental illnesses. Since Lilo’s parents are believed to have passed away within the past year, many of her problems may be directly related to this occurrence. She references her parents in anguish over their passing, even though it is unclear if she experiences nightmares or disturbing memories. She is upset and often interacts with her elder sister in an unfriendly way, which affects her emotional development.
Developmental Stage: A Target in the Movie
In this movie, identity consistency versus role confusion is the primary developmental dilemma pertinent to the middle childhood development period. It focuses on children in the Middle Ages when they discover who they are and begin to have a sense of responsibility. In this stage, the person explores their values and views to develop a sense of self and personal identity. The child is becoming more autonomous at this age and seeing matters from different angles (DelGiudice, 2018). The child goes through this period learning the part he will play as an adult and searching for his identity again.
The movie helps with the developmental activities associated with this stage, particularly because it depicts the various emotions, thoughts, and behaviors a child of this age would experience. Since the minds of children under seven are not fully capable of comprehending the thoughts and emotions from a movie, countries such as Switzerland, Norway, and Finland indicated that the film is inappropriate for them.
Demonstration of Developmental Tasks
The act of identity cohesion is revealed throughout the film. This is evident when Lilo tries to grow up fast so she can help raise her younger sister Lilo. When Nani realizes Lilo has a problem with her personality development, she endeavors to search for an alternative to aid her in her growth. This thought leads her to adopt a pet, revealing a struggle to create an identity for her sister, who is slowly advancing to the prime age of gaining her autonomy.
Lilo and Nani transitioned from being part of a typical nuclear family to living alone without their parents. The two struggled to get along in their new positions in life. Lilo is acting out inappropriately for a girl her age, trying to fight back at Nani and her peers, who tease her for being socially different. Although it has little to do with the plot, the fact that she creates voodoo dolls, listens to Elvis, and takes pictures of obese visitors reveals another side to her curious and eccentric personality.
Diversity Outcomes in the Movie
Although the film is cartoonish and has a feel of comedy, the actual theme of a family is portrayed with a much deeper sense of belonging. There is a comparison between the life of Lilo and that of Stitch in that Lilo’s life was a quiet, lonely life, while Stitch is pictured as a daring alien who escaped from the galaxies and crashed on Earth. The movie distinguishes itself by faithfully incorporating the subtext of the movie into the realities of daily life for native Hawaiians there. The Kauai of the film feels full and lived-in, from the graphic representations of the rounded facial characteristics of its Polynesian inhabitants to more thorough descriptions of the organization of native work.
Lilo and Stitch’s film weaves the reality of Hawaii’s modern life brilliantly. One of the obvious displays of diversity is Lilo’s physical appearance. Her hair is long, straight, and black, which stretches towards her back. Stitch is a plot device that strengthens the theme of Indigenous absence by escalating Nani’s parental responsibilities. But at the same time, it is clear that Stitch gets along with Lilo’s family and serves as her close friend when she does not have anybody else.
Lilo and Stitch are described as being obnoxious and misbehaving. Lilo does not fit in with the white community around her, making an extraterrestrial the only species she can make friends with. The movie reinforces the idea that the Indigenous community is absent and provides a vacuum for others to fill by refusing to introduce Lilo to anyone from her culture to whom she can relate.
Key Concepts of Relationships Between Adults and Children
This film’s adult and child relationships are mainly between Lilo and her elder sister, Nani. The child will frequently feel it is okay to do anything they want and frequently disregard their parents’ advice. The movie clarifies that relationships between middle-aged children and adults are typically tense. The psychosocial theory, which contends that culture significantly impacts parental behaviors and motivations, is one significant perspective that sheds light on the matter.
The ego, which prioritizes the person’s self and desires, plays a significant role in directing human behavior. Humans make deliberate decisions in life, emphasizing addressing particular social and cultural demands (DelGiudice, 2018). It is expected that guardians and children at their autonomous age will frequently have misunderstandings about independence.
Misinterpretations and disagreements between the guardian and the child will make communication difficult. Children’s vulnerability is typically due to their propensity for making risky, uninformed decisions. Additionally, there will often be tension since the guardian feels the child is challenging their authority.
The inability to agree and resolve issues will make the relationship between a child and an adult challenging. The child is likely to experience confusion and struggle to express themselves because of the psychological and physical changes they are going through. Due to the film’s depiction of the collapse of the parent-child bond, the adult may find this problematic. The child will gain an understanding of values in reasoning and the capacity to make life choices since he is at a new stage of development.
How the Assignment Impacts Social Work Practice
The review impacts social work practice by offering better insight into a child’s development and their relationship with people caring for them. On the other hand, the adult also finds the privilege of studying the child’s development as they grow and their behavioral patterns at every stage of development. The social worker can have a better understanding of handling problems that young children face in their course of development and give the most appropriate solution at hand.
Understanding young children is essential to creating strong, meaningful, lasting relationships (Beaver & Wyatt, 2022). Social workers can gain from this part of the film by exercising patience when dealing with the young ones. They may also learn the importance of fully committing to a decision they have resolved to make.
Understanding child development can help ensure the child’s goals are suitable, attainable, and realistic. As the child develops, having a better relationship with them and fewer disagreements will result from knowing how children develop (Beaver & Wyatt, 2022). The task emphasizes the need to comprehend how children learn, mature, and adjust to various life phases. It also clarifies that adults must know the younger ones to care for them.
If Nani understood Lilo’s different development stages, she would not have had difficulty raising her. Knowing this knowledge makes it simpler to assist people in overcoming developmental obstacles and realizing their full potential. As seen in the movie, children typically struggle to express themselves and control their emotions and behavior. It is essential to have a thorough understanding of child development to help the child cope with any psychological or physical changes they may experience.
References
Beaver, N., & Wyatt, S. (2022). Early education curriculum: A child’s connection to the world. Cengage Learning.
DelGiudice, M. (2018). Middle childhood: An evolutionary-developmental synthesis. Handbook of Life Course Health Development, 95-107.
Parent, G., & Hall, L. (2020). Disney Storytelling as Another Form of Settler Colonialism: As Seen In The Movie Lilo & Stitch.