Family Issues and Adolescence in Crazy/Beautiful Essay

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What has a hold over a person, inspires, comforts, and empowers or discourages, damages, and depresses? Family. Family issues touch everyone, but adolescents are affected by their parents, siblings, and other relatives in a special way. In the most vulnerable period of their lives, young people often tend to experience conflict with family members and try to gain recognition as independent individuals (Steinberg, 2014a). In this context, it is significant to address the needs of adolescents and discover their reasons for misbehavior. The film Crazy/Beautiful is a vivid example of relationships between teenage children and their parents: The problems and situations shown in the film are typical and timeless. The story of two high-school seniors, Carlos and Nikole, confirms the results of research concerning different parenting styles.

Carlos Nunez is an A student from a modest Mexican-American family who dreams of becoming a pilot. He never knew his father and “got plenty of parents” in his mother (Crazy/Beautiful 2001). An ambiguous figure, she puts in a lot of effort for the sake of her son and works hard to give him every opportunity to excel, but at the same time, her parenting style is authoritarian. Obedience and conformity are demanded, but there is no warmth in their relationship (Steinberg, 2014b). Indeed, the mother’s discipline is forceful; for example, Carlos cannot relax, and always thinks that his mother will be angry if he comes home late. The world around him is built upon the principle of familism: everybody’s life is oriented toward the family’s needs, while individuals’ wishes are generally neglected (Steinberg, 2014b). The birthday party is a picture of such life: It is formal and cold rather than respectful. Moreover, the conversations indicate with great clarity how distant the mother and the son are: While Carlos speaks English, his mother sticks to Spanish, so understanding is difficult. She constantly reproaches the boy, and even her tone is telling. As a result, a normal patient and peaceful person loses control and raises his voice. An adolescent’s well-being includes not only household income and other material benefits, but also safety, empathy, and pleasure (Sharma, Pandav, & Lally, 2015). It is true that under stressful conditions, the mother’s behavior may be beneficial. Since a Hispanic and working-class background may make it difficult to succeed, Carlos’s upbringing helps him to be strong. This fact proves the idea that authoritarian parenting may be practiced without harm. Still, in some contexts, the mother should put herself in Carlos’s shoes and stop depriving him of pleasure and happiness.

Another type of family relationship is embodied in the family of congressman Tomas Oakley. His daughter Nikole is a typical troubled teenager: As the father states, she drinks does drugs, lies, and hates her father and stepmother. Furthermore, she tried to commit suicide and has been under treatment many times. Without a positive and emotional family bond, her mental health has worsened significantly (Sathyabama & Eljo, 2014). However, her rebelliousness did not originate from anything. As has been observed in the majority of families with out-of-control adolescents, there was a serious problem prior to Nikole’s teenage years (Steinberg, 2014b). The root of the conflict is that Nikole’s mother killed herself when the girl was twelve. It was a dreadful shock for her, but the father has failed to help Nikole, for several reasons. First of all, occupation becomes an important factor: Although upper classes are thought to be closer to children, Tomas spends too much time at work (Fidanci et al., 2015). Even when he is at home, he does not seem to pay attention to Nikole and cares about his new wife and younger daughter. In addition to her mother’s death, the fact of the new marriage presses on Nikole.

On the surface, Tomas’s parenting style is indifferent. Nikole believes he does not care if she invites a boyfriend over and has sex with him (Crazy/Beautiful 2001). In fact, the father cannot express his feelings and does not know what to do when his daughter is out of control. Thus, he leaves everything unaddressed. Naturally, Nikole comes to the conclusion that she is unwanted and unloved, and that is the cause of all her misbehavior. Learned helplessness is present: The girl cannot do anything and, as research predicts, she shows aggression, both instrumental and reactive (Steinberg, 2014b). For instance, she deliberately drinks alcohol and does not come back home, but at the same time can spontaneously yell at her father, as is shown after Tomas has told Carlos to stay away from Nikole (Crazy/Beautiful 2001).

All in all, the major points of adolescence research correlate with the examples from the film Crazy/Beautiful. Authoritarian parenting may be acceptable as a general strategy of upbringing; however, in certain situations, it is better to switch to a more democratic style and not make difficulties for an adolescent. As for neglectful parenting, it should be avoided, since it results in aggressive behavior, teenagers’ misery, and misunderstanding. Family issues are an important constituent of adolescents’ lives. If parents want their children to be happy, it is vital to listen to them and pay equal attention to their material and spiritual wealth.What has a hold over a person, inspires, comforts, and empowers or discourages, damages, and depresses? Family. Family issues touch everyone, but adolescents are affected by their parents, siblings, and other relatives in a special way. In the most vulnerable period of their lives, young people often tend to experience conflict with family members and try to gain recognition as independent individuals (Steinberg, 2014a). In this context, it is significant to address the needs of adolescents and discover their reasons for misbehavior. The film Crazy/Beautiful is a vivid example of relationships between teenage children and their parents: The problems and situations shown in the film are typical and timeless. The story of two high-school seniors, Carlos and Nikole, confirms the results of research concerning different parenting styles.

Carlos Nunez is an A student from a modest Mexican-American family who dreams of becoming a pilot. He never knew his father and “got plenty of parent” in his mother (Crazy/Beautiful 2001). An ambiguous figure, she puts in a lot of effort for the sake of her son and works hard to give him every opportunity to excel, but at the same time, her parenting style is authoritarian. Obedience and conformity are demanded, but there is no warmth in their relationship (Steinberg, 2014b). Indeed, the mother’s discipline is forceful; for example, Carlos cannot relax, and always thinks that his mother will be angry if he comes home late. The world around him is built upon the principle of familism: everybody’s life is oriented toward the family’s needs, while individuals’ wishes are generally neglected (Steinberg, 2014b). The birthday party is a picture of such life: It is formal and cold rather than respectful.

Moreover, the conversations indicate with great clarity how distant the mother and the son are: While Carlos speaks English, his mother sticks to Spanish, so understanding is difficult. She constantly reproaches the boy, and even her tone is telling. As a result, a normally patient and peaceful person loses control and raises his voice. An adolescent’s well-being includes not only household income and other material benefits, but also safety, empathy, and pleasure (Sharma, Pandav, & Lally, 2015). It is true that under stressful conditions, the mother’s behavior may be beneficial. Since a Hispanic and working-class background may make it difficult to succeed, Carlos’s upbringing helps him to be strong. This fact proves the idea that authoritarian parenting may be practiced without harm. Still, in some contexts, the mother should put herself in Carlos’s shoes and stop depriving him of pleasure and happiness.

Another type of family relationship is embodied in the family of congressman Tomas Oakley. His daughter Nikole is a typical troubled teenager: As the father states, she drinks, does drugs, lies, and hates her father and stepmother. Furthermore, she tried to commit suicide and has been under treatment many times. Without a positive and emotional family bond, her mental health has worsened significantly (Sathyabama & Eljo, 2014). However, her rebelliousness did not originate from nothing. As has been observed in the majority of families with out-of-control adolescents, there was a serious problem prior to Nikole’s teenage years (Steinberg, 2014b). The root of the conflict is that Nikole’s mother killed herself when the girl was twelve. It was a dreadful shock for her, but the father has failed to help Nikole, for several reasons. First of all, occupation becomes an important factor: Although upper classes are thought to be closer to children, Tomas spends too much time at work (Fidanci et al., 2015). Even when he is at home, he does not seem to pay attention to Nikole, and cares about his new wife and younger daughter. In addition to her mother’s death, the fact of the new marriage presses on Nikole.

On the surface, Tomas’s parenting style is indifferent. Nikole believes he does not care if she invites a boyfriend over and has sex with him (Crazy/Beautiful 2001). In fact, the father cannot express his feelings and does not know what to do when his daughter is out of control. Thus, he leaves everything unaddressed. Naturally, Nikole comes to the conclusion that she is unwanted and unloved, and that is the cause of all her misbehavior. Learned helplessness is present: The girl cannot do anything and, as research predicts, she shows aggression, both instrumental and reactive (Steinberg, 2014b). For instance, she deliberately drinks alcohol and does not come back home, but at the same time can spontaneously yell at her father, as is shown after Tomas has told Carlos to stay away from Nikole (Crazy/Beautiful 2001).

All in all, the major points of adolescence research correlate with the examples from the film Crazy/Beautiful. Authoritarian parenting may be acceptable as a general strategy of upbringing; however, in certain situations, it is better to switch to a more democratic style and not make difficulties for an adolescent. As for neglectful parenting, it should be avoided, since it results in aggressive behavior, teenagers’ misery, and misunderstanding. Family issues are an important constituent of adolescents’ lives. If parents want their children to be happy, it is vital to listen to them and pay equal attention to their material and spiritual wealth.

References

Fidanci, A., Uckan, M. U., Arslan, I., Tekin, O., Iscan, G., Taci, D. Y.,…Cetin, A. (2015). Observing family functions by considering father occupation in adolescent groups. Journal of Family Medicine and Health Care, 1(1), 11-15.

Sathyabama, B., & Eljo, J. G. (2014). Family environment and mental health of adolescent girls. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3(9), 46-49.

Sharma, G., Pandav, K., & Lally, S. K. (2015). Role of family environment on adolescent well-being. International Journal of Recent Scientific Research, 6(12), 7756-7758.

Steinberg, L. (2014a). Adolescence. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Steinberg, L. (2014b). Age of opportunity: Lessons from the new science of adolescence. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Stockwell, J. (Director). (2001). Crazy/Beautiful [DVD]. Burbank, CA: Touchstone Home Entertainment.

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