PSYC 3590 Grief and Bereavement

Paper: Movie Analysis and Application of Concepts from Reading*

Select a movie or video that depicts loss and grief within a specific cultural context. (Below is a list of suggested movies, although you may know of others.) Read the following questions before you watch the movie and be prepared to write your answers. Make sure that your answers are thorough and reflect the concepts and material covered in the reading.

1. Identify the types of losses (symbolic and tangible) the characters have experienced. Be sure to define and describe the difference between the symbolic and tangible losses, using the definitions in the textbook.
2. Discuss your observations of the behavior of the main characters who have experienced loss. How do these behaviors fit or not fit with the age group the characters are in? Be sure to refer to specific information from the material in Chapter 4, 5 & 6 (Loss and Grief Across the Lifespan: Childhood & Adolescence, Young & Middle Adulthood, Older Adults) to explain your answers.
3. What aspects of the characters’ experiences and behaviors were similar to the views and practices of your own cultural or religious group? What aspects were different? (Be sure to refer to specific information from Chapter 8 Cultural and Spiritual Influences to explain your answers.)
4. Did the main character(s) show evidence of normal grief reactions or complicated grief reactions? Explain how the presence or absence of risk factors may have contributed to their grief reactions. Be sure to use the information from the Chapter 7 Normal and Complicated grief reactions to inform your answers.

Your paper should be a minimum of three (3) pages and no more than 4 pages (12 point font). It is due through the D2L Assignments portal by the due date posted on the D2L Calendar. Late papers will not be accepted.

Suggested movies:

Soul Food (African American) My Girl (Christian Caucasian)

Ordinary People (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) Smoke Signals (Native American)

Steel Magnolias (Christian, Southern) To Live! (Chinese)

The Kids are Alright (LGBT)

Note: The movies on this list have been chosen for their themes of loss. However, some of the material may elicit unanticipated emotional reactions or may be objectionable to some viewers. You may want to read reviews before making a selection and remember to exercise discretion and self-care in making choices and completing this exercise.

*Adapted from Walsh, K. (2012) Instructor’s Manual to Accompany Grief and Loss:

Theories and skills for the helping professions. Pearson.

Other Movies with Themes of Loss and Grief

A Woman under the Influence

Antwone Fisher

Beaches

Corrinna, Corrinna

Crazy Heart

DAD

 

Death at a Funeral

Fearless

Fried Green Tomatoes

 

Garden State

Ghost

Imaginary Heroes

In America

Life as a House

 

Lorenzo’s Oil

My Girl

 

My Life

Never Let Me Go

Philadelphia

 

Ponette

One True Thing

Rabbit Hole

Reign Over Me

Simon Birch

Stand By Me

Spitfire Grill

 

Terms of Endearment

The Descendants

 

The Hurt Locker

The Other Woman (Natalie Portman)

Things We Lost in the Fire

 

This is Where I Leave You

Up

Wristcutters: A Love Story

 

Grading Rubric

 

Section	Excellent	Good	Poor	Points
	(23-25 points)	(15-22 points)	(0-14 points)
Symbolic and	Detailed	Description lacked	Did not correctly
tangible losses	description	some detail in	identify symbolic
	differentiating	correctly	versus tangible
	symbolic versus	explaining	losses for several
	tangible losses for	symbolic versus	main characters.
	several main	tangible losses
	characters.	and/or only
		described losses
		for one main
(25 points)		character.
Developmental	Used specific	Did not cite	Did not show
reactions to	information from	adequate	evidence of
loss	the reading to	information from	application of
	explain several	the reading and/or	information from the
	characters’	described one only	reading.
	reactions to the	one character’s
	loss and how	reactions.
	these were typical
	or not for their
(25 points)	age.
Cultural and	Used information	Provided a limited	No real discussion,
spiritual	from the reading	description of how	thought, or
analysis	and showed	the characters’	information from the
	insight into the	culture and	reading was applied
	cultural and	spiritual	to the characters’
	spiritual	background	reactions.
	influences and	influenced the
	how they were	loss; used limited
	similar and	information from
	different from	the reading; did
	your own.	not provide an
		adequate
		comparison to
		your own cultural
(25 points)		background.
Normal versus	Gave a clear	Provided a limited	Examples were not
complicated	explanation and	rationale for	specific and lacked
grief and risk	rationale for	normal versus	evidence of using
factors.	normal versus	complicated grief	information from the
	complicated grief;	and risk factors	reading.
	provided an	and/or used
	insightful	limited information
	discussion of the	from the reading.
	risk factors, using
	information from
(25 points)	the reading.
TOTAL