Critique Mask - Movie Review Example

? Movie Critique Mask (1985) Summary The plot of the movie “Mask” covers the last year of life of a 15 year old boy, Rocky Dennis, who suffers from a very rare type of disease called craniodiaphyseal dysplasia (CDD). CDD is a type of bone order that results in Calcium building up and depositing in the bones causing the bones to deform and go out of shape. The effects of this disease are drastic and it has led to the distorted facial features of Rocky and considerably reduced his life. The disease is extremely rare and thought to occur in about every 1 in 22 million children. Rocky lived in Los Angeles in 1979 with his mom, Rusty, who is a free spirit and cheerfully irresponsible woman who hangs around with a motorcyclists. Rusty wanted to give her son a completely normal life despite of her disabilities and very soon her boyfriends also start to help her in taking care of her son. Rocky had a hobby of collecting baseball cards and he also saved money to travel Europe with his friend Ben on motorcycle. When trying to get Rocky admission in a new school, Rusty was persuasively refused and advised by the principle to get Rocky admitted in a special school that can help him in a better way. But Rusty was determined to get her son a normal child’s life and schooling so she insisted and very soon Rocky was allowed admission in school because of his excellence in old school. Early in his new school, Rocky’s classmate used to stare at him with amazement due to deformity, and asked him to take his mask off. But Rocky won their hearts by his witty and clever sense of humor. Rocky’s grades were among the best students of the school and very soon he started giving tuitions to his fellow students at $3. The principle who first tried to disown him also appreciated the hard work and intelligences of Rocky who was progressing very well. The principal then offered him a job as a counselor on the summer camp for blind junior students. T first Rocky was not sure what to do but he accepted the job later. Rocky’s mother used to leave him and stay away for several hours with her motorcycle gang. She was depressed most of the times but she tried to keep herself positive and away from all fears & worries by using drugs and alcohol. Rocky hated it so he tried to break her bad habit. At times during the movie Rocky is also seen upset when for example he realizes that because of his facial deformity he couldn’t ever enjoy the pleasure of having girlfriend. During his camp side job, Rocky meet a very beautiful girl names Diana. She was blind since birth and could not see, but feels his deformity. Rocky and Diana spent time together and falling in love. Rocky taught her the meaning of descried words like pillowy, cloudy, red and blue colors. It became apparent that Diana’s parent were not pleased by Rocky’s presence so they were being overprotective of their daughter and tried to keep Rocky away from her. Diana was then sent to a boarding school to finish her one semester. Diana and Rocky promised to stay true to each other. One night when Rusty threw up a party to cheer Rocky up, he went to sleep early claiming that he has a bad headache. In the morning Rusty discovered that he had died in his sleep. She mourned and was very upset. As Rocky is buried, one of Rusty’s friend arranges the set of baseball cards on his tombstone. Theory The analysis of Rocky’s development throughout the movie and how his disability and deformity retarded his psychosocial and psychological development can be well understood by relating it to the following theories: Erickson’s psychosocial theory Freud’s psychoanalytic theory Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory 1. Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory Freud proposed theories that signified the importance of events and experiences during childhood and focused on mental disorders rather than normal functioning. According to Freud theory of child development, a person’s healthy development is based on emotions; so healthy mental and physical condition leads to superiority at work and personal life. Various studies have shown that disabled children may be slow in developing emotions and in expression of these emotions in a normal way. In relation to Rocky’s life experience his physical and mental disposition were the characteristic of his affliction with a rare disease. Rocky having suffered with facial deformation and increase in the size of skull was followed by many adverse conditions including twisted nose, pressure on spinal cord and the doctors also said that this would slowly impair his hearing and sighting abilities and put pressure on his brain until he dies (Freud, 1916). All these health conditions definitely retarded his emotional, mental and physical development. This, although not very much specifically depicted in the movie, was evident from his behavior towards the drug addiction of his mother and at times when he was in blues. Despite the adverse health conditions, Rocky’s mother always treated him in a general way and never let his disabilities become his weakness. As a result Rocky worked hard to achieve success and achieved excellence at his school through his skills. Rocky’s development can be further explained through Erickson’s psychosocial theory as follows. 2. Erickson’s Psychosocial Theory Erickson psychosocial theory is based on 8 different stages of development. He described that each stage of the developmental process involves overcoming some kind of conflict. For example instituting a sense of personal identity during the period of immaturity (or adolescence). Success or failure in addressing the conflict would have an impact on development process (Erickson, 1968). Rocky was faced with numerous challenges as a part of overcoming his in born deficiencies. When entering the new school he has advised to go to a special school instead which may serve him better, but his intellectual competencies allowed him to admit in the school and study alongside normal students. Hence overcoming his conflict allowed him to have confidence in his abilities and he performed even better at his new school and impressed his classmates with his witty sense of humor and skills (Erickson, 1950). Rocky also tried to ignore the stares of amazement his classmates used to give him and tried to overcome this stage with commitment to his goals. The presence of hobbies and objectives in his life has evidence that he was not afraid to move on in life due to his condition. A child like Rocky who is disabled needs a lot of support to allow him to integrate in the environment. His mother was looking for the same and she tried her best to provide Rocky all the essential interaction and emotional support. Social environment plays a vital role in development of such children by providing the required encouragement and opportunities to achieve competence through participation in activities of growth and development. This played a vital role in Rocky’s life as well. 3. Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory The cognitive child development theory emphasizes the positive and free will aspects of human behavior. According to Jean Piaget, children can be seen as “little scientists” who develop their knowledge through thought, experience and their understanding of the world. The ability to think and reason develops through life experiences and understanding of the world. It also requires a safe environment where a child can develop successful. If the guardians have provided adequate safety, physical and emotional care, attention, encouragement, and then it would be possible to achieve normal and healthy cognitive development (Piaget, 1932). Thus Piaget’s theory along with that of Erickson’s give us the complete big picture of the role of environment in development of a child; and helps us in understanding how physical disability, such as that in Rocky, can hinder the normal psychosocial development of a child, which subsequently results in retardation of cognitive abilities and proper growth thereof. It also shows us how Rocky tried to cope up with the underlying circumstances and conditions of his life to achieve a normal successful growth. Recommendations The burden due to Rocky’s condition had caused him a lot of difficulties and emotional anxiety. At many points during the movie it seemed like he wanted to express his disapproval or lack of control over the circumstances of his life. Rocky also tried to remain in control of the circumstances and act normal but at times he was really upset. One such event occurred when Rocky expressed his grief to his mom over not ever being able to have a girlfriend because of his deformed face. Clearly he was not only worried about his looks but also his future and how would he obtain love and affection. This also clarifies that despite his mental and physical condition he was maturing both emotionally and sexually. This could be considered as a success on his part and due to the efforts of his mother. Most of the actions taken by Rocky’s mom were in his best interest and it was a result of her efforts that he attained good grades and earned himself a job at the summer camp. But there were also some negativities that, although not much apparent, must have negatively affected his good growth. He never liked his mom’s drug addiction and it made him angry. He even tried to convince his mother to leave drinking and pills. Also, Rocky was not quite sure how to react to his mother’s reaction of brining in a teenage prostitute when he expressed his grief over not having a girlfriend. They just talk and again this represents the development of cognitive and reasoning abilities in Rocky. Many times Rocky had mixed feelings about her mother’s behavior. The best form of development could be encouraged in a person like him with disabilities by reinforcing the good and hard efforts as represented by Rusty. But there needs to be some corrections in the behavior of surrounding people as well as in environment for the proper growth of disabled persons. Reflection The issues faced by the Rocky as a disabled kid in a modern American society as depicted in face are really worthy to be praised. The acting of Rocky and Rusty both are very convincing and thoughtful. The difficulties faced by Rocky when he first entered the school and the feeling of being left behind just reminds me (and perhaps all of us) about our childhoods and teenage life when we are not so much aware of our surroundings and feel withdrawn and lonely. The movie mask has a lot to be learned from and implement in our real lives and definitely worth watching. References Bogdanovich, P. (Director), & Phelan, A. H. (Writer). (1985). Mask [Motion Picture]. United States: Universal Pictures. Erickson, E.H. (1950). Childhood and Society. New York: Norton. Freud, S. (1916-1917). Introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. Piaget, J. (1932).The moral judgment of the child. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Read More