Analysis of Whats Eating Gilbert Grape - Movie Review Example

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? The American drama movie, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? was released in 1993 and is a screen adaptation of a novel with the same name. This psychologically provocative movie is directed by Lasse Hallstrom. The story revolves around Grape family and is set in a small economically backward town of Endora, Iowa. The principle character Gilbert Grape is shown as taking care of his 17 year old mentally handicapped brother Arnie. His mother, Bonnie is depicted as an extremely obese woman who has shut herself inside the home since her husband’s suicide years back. Gilbert, in between his responsibility towards his brother, is also the sole breadwinner of the family. Soon he meets a young woman, Becky and as romance blooms between the two of them Gilbert realizes his tedious life and longs to have a life outside the small town. The movie has viewed the world from the perspective of a troubled soul Gilbert Grape who although cannot escape the responsibilities of his family dreams of a more meaningful life. Psychological detachment Gilbert is depicted as a man who is tied down with a family who in his eyes is essentially dysfunctional, and therefore he develops a kind of psychological detachment. He is disappointed with his family and therefore makes minimal conversation with them, speaking only that much which is necessary to sustain order and peace. Although apparently it becomes obvious that he cares for Arnie, he often refers to him as retarded which displays his feeling of annoyance. He also detests his mother’s obesity and appetite so much that he refuses to take meals at the family table. This also indicates how he abhors the family as a whole. Gilbert also shows a natural disliking towards his other siblings except Amy, who is the eldest sister, and Arnie whom he always takes care of. Gilbert even displays animosity towards the youngest child of the family Ellen because of her focus on physical beauty. His disliking towards Ellen grows as he watches her manhandling Arnie. Gilbert’s desire to live a normal life is in many ways universal. Although he maintains an aloof nature, at the bottom of his heart he knows that he would remain to solve his family’s problems rather than abandoning them. Such psychological detachment is born from “unspoken and unreasonable expectations, rules, and assumptions about how family members should relate to one another and live their lives” (Plante, 2011, p.124). Same is the case for Gilbert since he is tied to looking after a mentally handicapped brother, frustrated with his obese mother who watches television all day, and abhors Ellen for her indifference. Gilbert has psychologically detached himself from the family since no member of the family stands up to his rules and expectations. Obesity leads to abdication of responsibility Gilbert’s mother, Bonnie Grape has been depicted as an unruly widow who has reacted to her husband’s suicide by overeating thereby becoming morbidly obese and abdicating most of her parental responsibilities. Her character is apparently a manipulative one since she has allocated her responsibilities on the shoulders of her eldest children, Amy and Gilbert as a result of which they are forced to become surrogate parents of their other siblings. In health care context, obesity is often not regarded as a disease since “if so classified, obese people will abdicate responsibility for doing anything about their overweight” (Haughness, 2004, p.38). Developmental disability Arnie is shown to be suffering from developmental disability. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, developmental disability is defined as “a group of conditions due to an impairment in physical, learning, language, or behavior areas affecting about one in six children in the U.S.” (CDC, 2013). Boyle et al. (2011, p.1034) have collected data from children between the age of 3 and 17 from U.S. households who display various symptoms of developmental disability. The results of the survey have shown that this kind of disability is more pronounced in young boys than girls. Moreover, this is more common among non-Hispanic white and black children compared to Hispanic children. Some factors that have been identified as being associated with this condition are low income and lack of health insurance. The probability of this kind of disability increases from 12.84 percent to 15.04 percent above the age of 12. According to a Swiss scientist, Jean Piaget, cognitive development goes through four stages (Martin & Fabes, 2008, p.40). First there is sensorimotor stage which lasts from birth to the age of 2. In this stage, children interact with objects through their innate reflexive behavior and for them objects cease to exist when they are removed from their sight. Although Arnie displayed developmental disability, it is apparent that he has surpassed this stage of cognitive development. For instance, for Arnie objects still exist even when he cannot see them. On the day before his birthday, Gilbert strikes him while forcibly attempting to bathe him after which he drives away from home. However, Arnie still remains aware of what has occurred between him and Gilbert, and so with the help of Becky goes for swimming in the lake to fight his fear of water. Also, in this stage children learn to imitate others either immediately or later. Arnie can be seen imitating his elder brother Gilbert’s words. He keeps on repeating the way Gilbert comments on his mother’s obese figure like Gilbert compares her with a whale. Arnie also displays deferred imitation. For instance, Gilbert constantly teaches him to thank anyone who does a favor. Arnie reminded him the same thing when he was hesitating what to say to Becky after they had spent some time together. Then there is the second stage of cognitive development which is preoperational stage which according to Jean Piaget starts from the age of 2 and lasts till the age of 7. In this stage, children associate objects with symbols and this provides them more convenience in problem solving. Also, in this stage children have the tendency to believe that everyone else can see things in the way they do like if they hide behind a curtain they believe since they cannot see anyone so noone else can see them too. Similarly, Arnie fails to see the world from others’ perspectives. He has a self-centered approach which prohibits him from feeling sympathetic towards others. There was one scene when Arnie was shouting that his father is dead, and he failed to understand why his mother was giving a distressed expression or why his other siblings were upset when apparently he was having only fun. Moreover, during this stage of development a child does not understand that when an object’s shape is changed its utility may not be changed. When he is seen carrying Becky’s groceries and they spill on the floor, he gets anxious not grasping the fact that even though they have fallen they can still be useful. Therefore, Arnie can be understood as a teenager who is yet to master the preoperational stage. Then there is the third stage of cognitive development which is concrete operational stage which lasts from 7 years to 11 years of age. In this stage, a child learns to apply logic for solving problems. The child now understands that basic nature of an object does not change even if it changes in appearance. For instance, half a pint of milk poured in any container of whatever shape, the volume of the milk remains same if nothing is added or taken away. Such logical inferences which are common in this stage cannot be seen in Arnie. He often climbs the water tower without realizing that he will be hurt if he falls down. In another scene, he cuts the head of a grasshopper not realizing that by doing so it will be dead. Such logical understand can be seen in a child of 11 years but is apparently absent in Arnie even though he is 17. The final stage of cognitive development which is formal operational stage begins from the age of 11. In this stage, a person learns to apply logic to “hypothetical and abstract situations” (Martin & Fabes, 2008, p.40), and as they grow older they learn to become concerned about social issues, law and justice. Since Arnie has not learnt to made logical conclusions, therefore he finds it difficult to comprehend abstract ideas. In the beginning of the movie, Arnie and Gilbert were watching travellers passing by, and Arnie asks how long they have to wait to which Gilbert replies 3 million. Arnie fails to understand the abstract concept of time and so starts counting. Therefore, throughout the movie viewers can observe various levels of developmental disability in Arnie. Conclusive remarks : Science of cognitive tasks One important characteristic of the brain is that by stimulating a major portion of the brain one cannot extract sensory responses to any situation. A major part of the brain is made up of association areas that establish connection between different areas. These areas, in a way, act as highways like “they move memories, thoughts, and impressions, connecting them with other elements such as emotions and future plans” (Davis & Palladino, 2005, p.76). Therefore, a large part of the brain is involved in making connections between ideas, events, people and personal experiences. Although it is believed that 90 percent of the brain is made up of association areas and so is not used, results of brain scans have shown that these areas are used for different cognitive tasks depending on the nature of the tasks (Davis & Palladino, 2005, p.76). References Boyle, C.A. et al. (2011). Trends in the Prevalence of Developmental Disabilities in US Children. American Academy of Pediatrics, 127(6), 1033-42 CDC (2013). Developmental Disabilities, CDC Home, retrieved on June 17, 2014 from: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/developmentaldisabilities/index.html Davis, S.F. & Palladino, J.J. (2005). Psychology, 5th ed., Pearson/Prentice Hall Haughness, N. (2004). Hand to Mouth: Reality-Oriented Weight Control, Echo Park Press Martin, C.L. & Fabes, R. (2008). Discovering child development, Cengage Learning Plante, T.G. (2011). Contemporary Clinical Psychology, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) [movie] directed by Lasse Hallstrom Read More