Family System Theory in Radio - Essay Example

The movie is exceptionally engaging and captivating, and teaches the community not to underestimate the mentally handicapped individuals. In the movie Radio, the theme of Family System Theory is appreciably highlighted. Summary The movie begins with a mentally retarded Radio pushing a shopping cart in the street along a football pitch. He liked listening to the songs played on the radio he carried in the shopping cart. His frequent visits to the football pitch initiated his friendship with the coach.

Consequently, the coach gradually adored Radio, and could call him over after practicing sessions. Although the players were not blissful with Radio, the coach made him his assistant to oversee extracurricular activities of the team. The team failed to send Radio away after numerous attempts, and had to come to terms with the presence of Radio in the team. Harold treated Radio as his own son, mainly because of the common interests they had in football (Williams). The relationship strengthened, and Radio was introduced to the Harold’s family where he met Harold’s wife Linda, played by Debra Winger, and his daughter Mary Hellen, played by Sarah Drew.

The neighborhood is surprised by the connection between Harold and Radio, but it later understands their companionship. Radio becomes exceedingly active in the school’s sports activities through assisting in handy situations. He further goes to assist the basketball team, where he helped in carrying training equipment, while at the same time helping the football team. Surprisingly, his assistance helped the football team prosper to the victory in championship. Although some individuals complained that Radio was an irritant, and that he negatively affected the sports in the school, they were appalled to see the progress of the team (Williams).

Family System Theory Dr. Murray Bowen came up with the Family System Theory in his supposition that a family is an emotional unit, and a person cannot be easily understood in the societal context if he does not constitute a unit. A family helps in understanding persons’ actions and the way of reasoning. Therefore, if a person fails to identify him/herself with a family, it becomes difficult to understand and accept him/her (Brown). Several scenarios in Radio exemplify the Family System Theory.

The first aspect is evidenced when the players failed to accept Radio because he lacked identification and behaved oddly. Radio comes from a single parent family in which his mother is the only breadwinner to him and his brother. The mother is a nurse with little time to spend with her children, since she is mostly earning her daily bread. Consequently, most of his neighbors thought that he lived alone in the street and could not tell the whereabouts of his family. The lack of the indispensable family interaction affects his reasoning propensity.

The players failed to recognize Radio as their friend since he behaved in a bizarre way and his family and origin were not traceable. Radio lacked a place where he could share his feelings, since he failed to interact well with people around him, and it affected him negatively. Consequently, he felt lonely and needed a comforting setting. The second family aspect is characterized by the relationship of Jones and his daughter. Mary reacts by participating in the cheering squad, simply to affirm her status as a member of Harold’s family. Jones’