Category Archives: Internal Dynamics of Families

American Beauty

Title: American Beauty

Date: 1999

Media type: Film

Format: Complete

Category: Internal Dynamics of Families

Keywords: adolescence, conflict management, family functioning, parent-child relationships, parenting styles

Rating: PG 13 – Parents Strongly Cautioned

Audience(s): College Age, Adults, Couples

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: From the outside, Lester and Carolyn Burnham are the picture perfect couple living in a picture perfect neighborhood. On the inside, Lester is feeling lost and depressed. He also has an interesting relationship with his daughter and her friend. Next door lives another teenager, Ricky, who has an abusive father.

Comments or Recommendations for Teaching: How do Jane and Ricky’s parents differ in their parenting styles?

Places to view: iTunes, YouTube, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play

Contributor: Krista Hamann

Hidden Figures

Title: Hidden Figures

Date: 2016

Media type: Film

Format: Complete

Category: Internal Dynamics of Families

Keywords: family demographics, family relationship, parenting styles, single parenting, work and family

Rating: PG – Parental Guidance Suggested

Audience(s): High School Age, College Age, Adults, Parents, Couples, Families

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history. Based on the unbelievably true life stories of three of these women, known as “human computers”, we follow these women as they quickly rose the ranks of NASA alongside many of history’s greatest minds specifically tasked with calculating the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and guaranteeing his safe return. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history as true American heroes. (Taraji P. Henson – Katherine G. Johnson, Octavia Spencer – Dorothy Vaughan, Janelle Monae – Mary Jackson (engineer)) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4846340/?ref_=nv_sr_1)

Places to view: Google Play, YouTube

Contributor: Krista Hamann

What to Expect When You’re Expecting

Title: What to Expect When You’re Expecting

Date: 2012

Media type: Film

Format: Complete

Category: Internal Dynamics of Families

Keywords: Decision-making, social and cultural influences, types of parents, work and family

Rating: PG 13 – Parents Strongly Cautioned

Audience(s): High School Age, College Age, Adults, Parents, Couples

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: Five couples’ intertwined lives are turned upside down by the challenges of impending parenthood. Over the moon about starting a family, TV fitness guru Jules and dance show star Evan find that their high-octane celebrity lives don’t stand a chance against the surprise demands of pregnancy. Baby-crazy author and advocate Wendy gets a taste of her own militant mommy advice when pregnancy hormones ravage her body; while Wendy’s husband, Gary, struggles not to be outdone by his competitive alpha-Dad, who’s expecting twins with his much younger trophy wife, Skyler. Photographer Holly is prepared to travel the globe to adopt a child, but her husband Alex isn’t so sure, and tries to quiet his panic by attending a “dudes” support group, where new fathers get to tell it like it really is. And rival food truck chefs Rosie and Marco’s surprise hook-up results in an unexpected quandary: what to do when your first child comes before your first date? (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1586265/?ref_=nv_sr_1)

Places to view: ITunes, Google Play, YouTube, Amazon Video, Vudu

Contributor: Krista Hamann