She’s the Man

Title: She’s the Man

Date: 2006

Media type: Film

Category: Internal Dynamics of Families

Keywords: conflict management, types of parents, family functioning, divorce

Rating: PG -13

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

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: Viola (played by Amanda Bynes) pretends to be her brother Sebastian so that she can play soccer at his new private school because the girls team at her high school was cut. She got away with it by lying to her divorced parents saying to each of them that she was at the other parent’s house. The film follows Viola as she becomes a better soccer player, all the while she is trying to fight her mother’s desire that she be a lady like debutant instead of being a rough and tough soccer player.

Comments or Recommendations for Teaching: How does having divorced parents affect how Viola and Sebastian act? How does Viola’s mother learn to draw the line between letting her daughter pursue her desire to be a soccer player while still wanting her daughter to be a debutant?

Contributor: Krista Hamann