Tag Archives: adulthood

Internal Dynamics of Families

27 Dresses

Title: 27 Dresses

Date: 2008

Media type: Film

Format: Complete

Category: Internal Dynamics of Families

Keywords: adulthood, fathering, response to crises, single parenting, stress and coping, work and family

Rating: PG 13 – Parents Strongly Cautioned

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

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: Jane is a perpetual bridesmaid. She is constantly planning her friends’ weddings, and she’s been a bridesmaid 27 times. While she’s not planning weddings, she’s at work swooning over her boss, George, who she has been in love with for longer than she would like to admit. Then Kevin comes along. He finds her attractive, but she wants nothing to do with the cynical writer that cannot stand the thought of marriage. One-day Jane’s sister Tess comes to town. Tess is the beautiful girl that every man falls in love with. Much to Jane’s dismay, Tess and her boss George hit it off. However, Tess lies about her entire life to get George to fall in love with her. Eventually, the two get engaged and start the wedding planning. Kevin interviews the couple for the wedding and engagement column in the newspaper. To Jane’s disdain, she runs into Kevin while he is interviewing the couple. The two end up having fun and he comes back to her apartment, where he sees her 27 dresses. Without her knowledge, he starts writing a story about her, and eventually she finds out. Will the two end up together, or will Jane forever be a bridesmaid and never a bride?

Comments or Recommendations for Teaching: In what ways was Jane a mother to her younger sister Tess? How did the death of their mother affect Jane and Tess differently. How did their father have to shift roles into being the sole caretaker of the two?

Places to view: Itunes, Youtube, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, Cinemax

Contributor: Krista Hamann

Human Growth and Development

13 Going on 30

Title: 13 Going on 30

Date: 2004

Media type: Film

Format: Complete

Category: Human Growth and Development

Keywords: adolescence, adulthood, decision-making, parent-child relationships

Rating: PG 13 – Parents Strongly Cautioned

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

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: Jenna Rink was humiliated by the popular crowd at her 13th birthday party. She closed her eyes and wished that she was 30, and to her luck, there was some wishing dust that fell on her. To her surprise, she got what she wished for. She had her dream body, a killer apartment, the closet she always imagined, and her dream job at her favorite magazine. However, Jenna realizes that this isn’t the life she wanted. She just wants to be with her best friend Matt. Will she end up with Matt in the end or will she keep the ‘perfect’ life she always dreamed of?

Comments or Recommendations for Teaching: How did Jenna’s parents parent her at her different ages, 13 and 30?

Places to view: Itunes, Youtube, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play

Contributor: Krista Hamann

Human Growth and Development

La La Land

Title: La La Land

Date: 2016

Media type: Film

Format: Complete

Category: Human Growth and Development

Keywords: adulthood, decision making, family relationship, parent-child relationships

Rating: PG 13 – Parents Strongly Cautioned

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

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: Mia is an aspiring actress that spends most of her time serving coffee to movie stars and going to auditions. Sebastian is a Jazz musician that spends most of his time playing at cocktail parties and in dimly lit bars in order to get by. Although the two aren’t fond of one another at their first meetings, they develop a beautiful relationship with one another. Together they follow their dreams and try to support one another along the way. In the end, Mia and Sebastian have to decide if they should follow their dreams together or separately.

Comments or Recommendations for Teaching: How do Mia’s parents support her in adulthood and how is that different from when she was an adolescent?

Places to view: Amazon Video

Contributor: Krista Hamann