Title: Room
Date: 2015
Media type: Film
Rating: R – Restricted
Audience(s): College Age, Adults, Parents
Language: English
Film/Episode Summary: It’s a movie based off a book about a woman who was kidnapped and has a child with her abuser/kidnapper. Said woman raises her child, Jack, alone in a shed where she teaches the kid that this is the entire world. Later, they have to try to escape.
Places to view: Youtube, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, Itunes
Contributor: Lydia Sour
Title: Boyz N the Hood
Date: 1991
Media type: Film
Format: Clip
Category: Parenting, Human Growth and Development, Internal Dynamics of Families
Keywords: parent-child relationships, types of parent (single, father); adolescence, social and cultural influences, response to crises
Rating: R
Audience(s): College Age, Adults, Parents
Language: English
Film/Episode Summary: The movie follows Tre and his friends as they grow up in a crime ridden neighborhood outside of Los Angeles. The film depicts how risk factors such as drugs, crime, and gang activity can put stress on a child development and the relationships of family members. The friendships the boys make are portrayed as protective factors as well as risk factors for exposing them to crime and gang activity. The parenting done by Tre’s father is also an important component to the story because he does his best to be a positive influence for Tre and guide him to make good decisions when there are so many negative influences trying to steer him in the wrong direction.
Clip Start Time: 1.0395833333
Clip Description: Tre and his dad are spending some time together along the water in the harbor. Tre’s father asks Tre what he knows about sex and Tre describes the simplistics of intercourse and how a baby is made. Tre’s father goes on to explain how any guy can get a girl pregnant, but it takes a real man to be a good father. He goes on to describe to Tre how he turned his life around when he found out he was going to be a father because he wanted to be a good role model for his son. This is an example of teaching about sex and responsibility through openness and positive parenting.
Comments or Recommendations for Teaching: How does poverty and crime influence the decisions Tre and his friends make? How does the opinion of others (example: Tre’s teacher, the cops) influence the actions of Tre and his friends? In what ways are friends both positive and negative influences in a community such as the one in the film? What are some examples of how Furious’s parenting style acts as a protective factor for Tre and comparing his parenting to some of the other parents in the neighborhood.
Places to view: Youtube, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, Itunes
Contributor: Carly Baumann
Title: Free Willy
Date: 1993
Media type: Film
Category: Internal Dynamics of Families
Keywords: stress and coping, response to crisis, conflict management
Rating: PG
Audience(s): Children Under 12, High School Age, College Age, Adults
Language: English
Film/Episode Summary: Fishermen separate a young orca whale (Willy) from his parents and he ends up in a fish bowl at a marina. Meanwhile, a street kid runs afoul of the law and gets caught vandalizing the marina, but his social worker gets him off the hook (so to speak) provided he cleans up his mess at the marina. While there, he befriends the whale and teaches him tricks, something the trainer hasn’t been able to do. But when Willy is a dud in front of the audience, the marina owner plans some bad things, and the boy and his friends must try to (*** MAJOR SPOILERS ***) free Willy.
Places to view: Youtube, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, Itunes
Contributor: Anonymous
