Poor Relationships In The Film 'Raising Arizona'

Beau Ermatinger

Hr. 7

Through the movie “Raising Arizona” we were able to see examples of poor relationships and advanced relationships. The first relationship I would like to talk about is H.I. and his wife Edwina's relationship. They first meet when H.I. goes to jail for the first time. We see their relationship clearly go into the initiating phase as we see them first meet and interact. The second time H.I. is sent to jail we see him and Edwina jump into the experimenting phase as the security guards have to pull H.I. out of the room to stop talking to her. Often times in movies the stages won’t be as clear as they are with H.I. and Edwina’s relationship. When H.I. goes to jail the third time it has almost become a pattern. Edwina and H.I. clearly have feelings for

The secrets between them are becoming less as they self disclose information to intensify their relationship. They enter the Integrating stage of their relationship when H.I. asks for her hand in marriage. They clearly want to build their everyday life around each other and are forming closer bonds. We don’t really truly see them enter the bonding phase until they kidnap the baby. Although they jump back and forth through the differentiating phase their relationship is actually a very good model for a great relationship. We can clearly see that this is no ordinary relationship but they make it work. Arguments are important for relationships and help them become stronger as they are solved. We see H.I. and Edwina’s relationship build throughout the movie and in the end see them finally go into the bonding phase. They understand each other's differences and understand what is best for their family life. Although we cannot compare this to a normal relationship it is still a great