Movie Analysis: On Golden Pond

The movie chosen was “On Golden Pond.” The life transition and developmental issue present in the couple are the father 's cognitive decline and age-related memory loss, familial conflict and divergence between father and daughter. Norman and Ethel appear hunched and infirm which is a sign of osteoporosis or general bone density decline, and their hair is gray and thinning. Ethel seems to be in better shape than Norman. The movie is filled with conflict and resolution. When daughter Chelsea arrives, the family is forced to revisit and renew the ties that bind them and overcome the generational conflict that has occurred for years. The father Norman is turning 80 years old and frequently talks about dying and aging. He appears disconnected

Chelsea admits that she still feels as if she is a child in his presence. The father belittles and patronizes her at every opportunity. Through the lens of the family systems theoretical orientation, the focus is on patterns that develop in families to defuse the tension and anxiety. According to Brown (1999), a key generator of stress in families is the perception of either too much closeness or too much distance in a relationship. The degree of anxiety in this family can be determined by the current levels of external stress and the sensitivities to particular themes that are transmitted through the generations. If the family members cannot think through their responses to relationship dilemmas, a state of chronic anxiety may be set in place. According to Brown (1999.), the primary goal of family systems therapy is to reduce constant tension by enabling knowledge and awareness of how the emotional system functions; and by improving levels of differentiation, where the aim is to make changes for the self rather than on trying to change others. As per Richardson, Gilleard, Lieberman, and Peeler (1994), The short-term goal is to foster better relationships between family members of the different generations by understanding the family system with its rules and balances of power and to mobilize the system by reconstruing these rules and having the family observe its own

(1999). Bowen Family Systems Theory and Practice: Illustration and
Critique. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy,20(2), 94-103. doi:10.1002/j.1467-8438.1999.tb00363.x
Richardson, C. A., Gilleard, C. J., Lieberman, S., & Peeler, R. (1994). Working with older adults and their families - a review. The Association for Family Therapy,16,