Boyhood Movie Analysis

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The following essay will focus on the film Boyhood (2014) in attempts to explain how three significant events in the main character’s life story, Mason, exemplify developmental changes in the lifespan.

There will be references to three developmental domains, cognitive development in terms of information processing, conceptual resources and perceptual skill, physical development referring to growth in the process of puberty and psychosocial development being the expansion of the personality, including the gain of social attitudes and skills particularly according to Erikson theory, the battle of identity vs role diffusion (Sigelman, 2013, p. 38).
Boyhood is a story, based over a 12-year period, of growing up captured through the eyes of a
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As the film switches from a scene where he is 13 to 15, Mason has undergone a major growth spurt as his height has increased measurably in comparison to two years earlier. Inwardly, the event of drug and alcohol use can effect the development on the brain within the simple structural measures, such as the ratio of white-to-gray matter in the brain. This can determine large-scale changes into the early adult lifespan stage. Drug use alters the structure of the brain as the development is at its vital stages. Mason is unconsciously putting his brain at risk as it is still developing as explained teenage brains are more sensitive to drug use.
Psychosocially, it can be articulated Mason is searching for an identity that he can title as his own through his experimentation of his physical appearance. His hair can be seen as long and covering his face, a style that can be considered individual. This can be seen as an outward expression of his inner fight between identity verse role diffusion.
Within the film Mason is encouraged to seek a job by his stepdad as a means to become more independent and productive. The result is the occurrence of the teenage boys first job, working in a restaurant as a bus boy cleaning and shifting plates. He is articulated as having poor work ethic and is shown arguing with his boss about his workload. This life event is effective in its development of Masons cognitive
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Autonomy for Mason equates to a job in the work place. He realizes in order to become an independent and self-sufficient in his following year with going to college he must fit into society’s expectations. At this particular stage in Masons life he is continuously questioning authority, as exhibited at work with his boss, as a way to establish his own set principles of right and wrong aligned with his morals.

The third major event in the film Boyhood is the end of his first adolescent relationship with his high school sweetheart, Sheena. It is revealed in the movie that Sheena had cheated on Mason with a college lacrosse player.

Psychosocially Mason feels embarrassment from his peers through the public breakup. He feels judgment from his peers as he had already brought prom tickets for the both of them, which he feels like, are out of the question for attending. In terms of the effects of identify verses role diffusion Mason can be seen to be merging into role diffusion. Often adolescents associate identity with their relationships. This can be quite detrimental as if or when the relationship ends adolescents fall into diffusion. Stuttering their growth in making identity decision leaving them profoundly confuses and insecure. This is demonstrated clearly within the movie as Mason is represented to be

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