“Life As We Know It” is a 2010 American comedy movie starring Holly and Eric. Their best friend couple, Peter and Alison, were crushed and died in a road accident leaving behind a small child called Sophie. Shortly after the crash, Eric and Holly learned that their friends had appointed them Sophie’s joint guardians (Berlanti, 2010). The movie is based on their joint parentship of bringing up Sophie until her second birthday.
The theme of gender roles highlights how society expects males and females to groom, behave, dress, and conduct themselves. There are four main gender stereotypes: domestic behaviors, personality traits, occupations, and physical appearance (Eagly & Sczesny, 2019). Men are presented as bold, aggressive, careless, and strong, while women are expected to be nurturing, responsible, caring, polite, and accommodating. Men should take care of finances, home repairs, and work, while women are supposed to cook, take care of children and keep the home clean. These schemas are well embedded in society, and they are widely accepted.
The movie depicts the theme of gender roles by showing feminism and masculinity. This is evident in the scene where Eric gets a job and leaves to work in another city while Holly is left with Sophie as her sole guardian. This is a gender stereotype whereby if parents have to stay apart, the mother has to take the sole responsibility for the child while the father is free. According to society, men are supposed to work and provide for the family, and that is why Eric gets his dream job to show his capability to provide for the family (Eagly & Sczesny, 2019). On the other hand, Holly remains with Sophie and takes care of her alone, demonstrating the gender roles stereotype of women taking care of the children. Holly spends most of her time with Sophie until; for the first time; she calls her “Mum.” Holly is presented as a caring woman by teaching Sophie how to read and staying with her until late at night to take care of her. Holly remains home because, according to domestic behavior gender stereotypes, women should stay home to take care of the family.
Parenthood is the adoption or bearing, or rearing of children. It involves taking full responsibility for a child, including their financial obligations, daily responsibilities, and physical and intellectual development (Butler et al., 2019). Unlike in the past, when parenthood was based on teaching children taboos of society, parenting in the 21st century involves nurturing a child. Parents have learned the benefits of being caring and its effects on the future lives of their children. The theme of parenting has significantly evolved with time. In the 16th and 17th centuries, parenting was based on teaching children about religion and supreme creatures who run the world (Butler et al., 2019). Later in the 18th and 19th centuries, parenting shifted to a gothic theme and redevelopments of taboos (Butler et al., 2019). The 21st century has seen much development in parenting styles as parents have changed their punishment styles, parenting nature, and parenting roles.
The theme of parenting is presented in most parts of the Film; however, this study will focus on the scene where Eric and Holly are appointed to become joint parents to Sophie (Berlanti, 2010). By accepting the parenting role, Eric and Holly bind themselves to Sophie’s financial, developmental, and physical protection. They had to ensure that Sophie was well brought up, just as she could have been with her parents. Eric assumes the role of the father and Holly the role of the mother to Sophie to represent her birth parents, who died in a road crash. Eric and Holly provide parenting to Sohpie by changing her diapers, giving her food, cleaning her, taking her to the pediatrician, and ensuring that she is groomed (Berlanti, 2010). Eric and Sophie were early adults who had not sired any child before and therefore were expected to have some challenges in parenting Sohpie, which can also be seen in this scene. When they were told that they were the appointed joint parents for Sohpie, they both responded in shock because they had never had a child before. Parenting Sophie gives them challenges in the first few days, whereby they do not know how to change diapers and other basic requirements of a parent. However, as time goes on, they get used to it and become better parents to Sophie.
The film “Life As We Know It” demonstrates some of the main issues experienced in society by early adults. The issue of gender roles is vivid during the age of early adulthood because it is when people are more attributed to the stereotypes, such as women owning pink bags and men going to the gym to look masculine. The other issue of parenting problems is also a societal issue for early adults who have no idea how to take care of a child. These issues have been well highlighted in this Film, and therefore society needs to seek a way to address them. For instance, gender issues can be addressed by raising campaigns against gender stereotypes, while young adults can be taught how to bring up children in schools.
References
Berlanti, G. (2010). Life as we know it. [Film]. Village Roadshow Pictures.
Butler, J., Gregg, L., Calam, R., & Wittkowski, A. (2019). Parents’ Perceptions and Experiences of Parenting Programmes: A Systematic Review and Metasynthesis of the Qualitative Literature. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 23(2), 176–204. Web.
Eagly, A. H., & Sczesny, S. (2019). Editorial: Gender Roles in the Future? Theoretical Foundations and Future Research Directions. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. Web.