Week 6: The Way Way Back

This week, I watched and wrote the survey for The Way Way Back (2013). The movie is about a 14-year-old boy, Duncan, who is on vacation with his mother, Pam; her boyfriend, Trent; and Trent’s daughter, Steph. Duncan dislikes Trent, which is understandable, since Trent is a poor father figure, boyfriend, and person overall. However, Duncan gets a job at a water park, where he finds a new father figure, more like an uncle figure, but, most importantly, a positive male role model in his life. I chose this movie for my research project because everyone can relate to familial conflict, even if it is never as extreme as it is in this film. It is also important to analyze how people react to authority figures who impose questionable rules on those who cannot easily push back.

To explore this, I looked at three different instances of conflict between various members of the family. The first occurs when Trent tells Duncan to wear a life jacket on a boat, even though no one else thinks it is necessary. To understand how people respond to conflict, I asked participants to put themselves in Pam’s position and answer the question: “What would you have told Duncan to do in this situation?” I wanted to see how they would handle the conflict, whether they would confront Trent, avoid the situation, or defer to someone with more experience.

I also examined the family’s major conflict, which arises when they discover that Trent has cheated on Pam. This revelation takes place at a large party, where Duncan becomes very upset. He urges Pam to take action and confront Trent, but he is clearly enraged, while Pam remains composed and saddened. Trent, meanwhile, becomes upset with Duncan for causing a scene. Once again, I asked participants how they would respond if they were in Pam’s position, in order to determine whether they would react emotionally or take a more restrained, pragmatic approach.