PRETTY IN PINK

EDSC 320

05/06/17 1
 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

TITLE: PRETTY IN PINK

PRODUCER: Lauren Shuler
WRITTEN BY: John Hughes
LENGTH: 99 Minutes
PERIOD: 1980s
RATING: PG13

05/06/17 2
 Introduction to
Main Character - Andie

Young Adolescent, attends high school in a rich

neighborhood.
Poor but fashion conscious.
An only child, lives with her dad in a poor neighborhood.
Mom left the family a couple of years ago causing the
dad great emotional pain and subsequent depression.
Has a crush on one of the rich boys (Blane McDonough)
in her school.
Does not have many friends at school.
Works at TRAX, a new wave music store in Chinatown,
managed by her older friend Iona.

05/06/17 3
 ELEMENTS OF ANALYSIS
CONTEXT PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

IDENTITY Andie is conflicted by

FAMILY Andie is an only child
her dual roles in life. At school
of a single father. The father suffers
she is expected to be a normal
from depression and is an ineffective
teenager but at home she is
parent. Andie is more of a parent to
more of a parent with lots of
the father and takes care of him.
adult responsibilities.

AUTONOMY Andie has a fairly

PEERS Andie is accepted by her
developed sense of independence
poor friends at school but tormented
and autonomy compared to others
by a clique of richie kids who tease her
her age due to her having to deal
about her cheap clothes and consider
with unique family circumstances.
her beneath them.

05/06/17 4
 (A) CONTEXT: FAMILY
Andies family is poor. Her fathers depression caused by his wifes
desertion makes him an ineffective parent and unable to hold a full time job.
This is a major cause of emotional stress and financial strain for Andie who
throughout the movie encourages her dad to get up and find a job. She is
more of a parent to her dad as evidenced by her waking him up each
morning, fixing his breakfast and maintaining general order at home.
However in spite of role reversal, Andie and her father seem to enjoy a
close and loving relationship.

Adverse consequences of divorce including exposure of children to marital

conflict, disorganized or disrupted parenting and marked increases in the degree
of stress in the household, often lead to lose of income (Steinberg, 2008 pg.
151).

The continued exposure of adolescents to unresolved marital conflict as

evidenced by Andies pleading with her father Why cant you just realize that
shes gone and shes not going to come back? is a source of adolescent stress
and depression (Steinberg 2008, pg. 157).

05/06/17 5
 (B) CONTEXT: PEERS

Andie and her friends are tormented by the richie kids at school
because of their poverty. She is a smart, confident girl but has to
work and saves money by buying secondhand clothes and uses her
sewing and fashion skills to create unique fashions. Her social class
becomes a major issue when she catches the eye of the popular
and rich boy Blane.
The attitude of the richie kids is evident in the following remarks
they make about her:
Benny to Andie You are worthless, arent you?
Benny to Blane after Blane brought Andie to the richie party You
shouldnt be allowed to invite just anybody.
Steff to his friend Blane referring to Blanes relationship with Andie The
girl was, is and will always be, nada.

05/06/17 6
 Composition of cliques
The most important influence on the composition of cliques is
similarity. Adolescents cliques typically are composed of people
who are of the same age, the same race, and from the same
socioeconomic background (Steinberg 2008, pg. 179). According to
Steinberg among adolescents, best friends and dating relationships
rarely cross social class lines, and when they do, it is always
between adolescents of adjacent classes.
Andie is conflicted by her attraction to Blane a popular rich boy, who
is also interested in Andie but they both bear the blunt of teasing
and harassment from Blanes richie peer group. Both have to
break away from their peer groups to give their relationship a
chance.
- over time the structure of peer groups changes, in keeping
with their changing needs and interests (Steinberg 2008 pg.
174).

05/06/17 7
 (C) PSYCHOSOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
1. IDENTITY
Andie is conflicted by the dual roles she has to play in life. At
home she is more of a parent to her depressed father and at
school she struggles to be accepted as a normal teenager but
she has to deal with lack of acceptance from her peers and a
host of adult responsibilities including financial responsibilities.
All this issues lead to anxiety and stress and adversely affects
her self esteem as evidenced by her sensitivity about her family
situation when she tells Blane I dont want you to take me
home. because I dont want you to see where I live.
an adolescents social class as indexed by his or her
parents occupations, education, and income- is an
important determinant of self esteem (Steinberg 2008 pg
280).

05/06/17 8
 (C) PSYCHOSOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
2. AUTONOMY

Andies family situation living with a depressed, divorced ineffective parent

has pushed her into individuation and development of emotional autonomy
earlier than expected.
Having divorced parents prompts adolescents to grow up faster, to de-
idealize parents at an earlier age, because observing their parents
during the process of divorce may reveal their flaws and failings
(Steinberg, 2008 pg. 308).
She is far less emotionally dependent on her father as we note she turns to
Iona (her older friend at work) when she is sad or needs emotional help This
is consistent with adolescents going through development of emotional
autonomy.
First adolescents do not generally rush to their parents when they are
upset, worried or in need of assistance. Second, they do not see their
parents as all knowing or all-powerful. Third they often have great deal
of emotional energy wrapped up in relationships outside the family
(Steinberg 2008, pg. 305).

05/06/17 9
 ANDIES PROBLEM
How to be get acceptance from her peers for who she is, as well as
her relationship with Blane, the richie boy.
How to get her father to accept that the mother is never coming
back and therefore he needs to move on, get a job and build a
normal family life.

05/06/17 10
 HOW CONTEXTS OF FAMILY AND
PEERS AFFECTED ANDIES
PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Divorce and the breakdown of family structure can adversely affect
adolescent development.
Andies dad has not come to terms with her mothers desertion.
He is still depressed and subsequently an ineffective parent to
Andie who has to play the role of parent while suppressing her
pain at the loss of her mother leading to stress, identity conflict
and her emotional autonomy at an early age. Her excessive
responsibilities deny her an opportunity to engage in identity
exploration and experimentation and therefore prolong her
identity crisis.`

05/06/17 11
HOW CONTEXTS OF FAMILY AND PEERS
AFFECTED ANDIES PSYCHOSOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT (Cont.)
Financial strain is associated with disruptions in parenting and often
leads to increases in adolescent difficulties, including increased
emotional distress. Financial strain in the family leaves Andies dad
more depressed and Andie is forced to take up adult financial
responsibilities. Her cheap clothes form the basis of the Richies
teasing at school.
For girls, financial difficulty is likely to lead to more demands for maturity
and increased responsibility around the house (Steinberg 2008 pg. 157).
The stress associated with her familys poverty is evident in her
relationship with Blane when she begs him to drop her off at the tracks I
dont want you to see where I live

05/06/17 12
HOW CONTEXTS OF FAMILY AND PEERS
AFFECTED ANDIES PSYCHOSOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT (Cont.)
Lack of acceptance by her peers as well as victimization at school
leads to Andies increased stress and anxiety about her family
situation.

This contributed to Andies poor self-conception and low self-

esteem which may have affected development of her identity
leading to further alienation from her peers at school as the
Principal tells her when she complains about the victimization
Andie, if you put out signals that you dont want to belong,
people are going to make sure that you dont

05/06/17 13
 IS ANDIE A TYPICAL ADOLESCENT?

Andies victimization and harassment is quite common among

adolescents who are especially sensitive to being rejected.
The more they are teased, rejected, and victimized, the more hesitant
they feel which only compounds their problem creating a vicious cycle
(Steinberg, 2007 pg. 191).
Andie hopes for a normal family life, and she encourages her father
each morning to get up, go out and look for a job. She pleads with
her father to get over her mothers desertion sure! you go through it
everyday (the pain of losing his wife), why cant you just realize that
shes gone and shes not going to come back.

05/06/17 14
 IS ANDIE A TYPICAL ADOLESCENT?
(Cont.)
She desires to be accepted by her peers and have a normal relationship
with Blane. She tries to get along with the richie kids at school
including covering up for them when the teachers suspect she is being
bullied.

As she says to her Dad about Blane, I justI dont knowIm not
sure theyre going to accept me Its my friends too, its everybody.

She says to her friends when they oppose her relationship with
Blane. If I hate him (Blane) because hes got money, thats the
same thing as them hating us because we dont.

Her early development of emotional autonomy is very common among

adolescents who have witnessed conflicts between parents before,
during and after divorce or who receive ineffective parenting due to
divorce.

05/06/17 15
 Works cited
Movie Scripts:
http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/p/pretty-in-pink-
script-transcript.html
Steinberg, L. (2008). Adolescence (8th ed.) New York: McGraw Hill.

Movie Quotes:
http://www.moviequotes.com/repository.cgi?pg=3&tt=80290
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_in_Pink
Building a foundation for healthy family relationships; Nov/Dec 1995
http://www.jgs.net/ecf/tfn11954.htm
Royal college of Psychiatrists: Mental Health and Growing up 3rd
Ed. Divorce and Separation of Parents
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinformation/mentalhealtha
ndgrowingup/14divorceandseparation.aspx

05/06/17 16