" The Journey of Astrid"

White Oleander is an extremely thought provoking movie that demonstrates several examples of psychological principals. Astrid Magnussen is a 15 year-old girl living in California with her mother Ingrid. After murdering her boyfriend, Ingrid is sent to prison for life, leaving Astrid to go through several foster homes. In the process, she experiences religion, violence, drugs, suicide, and ultimately how it feels to be loved. In this analysis, I have chosen to focus on conformity and Erikson’s theory of development as Astrid journeys into adulthood.

Conformity is defined as changing or adapting our behaviors or attitudes so that they are consistent with the social norms of the groups to which we belong. Social norms include the attitudes and standards of behavior expected of members of a particular group. Conformity is vividly illustrated in the scene ( 7:00) where Astrid is living with her third foster family. Her foster mom, Rena, is obsessed with money and tries to sell anything she can just to get more money.  One day at their yard sale, Astrid finds Rena trying to sell her dress that Claire (her previous foster mom) gave her. She initially does not want to sell it. Eventually Rena convinces her to forget about its sentimental value, and she sells the dress. As the movie continues, Astrid begins to conform to the habits and lifestyle of her foster family. She begins dressing more provocatively, dies her hair black and starts smoking. Astrid’s change in behavior to coincide with her new environment is an illustration of conformity.

Conformity takes many forms and affects many aspects of people’s lives. It commonly occurs in high schools. The clip below from the movie Mean Girls, illustrates an example.  Katy never gossiped or said mean things before coming to high school. After being placed in a negative environment and hanging out with girls who talked badly about others, she began to conform to their behaviors and do the same.

 

       Erikson’s theory of development proposes eight psychosocial stages of development. Each stage represents a developmental task or crisis that a person must negotiate. Each stage is a turning point with two opposing possible outcomes: greater personal competence or greater weakness and vulnerability. In the movie, Astrid is in the “identity versus identity confusion stage”( King 121). In this stage individuals are faced with finding who they are and where they are going in life.  The exploration of careers and alternative solutions to roles are important dimensions.  Astrid illustrates this in the final scene  (2:20) in the movie.  She states, “I couldn't understand the beginning until I had reached the end” (White Oleander).  Throughout the entire movie, she struggles to find her own identity and what her purpose for life is outside of what her mother wants her to be. She finally convinces her mother to “let her go,” and she moves to New York with her boyfriend to be an artist. Although she knows that a piece of her is always going to be with her mother, she has explored life and decides to move on and follow her passion.                 

                  King, L. (2008). The science of psychology: An appreciative view.Boston: McGraw-Hill.