I am Sam
Plot summary
The movie presents Sam, a single father with developmental disability, struggling to raise his daughter amidst the existing situation. The mother had abandoned Lucy and her disable father, making her to depend on the father. Even though he has developmental disability, Sam gives the needed parental care to Lucy, making her to feel that she is not missing anything, in the world. Ann, the neighbor and other people with developmental disabilities provided enough support to Sam enabling him to give the right care to his daughter. However, the implication sets in when Lucy realizes that she has more intellectual abilities than her father has. This gives rise to teasing by her friends that Lucy is under the care of less intellectual person. The teasing by the friends makes her feel uneasy something that leads to her being taken away by social worker during her birthday. The arrival of the custody case, over Sam being unable to take care of his more intellectual daughter, makes him to go for Rita as his lawyer. While Rita works hard in ensuring that Sam secures his parental rights, he (Sam) works towards solving her (Rita) family problem. This leads to the close relationship between the two as they help each other in the problems facing them. However, the trial turns out bitter to Sam as the opposing counsel tells him that he is unable to raise a daughter who is more intellectual than he is. Towards the end of the movie, the Foster family decides to give back Lucy to Sam with the belief that Randy would lend hand towards the raising her. The movie ends with a scene depicting Sam and Lucy participating in a game attended by Rita and other friends.
Analysis
The movie depicts the aspects of social development theory in the life of a child. This is especially illustrated in the relationship existing between Lucy, his father and his friends. Lucy comes out as a daughter to the father who has developmental disability something that makes her behaves differently among friends. The more knowledgeable other (MKO) in this movie are the teachers and friends. Lucy’s friends make her feel that she is living unusual life because of being under a father whom has less intellectual abilities than she has. The friends act as a triggering factor in determining the Lucy’s general perception. If not for the parents, Lucy would not have felt the magnitude of being under the care of a disable father. The friends make her to feel having a disable father always bears a problem, something that had never come in her mind. She had always considered her father as the all knowing because of the care that Sam was striving to give her. The movie depicts Sam as able to give the right care to her daughter even though he has development disability (Berk, 2008). Lucy turns out to be satisfied until the external influence by the friends sets. Further, we do not expect Lucy to be intellectually capable than Sam as the latter was his father. However, Lucy comes out as having more mental capability than her father. This implies that Lucy must have exhibited an external influence, other than his father’s, during her development. Lucy does not stick to taking after her father’s capability and there must have been some more knowledgeable others (MKO) who influenced the way she thinks (Vygotsky). If she had stick to following her father’s path, then there are high expectations that she would not have surpassed the intellectual capability of his father. The relationship between Sam, Lucy and the friends shows that social interactions have considerable effect on child development. This is enough illustration of the effect of MKO on the life of a child. The aspect of zone of proximal development (ZPD), as stated by Vygotsky is also detectable in this movie (Vygotsky). Lucy is able to make his decision in life under the interaction with her father, and with the peers. She learns that Sam is not able to take care of her because of the less intellectual disability that her peers had always associated Sam as having. The collaboration with the peers forms the zone for Lucy learning various aspects of life. For instance, she learns that it is unusual to find an individual with developmental disability providing parental care. The view provided by her peers forms the platform for her development and the view about life.
The plot of the movie also constitutes the aspects of psychosocial development theory by Erickson. There are many interactions depicted in the movies thereby providing the platform for explaining the effects of psychosocial development. The movie depicts Sam as striving to cultivate trust between him and his daughter. The magnitude of the efforts put by Sam comes out when considering that he had developmental disability. He goes on to provide a conducive environment for her daughter, amidst his personal disabilities something that makes Lucy to feel that someone cares for her. Lucy develops a trust in his father as Sam proved that she can depend on him on whichever circumstance. This makes Lucy to feel that she is safe and secure just like the other children. Further, Lucy does not realize the effect of being more intellectually capable than her father even thought her peers continued teasing her. The care given by Sam makes Lucy feel that there is no difference between having a disable father and having an able father. This shows that the care provided by Sam was enough to manipulate Lucy’s feeling that she was just like the other peers. If not for the care that Sam had provided to his daughter, the latter would have felt that the world in unpredictable to her. Without the care, she would have realized the difference of having a disable father and having an able father. This shows the effect of trust vs mistrust on the development of personality (Erikson). The trust that Lucy establishes on his father contributes to the way she relates to her peers. She does not consider the teasing as she goes on to play with her father just like the other peers would do with their parents. This illustrates on the effects of Autonomy vs shame and doubt as Lucy develops a sense of personal control (Erikson). The development of personal control is what makes Lucy to go against the teasing by the friends, while continuing her usual relationship with the father (Berk, 2008). As illustrated by Erikson, in his theory, Lucy gains control on making her own choices something that contributes to her actions in the scenes. She has no doubt about the care given by his father.
Reference
Berk, Laura, 2008. Child Development 8th edition. NY: Prentice Hall.
