Social Psychology 2017-2018 Name: DD

Monrada Teewunda
Quarter Project ID: 5961204

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2004) Movie Analysis

Section 1: Nature & Nurture

Benjamin was born in the night that World War I ended. Her mother died while he born.
His father, Thomas Button, thought Benjamin is a monster because of his look and he born in the
night that a war ended, also his wife died because of Benjamin. So, he leaves Benjamin in front
of the almshouse which is Queenies house. Benjamins noticeable nature is the look that very
different from the others. He born with an old age and when he grows up, he will younger and
younger like his life is backward time. He grows up with Queenie as his mother, and another old
people in the house. He learns many things from those people. He meets a person who teaches
him to play piano, first person who takes him to outside, or person who stuck lightning seven
times. These people teach him many things about life, Mrs. Maple tell him that every life have to
gone, Mr. Oti tell him about his unlucky life but he can enjoy his life, and Mr. Daws told him
that he struck lightning seven times but he doesnt die. It is an unbelievable story but it happened
like Benjamins life. Those are environment or nurture that Benjamin growing up with.
Therefore, Benjamin is not a feral child because he had taught and had conversations with many
people.

Benjamin was there in front of an almshouse that Queenie is a supervisor. Queenie

decides that she will raise Benjamin but Mr. Weathers disagreed with it. He might be the
uninvolved type of parents because he doesnt seem to care much about Benjamin. However, he
does not really dont care anymore, he also taught something to Benjamin like they are not close
but not hate each other. Queenie is really a good woman. She also a nice mother for Benjamin.
She is not disguised to Benjamin. She believed that Benjamin is a miracle, but not the miracle
that people want to see. Queenie is the authoritative parenting style because she very cares of
Benjamin like she does not allow Benjamin goes outside of the house as she worries about him.
She also teaches him many things and also scolds the bad things like when Benjamin comes back
home very late. She really loves him as a son. When Mr. Button told Benjamin that he is his
father, she is little angry because she raises him by herself and with her love. Nevertheless, she
comes to Mr. Buttons funeral, she understands him and not angry at all.

Benjamin has different maturation from the others which is he born old and grows up
younger. Because of that make people think Benjamin is very old as they knowing nothing but
actually inside of Benjamin, he is just a kid. Although Benjamin has a good growing, he learned
many things from people around him. He has the first experiences outside of a house when he
was about ten years old. Mr. Oti takes Benjamin to outside, then he left him and went with a
woman. Benjamin has to come home by himself which is the first time he went outside. He got
the big experiences from working with Captain Mike on the Chelsea boat. He knows about
women and drinking. He accident joined World War II, and it made many people who work on
Social Psychology 2017-2018 Name: DD
Monrada Teewunda
Quarter Project ID: 5961204
the boat died also, Captain Mike. He got taught in many things too, about a poem from Mr.
Weathers, or playing a piano from Mrs. Maple. The process of equilibrium of Benjamin is really
good. He doesnt have any enemies. Mr. Daws who struck by lightning on him seven times but
he doesnt die. He said because God wants him to live more. It is miracle things like Benjamin
life. He meets Elizabeth while he is working on the boat. They are talking and understanding in
many things with each other and he learned how to love someone. When Thomas comes to tell
him that Benjamin is his son, he is confusing but he doesnt hate on Thomas anymore. He is
actually good at every step with his different life. Some people have a normal life but do not
good at every step.

Section 2: Understanding about Genders and Conformity

Benjamin starts interested to another gender when he saw Daisy for the first time. He
seems interested in Daisy and also Daisy seems interested in him. One night, they have to sleep
but Benjamin spent time talking with Daisy. Daisys grandmother comes to see it and tells
Benjamin to watch his age. It makes Benjamin more disappointed in himself. Benjamin starts a
career life with working on a boat. He meets Captain Mike. Captain Mike knows that Benjamin
never drinks alcohol, never smokes, and never has a girlfriend. He takes Benjamin to Bar to
drink and go to a whorehouse. Captain Mike is more than boss or friend. Benjamin knows many
things from Captain Mike. In there, Benjamin met women and he learns about sex. This is the
action that Benjamin got influenced by Captain Mike and other men. After that, he goes sailing
with Captain and other crews. He meets Elizabeth and he falls in love with her but she already
has a husband. It is the first time that he feels heartbroken. When Benjamin returns home, he
meets Daisy again. Daisy told Benjamin that she is interested in him but Benjamin rejects it.
When Daisy has a show in New York, Benjamin goes to see, then he knows Daisy already has a
boyfriend and it is the second time that he feels heartbroken. Daisy has an accident from Taxi
crash. She has to maintain in the hospital. Benjamin comes to visit but she doesnt want him to
see her in this situation, so she banishes him away. When he comes back home again, he met
Daisy and they are reconciled. Those show that Benjamin also conform other people and he was
interested in a woman like usual.

When Queenie found Benjamin, she decides that she will raise him but Mr. Weathers
disagrees with that decision. However, Queenie brings Benjamin and tells people in almshouse
that she will raise this kid. Everyone is accepting and tell her that they will help but Mr. Whether
is still disagreed with that. It seems to be Direct pressure method. The best evidence of the Belief
in group morality method is people in the church. Queenie usually brings Benjamin to the church
which people believe in god. She told the head of that church about Benjamin. Then, they pray to
god for Benjamin can walk again. Benjamin can walk and they believe it is because of god but
actually, it is because of Benjamin is more younger, so he can walk. The Rationalization method
and Shared stereotypes method also appear in this movie too. It comes from when Queenie,
Social Psychology 2017-2018 Name: DD
Monrada Teewunda
Quarter Project ID: 5961204
Daisy, or other people around Benjamin keep telling him that he is special, so he is different and
they tell that because God makes him like this.

Section 3: Adulthood, Old Age, and Death

Benjamin becomes early adulthood when he separates from his mother to work on a boat
with Captain Mike. He has an independent life. He meets Elizabeth and falls in love with her,
after that he heartbreaks from her. He also participants in the World War II and he loses many
friends in the war. After stop working in a boat, he has a career life like work in more different
careers. It is an early-middle adulthood. He comes back home again and he meets Daisy. Daisy
decides to marry with Benjamin and they go honeymoon together. When they return Benjamins
house again, they found a bad news that Benjamins mother, Queenie passed away. They decide
that they will live together. Benjamin sells his fathers house to buy themselves a house.
Benjamin is working and Daisy is opening a ballet school. Then, in one day. Daisy found that
she pregnant with Benjamin. They will be a family and Benjamin is worrying about it. He
thought out of if their child born like him how will his child feels or how will he does as a
father for his child while his life is backward time. Their child is a girl and they named her as
Caroline. Benjamin is still afraid and he decides that he will leave Daisy and Caroline before
Caroline remembers him as a father. Daisy disagrees with him. Benjamin tells Daisy that she
cannot raise two kids by the same time with only herself and tells that Caroline needs a father,
not a playmate. He also tells Daisy finds the father for Caroline, and finally, he left. This is a
middle adulthood because he has more life experiences and also has family issues. Whereupon,
he goes to Indie. He works and lives there for about more than ten years. Until he is a teen, he
comes back to visit Daisy and Caroline. He found out that Caroline has a father. He sad but he
can accept it. After that, there is a phone from almshouse to Daisy about Benjamin. Daisy goes to
see by herself and she knows the kid is playing the piano is Benjamin. Daisy knows that
Benjamin is old and Alzheimer. She would stop by to make sure he is comfortable. Daisy moves
in, when Benjamin is five. She takes care of him until he died. When Benjamin move in he is
retire and Alzheimer, that is shown a stage of late adulthood. It shows inside of Benjamin still
like a normal person.

Because of he is not a normal like everyone, he has backward time. Therefore, he

usually has a hard time in many things. When he was told by Mrs. Fuller that he has to look your
age while he was playing with Daisy. Then, he asks Queenie Why he is different? This is kind
of denial that he doesnt want to be different from the others. After Benjamin and Daisy got
married, they have a child. While Daisy is pregnant, Benjamin is afraid to be a father and his
emotion is like he angry with himself. When Caroline almost one year, Benjamin tells Daisy that
she has to find a father for Caroline. He is like to bargain a thing that he doesnt do by himself.
He is very depressed, then he decides to leave Caroline and Daisy. He is coming back to visit
them and he found that Caroline has a father. He understands Daisy because he accepts that he
Social Psychology 2017-2018 Name: DD
Monrada Teewunda
Quarter Project ID: 5961204
cannot be a father and he will die as a baby. When Daisy got crushed by taxi and Benjamin goes
to visit, Daisy denies Benjamins care. It seems like denial stage but not really to. The stage of
anger of Daisy was the scene that Benjamin tells Daisy to find a father for Daisy. She really not
agreed with it and angry on Benjamin that he said about it. This is also the stage of bargain
because she doesnt want Benjamin to leave her and she asks to stay with her. She is very
depressed same as Benjamin when he leaves her and also when he comes to visit her. After that,
Benjamin becomes a kid and lives in an almshouse. Daisy usually goes to take care of him. She
takes care of him until he passed away. While he passed away, she didnt cry anymore and This
is shown as a kind of stage of acceptation. In conclusion, Benjamin can accept himself since he
starts working but he was worrying again when he has a family.