Kramer Case

I feel that the movie Kramer vs. Kramer would be considered a postmodern film. The plot of this movie is about a housewife who walks out on her workaholic husband and leaves her son behind when she goes. The movie is neither optimistic nor pessimistic but one that merely tells life as it is. The movie explores the ups and downs, trials and tribulations, and joy and sorrow of the family. This film tells a story of how painful life can be. The movie dives into the problems of divorce and shifting gender roles. I feel this movie is postmodern because unlike modern film the family presented does not consist of established values, loving personal relationships, and effective childhood socializations. The movie does not seem to cherish "family values" because the opening scene is about the destruction of a family. The family presented to the viewer is full of conflict, deceit, mayhem, chaos, and anxiety. The relationship between Ted and Joanna is obviously fragmented and broken because Joanna walks out on Ted and informs him that she no longer loves him. Throughout the movie Ted does learn to care for Billy through trial and error by shifting his time and energy from work to family. Billy becomes Ted's priority through the movie. Ted is severely disadvantaged because he becomes a single Dad without any type of notice. He is forced to shift his life in order to care for him son. Ted is definitely flawed. I feel like Ted's character is a crisp depiction of a work driven Father. Kramer vs. Kramer is a postmodern film that addresses the reality that "dysfunctional" families are a norm. Divorce is as close to the Kramer's as right down the hall. Margaret, a friend of Joanna's who becomes close with Ted throughout the movie, is a recent divorce who establishes a norm of divorce in the movie. This Family Stress Theory tells us that stress is normal and that stress disturbs equilibrium. In the movie Kramer vs. Kramer this concept is illustrated. After Joanna leaves Ted he seems to accept the news rather quickly. He shows some optimism that she will come back but dismisses these notions within a few scenes of the movie. The morning after Joanna leaves Ted equilibrium is disturbed. Ted attempts to cook Billy French toast and fails miserably. It is implied that Ted does not usually cook and he is rather helpless while cooking. He is doing everything wrong and making a mess as he goes along. Ted is rather stressed by the fact that he has to cook dinner and states that he has to earn the bacon and cook it to. Ted encounters a big stressor when his wife leaves and it's when he has to shift gender roles. This stressor comes up in the film more than the French toast incident. It also resurfaces when Billy called Ted at work. This phone call was harmful towards his career because a colleague was in his office when the call took place. He looked at Ted rather strangely as he instructed his son that he was not allowed to watch more than 1 hour of television a day. It was implied in the scene that his colleague was concerned about the call. He looked quizzical while Ted was on the phone. Ted's life is changed with the loss of his wife's presence. Her leaving him caused his life to change. Another characteristic exhibited in this movie of the Family Stress Theory was the