An
Analysis of the Movie
“National
Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”
Part
2 of 2
This analysis is an exercise for you and
your spouse to learn more about barriers to communication in marriage. It is
based on the movie, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. “ The five terms
below are placed in the order as they appeared in movie. Under each term is a quotation from the
movie. Underneath the quote is brief
analysis.
Moralizing
Wife is in kitchen.
She lights up a cigarette. From
the next room, her mother almost instantaneously yells out, “Helen, are you
smoking again” [with the implication that it is quite wrong to do]. Helen, immediately extinguishes (smashes) the
cigarette and yells back, “Noooo.” She
then chops down on a head of lettuce in frustration.
Marriage counseling ft myers understands
that this condescending “better than thou” attitude undermines the concepts of
acceptance and unconditional love.
Criticizing (Judging)
When the
Christmas lights on the house do not light after the first attempt, when
everyone is standing outside in anticipation, the mother in-law chimes in,
“Talk about pissing your money away. I
hope you kids see what a silly waste of resources this was.”
Marriage counseling estero knows that
constant criticism poisons the atmosphere of the home and the marital
relationship. The spouse who is criticized rarely feels accepted or “good
enough”.
Interrupting
After the
Christmas house lights do not light, Chevy says to his son, “Maybe we ought to
go up there and just….” The son
interjects, “Whoa, jeez, look at the time.
Time for bed”.
Marriage counselor cape coral fl sees
this habit as frustrating and anger producing. It also communicates to the
speaking spouse that what they are saying is not important.
Name-calling
Because of the
crowd of people staying at the house, the sister and brother have to sleep in
the same bed. When he turns and puts his
arm on her, she says, “Get off me you little fungus.”
Marriage Counseling Bonita Springs
realizes how distructive this habit is. Name calling and foul language directed
toward your spouse communicates a lack of respect and care.
Blaming
After the cat is
killed by chewing the electrical light cord on the Christmas tree, Chevy’s
father-in-law sharply remarks, “I told you, you had too many plugs in one
outlet.”
Blaming
your spouse significantly weakens your ability as a couple to address problems effectively.
Time and energy is used by the accused spouse to defend himself and an
argumentative atmosphere prevails.
For
assistance with your marriage, contact Dr. Ken Newberger. His direct phone is 239-689-4266. Or, read about his process for healing your
relationship on his website at: www.MarriageCounselingAlt.com/couple.htm. He will meet with you in his office in
Southwest Florida or help you online via Skype.
