Communications Kramer Vs. Kramer

Amie Cronkhite

Professor DeVoll

COM 101

1 October 2016

Film Paper #1- Kramer vs. Kramer 

        Upon reviewing the film Kramer vs. Kramer I will provide a brief summary, and cover Psychological Interferences, Advising Responses, and Sympathetic Listening.

        The movie Kramer vs. Kramer is centered around a couple in Manhattan. The wife’s name is Joanna Kramer and the husband is Ted Kramer. They have a son, Billy, who is five years old.  At the beginning of the movie Ted, an advertising executive, has just been given his agency’s biggest account. He returns home late, as usual, to find that his wife is leaving him and not taking their son with her. Ted is left to raise Billy by himself, something that Ted has almost no knowledge because he has always been the breadwinner, while Joanna stayed at home.

        First let’s look at Psychological Interferences.  “Psychological Interferences are when a person’s state of mind, or things that may be on their mind, affect how they communicate with others. Ted’s state of mind was that he was the sole breadwinner in his family, and he needed to do his best at work to keep the important account.  He also knew that being available socially, would keep him more accessible to both his bosses and clients.  In his mind, work took priority of life at home, causing him to not be aware that his marriage had begun to crumble.  Another example is that because of Joanna’s state of mind, she felt unsure of who she was, other than someone’s wife, mother and daughter.  She was unable to identify as an individual.  Being aware of any Psychological Interferences is important so that a person may acknowledge how to proceed in getting any help needed to be more self-aware of these interferences.

Secondly, advising responses appear throughout the movie. “When approached with another’s problem, the most common tendency is an advising response; to help by offering a solution” Pg. 155 During the trial, Joana’s neighbor, Margaret, while on the stand, is forced to admit that she had advised Joanna to leave Ted if she was really that unhappy in their marriage. Also during that trial, Margaret tried to convince Joanna that Ted had changed in a way that was extremely healthy for the relationship between him and Billy, and because he had, they were bonding and getting closer every day. Another example of an advising response is when after the verdict is in Joanna’s favor, and Ted intended to file an appeal. Ted’s lawyer advised him that in do so, it would force the court to put Billy on the stand. It’s not always a great idea to take the advice of a friend unless you’re sure it’s advice you can live with if the end result is not what you wanted to happen.