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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) is an american dramatic film that tells

story about a man life called Benjamin Button, who has an abnormal development. His

physical development has developed reversely from the actual ways. In the movie, he born

with the adulthood-like skin, within the form of newborn. However, throughout the movie,

Benjamins cognitive, mental and emotional development are adapted in the common ways

like the others during his infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age.

In the beginning of his life, Benjamins infancy stage has show the basic strategies

due to the theories of newborn and basic cognitive development. Newborn development is the

stage that the child is going to explores the outside world. It shows the ability at birth, such as

to hear, to cry, to see or any kind of interaction to the surrounding. In addition, babys

capacity is the ability of the child that needs to survive. For example, the scene that

Benjamins father takes him to the nursing home. Benjamin is accidentally step by the man.

After that he cries out loud, which can demonstrate that he has acquired the development to

let other observe him. Also, the basic cognitive development shows when people come

around him and laugh, he smiles and response them.

During Benjamins childhood stage, he has mature his cognitive, physical and

language development. There are three stages of cognitive development which are schema,

assimilation, and Accommodation. To explain, schema is the first stage, which explains that a

child gets to know new experience. Next is the assimilation stage which is the second stage of

cognitive development, it is a stage that the child is applying that schema with new object.

The last stage is accommodation stage, which a child acknowledge that this schema cannot fit

the specific situation. This theory can show by the scene that his step mother blames on

Benjamin when he was banging spoon and fork while eating is an inappropriate etiquette. He
has experienced the situation that he can bang his things. Therefore, he tries to apply to the

other situation by banging a fork and spoon, which can demonstrate the stage of assimilation.

However, in the accommodation stage, his step mother blames on his inappropriate behavior.

Thus, he realises that he cannot do this action.Furthermore, Language acquisition is a theory

that a child can do more muscle controls, such as tongue, lips, and vocal cords. Moreover, the

theory of Vygotskys proximal zone of development is the theory that the child needs

someone to teach him. This can bring him to the zone of proximal development, which it is

located between boredom and anxiety. These two theories can be seen in the film when his

step father teaches Benjamin to know how to pronounce correctly. It shows that his father is

the one who help him to bring up to that stage. Lastly, the gender role, which is the

behaviours that society considered whether it is appropriate or not. For instance, in the scene

that Benjamin wakes at the middle of the night because he wants to play with Daisy.

However, his caregiver finds them both, and his step mother begins to teach him about the

proper behavior that he should act.

In Benjamins adolescence stage, he has improved his cognitive and physical

development. During the transition period, Piagets cognitive development in the stage of

final operational, which is the stage that he reasonably think about hypothetical terms and

future. This shows when he realises that when one of the member in his house is passed

away, another will replace their position. This might guide Benjamin to think about what will

happen in his future. Physical development is the adaptation that altered those body

movement for the entire body. This development is visualize in the scene that he does not

require his cane anymore. He can showered by himself and many other actions like the other

adults.Additionally, Levinsons theory of male development is the theory that can describe

males behaviors throughout their entire life. The season of early adult transition in which a
man is searching for independence. This theory is shown in the scene that Benjamin makes

his decision that he left the nursing house and begin his journey.

For Benjamins adulthood stage, he has developed his sexual development and social

learning theory. Social Learning theory are sum up with three main factors which are

cognitive factors, behavioural factors, and environmental factor. In this situation,

environmental factors is likely to show up the most. He knows that people around him have

jobs to be responsible for. Consequently, the another theory that can be applied to this action

is Levinsons theory of male development in the stage of entrance to the adult world. He

begins to find some jobs to do. This makes him to know Captain Mike, one of his friends.

Later on, Captain Mike and Benjamin become closer since he worked in Captain Mikes

tugboat. This lead to the sexual development theory in such a scene that Benjamin and

Captain Mike went to prostitute because he tells Captain Mike that he have never sleep with

any woman before. This also be able to apply to the another theory, which is developmental

friendship. The theory of reexamine of his friend ideas. Because Captain Mike asks him to go

to whorehouse, he begins to consider and make a decision.

Lastly, Benjamins final stage, old age of Benjamin can be referred to the

Kulber-Rosss stages of dying. These stage can demonstrate the emotions and thinking

processes of a person. The first stage is the stage of denial. In the movie, Benjamin tries to

deny that the disease that he has will not cause him to die in the few decades. However, he

then realizes that it actually have a massive effect. After that is the acceptance stage, which is

the stage that a person tries to accept it and find a way to fix those problems. This stage is

shown in the movie when he seriously talks about this topic with daisy, and plan to left his

family.
To conclude, Benjamins stages can depict the development in variety categories

according to the psychological theories. Regardless, his life is affected by that disease.

Benjamin can survive until the end of his life with help from many people around him. In

contrast, he does have some conflicts in his life during each stage: infancy, childhood,

adolescence, adulthood, and old age. But, the great thing is his life still developed his

thinking processes, emotions and mentality in the same pattern with the others.

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