The door of childhood is closing onTracys life. "Thirteen" centers on Tracy Freeland (Evan Rachel Wood), a 13-year . By the '50s and early '60s, the age had dropped to 16 or 17. Second, they have a tendency towards legalism. In other words, they tend to emphasize the letter of the law rather than the spirit. Suddenly, the girls are faced with the fact that they themselves fall far short of Evie on the spectrum of change. Living in Los Angeles with her aunt Brooke. At one point after seeing Mel with Brady, she flashes back to Brady becoming sick from drugs. At one point Mel completely loses her cool in the face of Tracys spoiling behavior and goes into her own rage, starting to destroy her own kitchen until Brady comes in and stops her. And the twenty-year-old at the White House with then President and Mrs. Reagan. While the world around her seems steady, Tracy Freeland feels alienated from this stability. The number one thing that Thirteen got right is the type of environment that most likely provokes Tracys borderline personality disorder. Nikki Reed and co-writer/director Catherine Hardwicke reportedly finished the script for Thirteen in just six days. From the moment Tracy makes the decision to connect with Evie, her already fragile and confusing young life takes a turn for the worse. That. For example, in the first paragraph of the excerpt, Benjamin skillfully describes the risk factor of poverty that affects Tracy by explaining her familys financial situation and the dangerous neighborhood she lives in. Macbeth) in the essay title portion of your citation. The realityThirteenpresents is anything but pretty, but its true. To use my evidence persuasively, however, orienting was key. She also co-wrote the screenplay in six days with her mother's friend and director, Catherine Hardwicke. Her care has been taken over by Brooke, a plastic-surgery addicted cousin, who lets her drink beer, tells her she is not allowed to go to certain places but never seems to really care what Evie is doing, and disappears for days at a time. Set in Los Angeles, the movie involves Tracy Freeland, a thirteen-year-old who experiments with sex, drugs, alcohol, and self-mutilation in order to fit in with the popular crowd and deal with her parents' divorce. Family TableTalk Korean Language Versions, Lebanon, PA Understanding Todays Youth Culture, Ligonier, PA: North East Youth Ministry Summit, Lebanon, PA: Presentation for New Covenant Christian School, Tracy Speaks: An Excerpt about Thirteen, Were changing, confused, and vulnerable.. I'm serious, I can't feel anything, hit me! On the other hand, Tracy is thirteen. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Evie's aunt isn't around to supervise her niece as much as she should be, leaving Evie to run wild. The objective of the consensus document is to provide clinical guidance for diagnosis, risk . There are many things that still need to be explored, learned and conquered. "I've spent the. Her eyes scan the familiar sights, familiar people. Tracy, who is bright and perceptive, feels sidelined by her busy mother and abandoned by her father, who has a new job and a new family and occupies almost no place in his growing daughter's. Sadly, Evies situation is markedly worse. Tracy has to repeat the seventh grade, her genuine friends from the beginning have disowned her, she has a bad reputation at school thanks to Evie's actions. The authority figure of a school administrator is portrayed in the same humorously negative light in bothFerris Buellers Day OffandThe Breakfast Club. Their story is reflected in Everclears harrowing song, TV Show: I wish I could come home to a life that looks like a TV show/I wish I could see my television family waiting for me/Where no one fights and no one screams, no one lies and no one leaves/I dont care how the story ends/I want to feel like I am living again.. The father has apparently been a frequent no-show on his days to be with Tracy because he is always busy with his job; Tracy is bitterly disappointed when this happens. The movie Thirteen accurately depicted a case of untreated borderline personality disorder. Evie comes from an abusive borderline environment. In an effort to help our readers understand the purpose and message of the film, weve chosen to include the following commentary and analysis, which is an excerpt from Walt Muellers soon-to-be finished book on engaging youth culture for the Gospel. At that moment, Tracy and her girlish-looking friends are forgotten as the boys lustily comment on Evies transformation. For more information on resources to help you understand todays rapidly changing youth culture, contact the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding. Finally, teenagers evidence "a lack of heart awareness." They don't always know that they are hungering and thirsting for God. Once a sweet, young girl, Tracy, upon entering her teenage years, has turned into a monster. On the middle school campus where there are now full-grown women, those who are insecure little girls are trapped in unhappiness. Tracy is just starting to notice the boys at her middle school, and envy the popular girls who attract most of the male attention. The scenes combine to summarize Tracys journey. Tracy Freeland: [to Evie while high] Hit me. Here, orienting was necessary not only to describe certain sections of the film that I was looking at throughout this excerpt but also to discuss how a particular point of evidence functioned as a contextual variable, a central element presented in my thesis. Directors Catherine Hardwicke Starring Holly Hunter, Evan Rachel Wood, Nikki Reed Genres Drama Subtitles English [CC] Audio languages . Long before her huge Disney fame, Vanessa Hudgens played the small role of Noel in Thirteen and was a fresh face at Sundance when it was screened back in 2003 (and nominated for the Grand Jury prize and also won Best Directing award).Noel is the straight-laced friend of Tracy, pre-Evie, who appears a number of times in the film as a marker of how the taste of popularity has changed her out-of . Rather than experiencing the unconditional acceptance she should have been getting in her family, she goes to her newfound friends. ForTracy, the foundational institution of the family has been broken by divorce. Tracys mother, Melanie, a recovering alcoholic, tries her best to make ends meet as a hairdresser. It was the total identification of love.. The film thirteen: an analysis of tracy's character from a family psychologist's perspective. Discussion Post #7 Diagnosis and Intervention; . Dr. Tracey I. First, there is a built-in hardwiring for connections to other people. Jen-Luc Godard says that a film is the world in an hour and a half. The recent 99-minute filmThirteenserves as a loud mouthpiece for the young, and an effective example of how pop culture can open our eyes and ears to the troubling reality of life in todays world for the emerging generations. Mel does not allow Tracy to go the park, which suggests that her neighborhood might not be very safe. An alarming reality of many 80s era coming of age films is the conspicuous absence of healthy adults. It was highly fictionalized but inspired by the true story of a minor movie star named Frances Farmer who ended up in a mental hospital. Evie, who influences Tracy to smoke, shoplift, have sex, get high, and drink, is an example of a deviant peer, a major risk factor that acts as a primary driver for bad choices. Mom tells him that Francis has psychotic, paranoid symptoms, which in fact she does not have. In the movie, she also plays the role of Evie, although in reality, her story was far closer to the story of Tracy. A recent report from the Institute for American Values indicates that there is a growing abundance of scientific evidencelargely from the field of neuroscience, which concerns our basic biology and how our brains developshowing that the human child is hardwired to connect. 17 is from Managua, Nicaragua, and to him, mastering academic writing in English has been one of the most challenging yet inspiring goals that he has set forth. Even though he was speaking about the generation prior to Tracys, Thomas Beaudoins summary of the religious quest of Gen X-ers speaks for the generation that follows as well: Our most fundamental question is Will you be there for me? We ask this of our selves, bodies, parents, friends, partners, society, religions, leaders, nation, and even God. She then goes to the bathroom and starts to cut herself. Will we avail ourselves of the opportunity to be heard? With no one there for her, Tracys symptoms began to show. One by one they walked away, until Jesus and the woman were the only two remaining. Tracy needs to find a way to reconcile with her mother, and keep from making the same mistakes as she did. The approach to treatment for Tracy will be focused on person centered therapy. Sometimes screenwriters are in fact utterly clueless. This excerpt demonstrates Benjamins skilled use of. Dir. It galls me, for example, that even psychiatrists are praising Silver Linings Playbook. Peer pressure is a red herring in the movie because these peers seek one another out. Each of these tendencies is overtly evident inTracys representation of the adolescent experience inThirteen. Many critics saw it as a movie about the dangers that young teens face from peer pressure, rather than as a portrait of family dysfunction. Peer pressure is a red herring in the movie because these peers, Psychology and the Mystery of the "Poisoned" Schoolgirls. At the outset of the film, Tracy turns her back on her life-long neighborhood girlfriends in favor of a connection with the charismatic yet painfully broken Evie Zamora (played by the films writer), the most popular and sexy girl in the seventh grade. Tracy is a normal 13-year-old trying to make it in school. (LogOut/ ! she scolds her mother in a role reversal. Its hard to know exactly what is true about her and what is not because of her incessant lies, but Evie describes her mother as a "crack whore." This is political correctness gone amok. They live for the moment. Tracy, unable to find the scissors, cuts her wrist with a razor blade, bleeds. Consequently, her entrance into her adolescent years is a date with a dangerous and distressing destiny. Although the word limit was definitely a challenge, finding a way to condense a two-hour film in about ten pages was not the goal: the objective was to think critically about key moments of evidence shown in the film and relate them to certain principles in the specialized field of childhood psychopathology. Get the help you need from a therapist near youa FREE service from Psychology Today. Mels guilt probably stems from issues in Mels own family of origin. Elizabethtown, PA 17022 AsTracybegins seventh grade, it becomes painfully obvious to her and those around her that she is entering into a period of earth-shattering change. Mel made all of one crack to Brooke and that's all she could get out before being told off and then made to leave. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 2003. She is on the road to being socialized and raised by a confused peer group, instead of her parents. The following is thus a diagnostic report and mental health examination which clearly shows that Tracy is suffering from this mental disorder. Catherine Hardwicke. You don't want me. Thirteen (7,180) 6.8 1 h 39 min 2003 X-Ray R. An innocent seventh grader undergoes an abrupt personality change when she begins hanging out with a wild classmate. Tracys brother throws his arms up in frustration when the father begs him to tell him what is going on. Finally, teenagers evidence a lack of heart awareness. They dont always know that they are hungering and thirsting for God. The church faces a moment of opportunity unprecedented by anything weve seen in our short lifetime. And finally, she wants and needs someone to be there for her. Reeds film cries out to adults, begging them to listen and understand. Again there were no clues given about why she was having difficulties. Tracy is backed into her mothers body. | Smiling slightly, she takes a deep breath before any memories can settle, and walks on. Tracy got it from all angles. Catherine Hardwicke. Abuse is part of her past. Tracy, over the course of a year, has been turned into a rebellious teenager with the help of the experienced and charming Evie. Ms. Reed must have had a rare insight into her family, especially for someone so young, because the film is just packed with true-to-life details about what growing up in a borderline family is like. Why are you doing this to yourself? Her mother, Mel, divorced Tracy's father years ago and struggles to keep her family afloat, working as a hairdresser at home. (LogOut/ Tracy, after becoming accepted into the group of popular girls led by the wild Evie, has taken an interest in causing trouble. Perhaps the most alarming manifestation of Tracys growing emotional agony are her attempts at self-therapy through self-mutilation. Dad is conspicuously absent. She screams, Its not like your broke ass ever has any money to give me! Living as a bit of a loner. And in case you . Traci Thirteen is the only daughter of professional skeptic and debunker Doctor Terry Thirteen and the Asian sorceress Meihui Lan. The first scene is emotionally riveting and telling. Her mother Melanie hopes so. In A Beautiful Mind, a patient with schizophrenia is seen being hounded by several characters with distinct, complex, and unchanging personalities, and who always look the same. Its wise to begin our journey into listening to todays emerging generations by allowing teens to speak throughThirteenand consider the bits of reality portrayed in the filmbits of reality that, when combined together, will get us started on a journey that will equip us to respond to Tracy and her generation with the life-changing message of the Gospelall in a way that can be heard and understood. . While baby boomers were certainly intimately involved in the consumption and production of popular culture while they were young, Thomas Beaudoin notes that his generation of X-ers, found it at an earlier, more critical age and without the familial supervision of previous generations. Their stories and outlook on life reveal that truth. Two girls, Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) and Evie (Reed), are taking turns sniffing aerosol from a can, and as they get increasingly high, they dare . The relationship between Reed and her mother became strained. When he does appear,Tracys longings for a connection with her father are shattered once more as their planned weekend visit is cancelled because he has business responsibilities, and their short face-to-face conversation is interrupted by his attachment to his ringing cell phone. Psychologically disturbed and mentally ill characters are a staple of Hollywood dramas. It is an adaptation of Traci Thirteen. The highest level of functioning in a child is achieved when there is a good input of positive work, such as emotional support and attention, from parents. Tracy catches up and their chance meeting turns out to be everything Tracy hoped for. accurately depicted a case of untreated borderline personality disorder. Peer pressure is that much more intense when the family is failing. In addition, it can be inferred that Tracys neighborhood is not an ideal one to live in. Closely linked to her impulsivity is Tracys habit of getting irrationally angry. They are hidden not in the sense that they are invisible, but in the sense that there is no way, given current conditions, that they can hear the gospel in their own language in a way that makes sense to them., It may seem odd to quote Tom Petty as the source of a timely prayer for our young. Jonathan Davis, the lead singer of the band Korn takes listeners beneath the surface of the disturbing behaviors of troubled youth, expressing the resulting heart yearnings felt by the Tracys of this world. Without that opportunity, they risk a dangerous present and future. Reflections on Race in Thirteen. Her mom continually looks at her with a helpless expression that begs an explanation for the sudden change in her little girl. In a poignant scene symbolizing the confusing transformation from child to adult, she responds to being looked down upon as a child by Evie and her friends. The resulting frustration comes through loud and clear in Matchbox Twentys song Unwell: All day staring at the ceiling/Making friends with shadows on my wall/All night hearing voices telling me/That I should get some sleep/Because tomorrow might be good for something/Hold on, feeling like Im heading for a breakdown/And I dont know why , Our support systems arent working and its stressing us out.. A film about 13-year-olds written by 13-year-old Nikki Reed with help from writer/director Catherine Hardwicke,Thirteentakes viewers on a roller coaster ride through the world of todays adolescents as it autobiographically chronicles the desperate confusion of teenagers and their search for significance, purpose and belonging. Tracy is a normal 13-year-old trying to make it in school. When he answers, he states that he cannot talk because he is dealing with a client. They live for the moment. In the '30s, corruption-of-innocence movies were made about 21-year-olds in the big city. If she befriends one of those popular girlssay, Evie Zamora shell be elevated from her loner status, though.Profession honor student at Portola Middle School in Los Angeles. Without knowing Tracy is in pursuit and hoping for a first encounter, Evie heads to the restroom. Although these paragraphs are taken from the body of Benjamins essay, the reader can easily understand his argument because he contextualizes the evidence and analysis by framing them with sufficient orienting of the various key terms, concepts, and plot points that come up. The only positive and caring adult presence is a teacher who challengesTracyon the sudden decline in the quality of her schoolwork. Listen to trailer music, OST, original score, and the full list of popular songs in the film. He took our nature, lived our life, endured our sorrows, felt our hurts, bore our sins and died our death. I chose to orient and analyze simultaneously as a mechanism to constantly clarify and illustrate the essence of my central argument while pushing forward my original evaluation. Antisocial and borderline traits do in fact occur together, although more often in men than women. The underlying conflict this character has with her mother could have been a little more developed. Everyone was suddenly faced with the fact that they, too, were messy wrecks. In the film Thirteen, the main character, Tracy Freeland, is just entering adolescence. When Tracys father pays her a worried visit in response to her behavior, Tracy is upset at him, asking him to remember when was the last time they did something together. In Evie,Tracyfinds a support system that has never had a support system herself. The frailty that we perceive threatening all of these relationships continually provokes us to ask this question.. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Mt 11:28-29). Did You Know Anxiety Can Enhance Our Relationships? Tracy is a thirteen-year-old female who struggles with positive self-image, substance abuse, unhealthy behaviors, and difficult life transitions. When writing and revising this paper, I found it most helpful to remind myself that orienting should be used as a solid base to defend the particular role that a set of evidence plays in proving your thesis. All of these behaviors lead to Tracy partaking in suicidal behaviors as she is seen cutting herself several times in the movie and talks about swallowing bleach. Tracygets home from school and angrily empties her bedroom of her cherished stuffed animals and little girl toys, and decides to grow up. Tracy was suffering both the consequences of her choices and the fallout from her lack of belonging. Fifth, adolescents manifest an absence of eschatological perspective. In other words, they dont tend to live with eternity in view. Style Icons. While it is less clear whether Tracys environment provides for protective factors, such as some form of social support from the government, it can be inferred that her environments risk factors affect Tracy by forcing her to grow up under stress, a circumstance that affects a childs cognitive flexibility, problem-solving skills, and planning abilities, consequently increasing Tracys risk for the development of mental illness. There have been a few movie portrayals, most of which have not been completely off the mark. Traci is voiced by Lauren Tom. With such a prompt, it is especially essential to orient the reader to all the various key terms and plot points that will be brought up throughout the essay. Her feelingsand those of other young people who share her experienceare captured in the sad lyrics of Linkin Parks plea-filled song, Somewhere I Belong: I wanna heal/I wanna feel what I thought was never real/I wanna let go of the pain Ive felt so long (Erase the pain till its gone)/I wanna heal, I wanna feel like Im close to something real/I wanna find something Ive wanted all along/Somewhere I belong.. If Tracy has a disorder, the best diagnosis is probably that Tracy is experiencing a ________ disorder. When the earthquake of adolescence hit in Tracys life, she didnt find the sense of safety and security teenagers should be finding in the home. If we dont, the emerging generations growing up right under our own noses could become an unreached people group, a people group that currently has no access to the gospel. Before too. Tracy spends her spare time babysitting and writing poetry. As Tracy and her generation speak to the church, what do we hear them say? At only thirteen, she has suddenly taken to drinking, doing drugs, and flirting with boys.Relationship Status discovering her sexuality with a popular boy, Javi. (LogOut/ The young teenagers who have been deprived of support and who struggle to find their way? Throughout the movie she showed her unstable self image and low self esteem, such as when she completely changed her wardrobe and threw out everything she owned because someone insulted her socks. The punching is so severe that it leaves them bloodied.