http://cdn.sheknows.com/articles/2012/12/barb.jpg | Video Notes:
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The son, Andy, begins the movie in the emerging adulthood stage of development. This is evident through the way he acts. His lack of confidence in himself, the fact that he still acts like a child in some situations, and also because he is clearly trying to find himself all reference to emerging adulthood. He is trying to break away and find where he is supposed to fit into the world and the way he is trying to do that is through his job. Unfortunately, his job does not do this for him. Throughout the movie, each stop they make to sell his product usually ended with rejection. This is part of the reason Andy has little confidence in himself because he has never really been successful on his own. The son realizes that his mother is still treating him like he is a baby. This may be the part of the reason that Andy acts so much like a child, or immature at the beginning, because he is used to be treated like one because of his mother. As time moves along, he learns that his mother only acts like that because she isn't ready for him to not need her anymore. With this realization, the he goes to his mother for advice on his job and what he could do to better his chances of selling. This not only makes his mother feel like she is needed, but it in turn helps him with making a sale. By the end of the movie, Andy has learned that he can make it on his own and if he has any doubts he knows his mother will always support him. | http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/the-guilt-trip05.jpg |
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/40/70/5f/40705faab825d 502088b7697c5de4dc8.jpg | The mother on the other hand is making her way to the late adulthood stage of development. This is portrayed in a few different ways. The first being that she is beginning to have symptoms of menopause. Things such as hot flashes, forgetfulness, and moodiness have been evident throughout the movie. She is also going through having empty nest syndrome causing her to feel lonely and making her want to baby her son. In the middle of the film, the mother begins to realize that she is trying to hard to take of who she thought was her baby boy, but is in fact a grown man. At first she is unsure as to how to cope with the new idea that she was not needed anymore. However, when Andy opens up to her about how he is lost with his job and that he needs help, she is more than happy to assist him and give him advice. She realizes that even though he is an adult, it doesn't mean that he no longer needs her in his life. Just not as much as prior years. By the end of the movie, she is content with the idea that her son has grown up. She understands her role in his life now and she feels like she is able to take chances again in her life because she no longer needs to have all her attention on him. |