Interactionism is the theoretical perspective that suggests our identity or sense of self is shaped by social interactions (Lamanna, M. A., & Riedmann, A. (2012)). There are many principles that are viewed by an Interactionist, such as the way people interpret and give meaning to behavior, the process of labeling, communication and understanding with and of others, etc. Through analyzation of the movie Silver Linings Playbook, the Interactionist’s perspective seemed most appropriate. The main characters, Pat and Tiffany, go through a period of everyday face-to-face interaction and in the end help each other discover themselves as well as fall in love, which was something they never thought they would do. Both individuals, Tiffany and Pat,
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Pat’s father whole-heartedly believed that Pat’s presence during the Eagle’s games was necessary for a win, which in return, would win him money. With this being said, many issues arose upon the lack of Pat’s presence during the games due to his time being spent with Tiffany, practicing for a dance competition. Interactionists look at the internal dynamics of the family being different aspects such as family rituals (Lamanna, M. A., & Riedmann, A. (2012)). In this case, watching the Philadelphia Eagles football game is a family ritual. Sundays are a day the family revolves around because the games are so important since Pat’s father bets most of his money in favor of the Eagles. Rituals, observed by the interactionist perspective, are typically something a family abides by and “religiously” follows. Without the presence of Pat, he is disrupting the ritual his family has had for most of his life as well as causing major anxiety to his father, due to his OCD compositions. When the issue of Pat not being attentive to his father’s need of his presence finally becomes an open wound due to an Eagles’ loss, the blame was placed upon Tiffany for “messing up the juju” (Silver Linings Playbook), since most of Pat’s time was being spent with her. Part of the agreement Pat made with Tiffany was absolutely no football involved in their time together, but when the issue arose from the superstitions among the loss, Tiffany and Pat had to figure out a way to cope with the situation to respect the ways of his family. In doing so, the couple agreed to split time between practice and football, and even offered their dance competition score to be a part of a double or nothing bet Pat’s father had to make in attempts to gain the money he lost, back. Pat and Tiffany were not a couple at this time, but they worked as a couple in order to deal with the
Pat’s father whole-heartedly believed that Pat’s presence during the Eagle’s games was necessary for a win, which in return, would win him money. With this being said, many issues arose upon the lack of Pat’s presence during the games due to his time being spent with Tiffany, practicing for a dance competition. Interactionists look at the internal dynamics of the family being different aspects such as family rituals (Lamanna, M. A., & Riedmann, A. (2012)). In this case, watching the Philadelphia Eagles football game is a family ritual. Sundays are a day the family revolves around because the games are so important since Pat’s father bets most of his money in favor of the Eagles. Rituals, observed by the interactionist perspective, are typically something a family abides by and “religiously” follows. Without the presence of Pat, he is disrupting the ritual his family has had for most of his life as well as causing major anxiety to his father, due to his OCD compositions. When the issue of Pat not being attentive to his father’s need of his presence finally becomes an open wound due to an Eagles’ loss, the blame was placed upon Tiffany for “messing up the juju” (Silver Linings Playbook), since most of Pat’s time was being spent with her. Part of the agreement Pat made with Tiffany was absolutely no football involved in their time together, but when the issue arose from the superstitions among the loss, Tiffany and Pat had to figure out a way to cope with the situation to respect the ways of his family. In doing so, the couple agreed to split time between practice and football, and even offered their dance competition score to be a part of a double or nothing bet Pat’s father had to make in attempts to gain the money he lost, back. Pat and Tiffany were not a couple at this time, but they worked as a couple in order to deal with the