The Hurricane - Essay

GPSYC-160
                                                              The Hurricane
The Hurricane, directed by Norman Jewison, was a film depicted from the books Lazarus and the Hurricane and Rubin Carter's autobiography titled The Sixteenth Round. This 1966 based film narrates the life of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, leaving behind his delinquent adolescence and channeling that energy into something positive by becoming a top middleweight contender. However, not only did he had to deal with the fight against his opponents, he also had to fight societal constraints placed on African-Americans. It wasn't until he was inaccurately accused, tried and convicted of a triple murder that he lost the battle for justice. He was down, but he was not out. With the help of Lezra, who had his own challenges to overcome, he and his Canadian mentors helped Rubin to re-establish his identity and transcend into this "beautiful hurricane." Taking into account the developmental experiences of both Lezra and Rubin with the utilization of psychoanalysis and psychosynthesis perspectives, one can further assess the development of both these characters.
In Erikson's model of psychosocial development, Erikson argued that "personality starts in infancy and continues across the entire lifespan." From a young age, Rubin had a very protective nature which others perceived to be angry. For example, when Rubin saw his friend being touched by the important white man, he realized what was going on through what Piaget calls the formal operational stage, being able to see beyond the concrete, seeing that the white man had greater intentions than just being nice to his friend. Also, this same nature was essential in the development of Rubin in childhood for "the greatest thing about childhood is that [he] survived it". Furthermore, in survivalism incorporate certain skills that should be acquired to help prolong survival and each skill varies according to their environment. One would not...