Sociology

Conflict is basic to family relationships.  At some point, it may arise between or among family members. Conflict may come in different forms and magnitude, yet in most cases and with the passage of time, it can be resolved.  It can be a generational conflict, or misunderstandings between couples that can be deep-seated and complex. In many cases, the conflict can be overcome.  A common approach used by families in the midst of conflict is to seek the help of a mediator who can help individuals take stock of the things going on around them.  Mediators help families in conflict assess their feelings and the situations they figure in, and gain better understanding of other people,

I.  Identifying the Conflict, Characters, Circumstances  Outcome
Ordinary People,  a book written by Judith Guest and created into a movie, tackles the poignant story of a teenage boy named Conrad Jarrett who experiences inner turmoil after failing to rescue his brother when they figure in a boating accident. Conrad goes through a failed suicide attempt.  After his confinement in a psychiatric institution, Conrad faces the reality of mingling again with the outside world. He is reunited with his family and resumes engaging in his favorite activities, like swimming, but while all seems normal on the outside, within him Conrad continues to sort out his tangled emotions.

The other characters who are pivotal to the story are Conrads parents Calvin and Beth, who stumble as well as they deal with the great family loss and come to terms with their feelings. Beth Calvin, the mother, is shown in the movie trying make things look normal in the public eye but her pretense and preoccupation with safeguarding her public image creates a bigger gap between her and her family. In one instance, she asserts her view that family matters or problems should be kept private. She  focuses too much on herself as well as on what people will say about her and her family, and maintains a detached and defensive stance. As the story progresses, Calvin Jarrett acknowledges his crumbling marriage, and also matter-of-factly asks his wife if she can love anyone else aside from herself (Schwary  Redford, 1980, 2006).

Also helping Conrad deal cope with his grief and disappointments, confusion, guilt and angsts are psychiatrist Dr. Tyrone Berger, Conrads swimming coach and Jeannine Pratt, a girl from Conrads school who lends a sympathetic ear to him and gets romantically involved with him.  There are other characters whos lives become intertwined in some way with Conrads, like Karen Aldrich, who becomes Conrads friend while confined at the hospital, but whose suicide causes him to feel dejected.
The outcome is that everyone becomes true to hisher feelings.  Beth Jarrett leaves her family and Calvin and Conrad express their innermost sentiments to each other, ushering the road to healing.

II. Family Systems
Ordinary People exemplifies the traditional family system whereby all parts are present at the start and the components all attempt to maintain their stability despite fluctuations and adjustments (Taylor, 2002, p. 6). At the beginning of the story, all family members are seen struggling to cope with the trauma created by the death of a family member everyone thinks highly of. All family members try to function like a well-ordered system and resume normal activities, groping as they try to overcome the guilt and pain of the heavy blow to their lives.  The surviving son, Conrad, assumes the burden of guilt while those around him, especially his friends, psychiatrist, and his father, try not to feed his negative emotions. Gradually, with the help of his psychiatrist, Conrad unburdens himself. He struggles with his emotions, at first, and even questions why Dr. Berger is making him angry (Schwary  Redford, 1980, 2006). Conrad eventually understands the circumstances that have caused much anguish to him and his parents and learns to respect the response mechanisms of his parents.
Conrads father, while just as distraught over the family tragedy, assumes a highly significant role in keeping his family together. He maintains a strong front and suspends the impulse to judge while expressing  great unease and guilt over his parenting style. He also seeks professional help and in the process comes grips with his emotions. Beth Jarrett, on the other hand, leads a pained existence being too engrossed with outward appearances, or how society will regard the family following the crisis.  She worries about how people will react to the fact that her son is seeing a psychiatrist, alienates her husband and son, and then leaves them, convinced that the only way out of her predicament is to run away from the problem. Beth Jarretts role is crucial as well since it is through her actions that the other family members healing  recovery is hinged.  The relationship of the Jarrett family to each other at the height of the brewing conflict may be likened to a string that can easily break.  The relationship is a fragile one, weighed down by the shattered dreams and frustrations of not being able to lead the happy, comfortable, and normal life everyone envisioned.

Outside members of the community, notably the psychiatrist and friends of the troubled Conrad, offer encouraging help.  They act as buffer and lessen the impact of lifes most challenging circumstances and tensions on Conrad by offering tremendous support with their presence. They also teach Conrad to understand his own as well as his parents shortcomings. Dr, Berger, as a family dispute mediator who must understand the context in which the family conflict is embedded in (Taylor, 2002, p. 4) embodies patience, professionalism, and compassion as he goes beyond the call of duty to help his young patient and his father. Dr. Berger ingrains in Calvin Jarrett the way to cultivate mindfulness and be more open with his feelings.

III. Implications of the Term Ordinary People
The phrase Ordinary People which is the films title encapsulates most parents innermost yearnings to raise happy, healthy, well-adjusted kids in a comfortable home filled with material comforts and a nurturing emotional atmosphere.  Usually, though, that ideal remains a dream, especially when trying circumstances,  crises or tragedies happen to families and conflicts arise. During such challenging or tragic moments in the lives of ordinary people with beautiful dreams, some individuals overcome setbacks with the help and guidance of family mediators --  in the form of relatives, friends, or experts  and rebuild their lives. It is in the ordinariness of living, and also when trials and tribulations arise, that people learn and make something of their life. The films title may as well stand for the vulnerability of ordinary people to events and situations that may test their strength and possibly mold them to become better people. The phrase ordinary people may likewise be taken to mean that human beings lives are bound to each other by an unseen thread.  Hence, the misfortune of one may have an impact on another, and son on.  It may be taken to mean that a crisis or reversal in fortune may happen to anybody, and when that happens, the affected people may learn big lessons or transform their lives with other peoples help.

IV. Interventions That Might Have Changed the Outcome
Using the book-turned-movie Ordinary People as reference point, which highlighted the healing process and journey of a grief-stricken teenage boy overwhelmed by remorse over his brothers untimely demise, there could have been negative factors that may have stalled his recovery.  The psychiatric institution where he was confined may have been negligent of its duty to its patients, preventing Conrad from recovering fast.  He may have also gotten involved with bad company, or peers who do not have his best interests at heart, which could have triggered socially defiant behavior.  As for Beth Jarrett, she could have sought marital counseling with her husband during the early phase of her marriage, right after the death of her son, which may possibly have prevented her separation from her husband. A family system, after all, requires feedback loops between parts to convey vital communication (Taylor, 2002, p. 6).  Because the mother in the movie Ordinary People chose to alienate her other family members and did not maintain vital communication of her innermost sentiments, she contributed in a major way to the disintegration of the system, or her family.