Jack and Caroline Butler are perfectly happy with their roles in life...until a layoff

makes him a househusband and her a working wife! And while she wrangles with

charts, graphs, and an all-to-eager-to-be wrangled boss, he has to contend with

their hyper kids, a ravenous vacuum cleaner, an angry washing machine, and an

oversexed neighbor! From late nights in the boardroom to lonely nights in the

bedroom, the biggest challenge for both Jack and Caroline is learning to trust

one another with their reversed roles...(MGM, 1983)

Jack is a typical forty-something male struggling to maintain his identity, and to do so, he uses a variety of defense mechanisms to relieve his internal anxiety. Jack has many concrete beliefs on gender roles, and it is difficult for him to "overstep" his masculine boundaries. The theories of Freud and Erikson ca

M - I could have a heart attack. Caroline would walk in. I could die and get caught.

The theories and concepts of Freud and Erikson can equally be applied to the character of Jack Butler. Surprisingly, it was easier to identify specific aspects of Freud's theory, such as the use of defense mechanisms. The defense mechanisms are what I first noticed about Jack's character. I had to search and apply Erikson's theory of generativity and identity to Jack's actions. Because Jack was a fictional character, and I could not interview him, I could only apply small aspects of each theorist's concepts to his personality. I could only base my conclusions on his observable behavior. I also knew that Michael Keaton chose to emphasize specific aspects of the character's personality, even if they were not the writer's original intentions. Freud's theory was more useful because I could easily pinpoint specific examples of Jack's use of defense mechanisms, and the event of his dream was appropriate to relate to Freud's concept of dream analysis. Overall, I found it interesting to discover that a fictional character in a short film had such a diverse, complex personality. I only wonder now if the writers had Freud or Erikson in mind when writing the film.

After Jack woke up from the dream, his Ego stepped in and motivated him to become a "new man". Jack cleans himself up, shaves, puts on new clothes, cleans the house with confidence, exercises, volunteers, and motivates his kids. However, Jack's renewed motivation is quickly reduced.

Jack and Caroline go to her company's picnic, but Jack is reluctant to go and conveys to Caroline that they will "pull the old aunt Emily is sick routine" so they will not have to stay long. Erikson may have said Jack was attempting to avoid the situation because he was confused as to what role or identity to portray at the picnic. Jack could not talk about his job since he did not have one, and Jack would not want to talk about being at home everyday, so he was in a crisis. However, once they arrived at the picnic, Jack had the opportunity to fulfill generativity by participating in the obstacle course competition against all the other men. The heightened sense of identity wore off as the long days of staying at home began to wear away at Jack's sense of self.

According to the text, Personality Theories, " the adult needs to be needed" (Engler, 1999, p.152). Jack temporarily becomes a " new man". He cleans up his act, becomes involved with his kids, volunteers, and tries to support his wife's new lifestyle as a working mother. Jack also goes back to his former workplace to speak to the corporate executives. When Jack learns that his former boss attempted to frame him for lower production and higher costs, Jack intervenes and proves he still maintains a strong identification with his identity in relation to his career. He strongly defends himself when he explains to the executives, " If I did such a bad job, why did production go down and costs go up after I left? You know, I take a lot of pride in my work. I cared and you fired me for it" (MGM, 1983). In Jack's mind, there was no question he was good at what he "used" to do, and no one was going to ruin that reputation.

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Approximate Word count = 2427
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)