Running head: FILM ANALYSIS OF AKEELAH AND THE BEE

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Film Analysis of Akeelah and the Bee Miranda Clark (5568546) Word Count: 1561 Brock University

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This film is about an 11 year old girl by the name of Akeelah Anderson who has a hidden talent of being a really great speller. However her environment around her seems to interfere with her ability to be more independent and focus on school. Her dad was shot when she was only six, her family ignores her for their priorities such as work, children, and friends. Akeelah joins a spelling being to avoid having to attend detention for her absences at school suggested by her principal and teachers. Akeelah ends up succeeding and making it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee where she ends up winning the competition. I chose this film over the other films that were options because it was a film I have not seen yet as well as I felt like it would be a great film to analyze because of the black community the film is based in due to the fact that a lot of neglect and racism happens in black communities. Depending on the surroundings of these communities, children react differently based on what occurs. In this film, children and youth are depicted very differently depending on their surroundings as well as family situation. Akeelah is growing up in a community where bullying and racism occurs more often due to race and culture. An example of this in the film is when some of Akeelah’s classmates start bullying her to do their homework just because she knows how to spell really well. I personally think that children in this film react based on their family culture because as you’re watching the film, you can see how Akeelah’s family treats her compared to Javier’s family or even Dylan’s. Akeelah’s family is stricter in terms of yelling. Her mother is a single parent and has to control all of her kids whereas Dylan’s dad takes more control than his mom or how both of Javier’s parents look after him but aren’t strict with him. The way that children depict themselves in the film is part of their self-esteem. Basing back to the lecture on attachments and caregiving, around the adolescent age, it is said that an adolescent’s self-esteem is based upon the

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relationship of who they’re communicating with. The relationship of self-esteem and it’s comparison between the communication of characters is very apparent in Akeelah’s environment. Her self-esteem seems to be increased when those around her that are more attached and support her for the things she loves doing. Not only do children display their characteristics in this film but we are also able to see their personalities when surrounded by adults

Children are capable of expressing various emotions in different environments. How do they react when they’re surrounded with adults? The way that children and youth interact with adults in the film varies dependant on which adult their talking to or the situation they’re facing. In the movie for example, Akeelah seems to back away from anyone telling her to join the spelling bee because she doesn’t want to. Her brother, Devon, says to do the bee for dad. Due to the fact that Akeelah is more confident when talking to her dad or even thinking of him, it relates to the article The Perfect Mother by Deborah Blum. The reading relates to this film because it talks about a cloth mother and how baby monkeys feel a higher sense of security and dependence if their mother is there for comfort. If their cloth mothers weren’t apparent or did not have a face, the monkeys wanted nothing to do with the object. “When a child is frightened or sick, it instinctively seeks that haven…this selected responsiveness in times of distress, disturbance or danger may be used as a measure of strength of the emotional connection.”(Blum, 118) In Akeelah’s case, it is apparent that before her dad passed away that he was like her cloth father. He was the one always around while she was growing up and it looks like he was her support for everything rather than her mother who seems to be less interested in how she’s doing in school. I think the reason for this is because she is the sole parent now trying to take care of several kids, especially since one is being negatively influenced by his peers, which makes her less available for the youngest child. Relating back to one of the lectures based upon forming attachments between families and caregiving, it is

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possible for fathers to be more attached to their children and to be caregivers even though father caregivers are often neglected. Another example in the film that makes a connection between two characters less terrifying is when Akeelah finds out that Mr. Larabee’s daughter isn’t around anymore. This part of the film relates to when our lecture was based up nature versus nurture. The lecture talked about how some nurturing and caregiving behaviours are instinctive however some behaviours are learned. In this case it is easily shown how Mr. Larabee’s behaviours are displayed when he’s talking to Akeelah. Sometimes he’s stricter but at times he is compassionate which displays how he would’ve taken care of his daughter Denise as well as his cultural background and experience could influence the way he talks to younger children. Mr. Larabee is just one person who is an influence in society on Akeelah.

Society views children and youth differently based upon their family background, socioeconomical values and popularity. In this film, we can see that Akeelah’s family lives in a rundown neighbourhood where the school can’t even afford to put doors on the stalls in the washrooms. In comparison, the school that Javier attends, has more money to afford better things like classes. In Akeelah and the bee, her grades seem to be dropping and she skips class. The way that society is viewing her academic standings is that she should be pressured into earning extra credit for her mistakes. However, referring to the reading called Developmental Issues, Pipher claims that “Junior high is when girls begin to fade academically …Girls who tend to do better in relationship-based , cooperative learning situations, get lost academically in these settings” (Pipher, 135) Society tends to view adolescents at a time in their development as more vulnerable to peer pressure or stereotypes. In the case of this film, Akeelah is going through developmental changes and is trying to fit in and make friends along her journey of the spelling bee. Also because the children are almost going through adolescence, the adults in society most likely think that the

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children should start being more responsible instead of acting as rebels in which Akeelah forges her mother’s signature on the consent form as well as her brother disrespecting his mother in the film. Not only does society view children and youth as less responsible while they’re still learning, a huge factor in this film is self-regulated learning.

Throughout this film, we can easily see that some characters are able to self-regulate easier than others. Self-regulation is viewed as “Not a mental ability or an academic performance skill; rather it is the self-directive process by which learner’s transform their mental abilities into academic skills.” (Zimmerman, 65) Self-regulation is a key influence in Akeelah and the Bee because she has to be focused and determined in order to memorize and practice pronunciation for all the words in the spelling bee. Relating back to the reading, Zimmerman (2002) says “Selfcontrol refers to the deployment of specific methods of strategies that were selected during the forethought phase. Among the key types of self-control methods that have been studied to date are the use of imagery, self-instruction, as well as attention focusing and task strategies.” (Zimmerman, 91) Self-learning strategies are displayed in this film, most dominantly when Mr. Larabee is teaching Akeelah to spell, keep time while jumping rope or when he leaves her to study 5000 words alone. Becoming a self-regulated learner is fairly easy as long as you have the determination to accomplish goals as well as setting ones that are trickier out of your comfort zone just like Akeelah and how she’s participating in a spelling bee. I believe that in this film, majority of the children are self-regulated learners already just because they’re participating in a spelling bee therefore they have to learn to memorize all the words as well as having to learn time management to focus on all their academics as well. This film shapes society’s views of young children in terms of their attachments to their caregivers, their abilities to learn in self-regulation ways and their ways to cope with surrounding

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projections of what people may think who they are. I feel that this film shapes society’s views of young people in a less realistic way. I feel this way because realistically, during this time of adolescence there is more social peer pressure, racism and stereotypes that I am surrounded with myself in terms of trying to fit in. Even though this film was made in 2006, it was roughly around the time that I was twelve years old which is kind of cool to see how children react differently in their environments, around their families and around their peers. This film was overall a great selection to watch because I was very intrigued by the plot and the events that occurred.

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References: Blum, D. (2011). The Perfect Mother. Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection, 2nd edition. 143-170. Fishburne, L., Ganis, S., Hult Ganis, N., Llwelyn, D., Romersa, M. (Producer), & Atchinson, D. (Director). (2006). Akeelah and the bee [Motion Picture]. USA: Lionsgate Film Pipher, M. (1994). Developmental Issues. Reviving Ophelia: Saving The Selves of Adolescent Girls. 45-73 Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An Overview. Theory into Practice, 41(2), 64-70.