Doing Time on Maple Drive: Six Dysfunctional Family Behaviors Essay

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Maple Drive: Six dysfunctional family behaviors

A lack of empathy

Doing Time on Maple Drive is the story of a supposedly perfect New England family which is not so perfect after all. The most notable dysfunctional behavior exhibited in the film is the lack of empathy of the father, Phil, a former military man, for either his children or his wife. Phil refuses to admit to his own faults and shows no compassion for his children as they struggle with adulthood. He blames them for their own problems but refuses to take responsibility for his own issues. When Phil wishes to assert his authority over his family, he does so in a bullying manner, including trying to physically humiliate them at sports.

Other members of the family seem to have very little empathy with one another. Tim, the oldest son, is an alcoholic and does not fully appreciate the extent to which his addiction and dropping out of college has affected the family. Matt also seems very emotionally disconnected from the family. Part of this has to do with the fact that he is very young and struggling with his sexuality and adolescence is a time when children are often so affected by their personal, inner struggles they have difficulty appreciating the needs of others. But he is also engaged to a woman even though he clearly does not love her.

Denial

The youngest son, Matthew, of Doing Time on Maple Drive is gay. Matt refuses to admit to himself that being gay is something he can't change: he has a fiancee he has just brought home to his parents whom he cannot love but hopes can provide a 'cover' for his sexuality and even convince himself as well as his family that he is heterosexual.

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Both parents refuse to acknowledge their son's true nature. They also refuse to acknowledge any part they might have played in their oldest son's alcoholism and his unwillingness to enter treatment. Only at the end of the film, when Matt is finally able to be honest and open about his emotions do the family's emotional barriers finally come crashing down.

Idealization

One reason that Matt struggles so much with his sexuality is that his parents have idealized him as the 'good' son, versus the 'bad' son Tim. Tim, because he is a dropout and an addict, is not viewed with compassion or as someone with an illness, rather he is treated as someone who is innately broken and dysfunctional. At one point, Phil even says to Tim: "Every time I look at you I thank God I have another son." Karen the middle child is treated….....

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