Analysis of Seven Pounds: An Interactionist Perspective - Paper Example

Sociological studies have demonstrated that people acquire personal identity through human experience. One of the theories that explain such phenomenon is the Interactionist theory. The theory is built on the idea that physical changes and social events create conflicts in peoples lives as they attempt to understand the society and the universe. The Interactionist perspective postulates that people identify and develop values, beliefs, and identities through social interactions. Through social processes such as conflict, cooperation, and identity formation, people learn the concept of making sense about themselves and that of the world (He 377). For instance, an individual may change his /her attitude towards other people following close interactions with such persons.

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The movie, Seven Pounds depicts the struggle human beings undergo in their attempts to compensate for some of the mistakes they have committed in a given time of their lives. Will Smith, as the protagonists under the stage name Tim Thomas, goes out on a secret mission to redeem himself by changing the lives of seven unknown people. He designs a criterion that the target persons must be good people and, therefore, deserve human goodness. He is convinced that his journey of self atonement would succeed. In his quest to appease his soul, Thomas seeks the help some individuals to accomplish his mission. Under the guise of his brothers name Ben Thomas (Internal Revenue Service officer), he convinces his target persons to accept his plans. Of particular interest is the case of his encounter with Emily Posa. This encounter exposes the humanness in Thomas when he fell in love with Posa while trying to help her overcome a life-threatening heart condition. However, he finally manages to overcome the hurdle and accomplishes his mission (CAK cineforum 1-4; Banks, 2008).

Two years earlier, Thomas was involved in a car accident that led to the death of seven people. Careless driving on the part of Thomas was the cause of a fatal collision of vehicles that cost seven lives. He was reading a text while driving when his car veered off its lane and crashed into the oncoming traffic, killing six strangers and his fiancee, Sarah Jenson. It is this incident that haunts him to the extent of leaving his career as an aeronautical engineer to sacrifice his life so as to compensate for the individuals who died in the road accident. A year after the accident and having left his job, Thomas begins his benevolence journey by donating a lung lobe to his brother, Ben, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee. After stealing his brothers Federal IRS badge and other credentials, he uses the documents to disguise himself a federal officer which enables him to access some facilities and individuals whom he wishes to donate his vital organs before his planned suicide. Six months after the first donation, he donates part of his liver to Holly, a Child Protection Servicers worker. Afterward, Ben donates a kidney to George, a junior hockey coach. He continues further with his benevolence when he donates a bone marrow to Nicholas. Two weeks before his death, Ben donates his beach house to Connie Tepos at the recommendation of Holly. Tepos lives with an abusive boyfriend, but she initially denies any assistance. After another abuse from her boyfriend, she contacts him, and he donates the house, instructing her not reveal to anyone on how she came to own the house. Later, he donates his cornea to Ezra Tuner, a blind meat salesman. Despite falling in love with the final candidate, Thomas donates his heart to Emily Rosa who has a congenital heart problem and a rare blood type. Thomas accomplishes his mission and commits suicide (CAK cineforum 1-4).

Analysis of Seven Pounds: An Interactionist Perspective

Tim Thomas interactions with various situations and characters in the movie influence him to change his attitudes and beliefs on what constitutes good morals as well as the value of each one of us in caring for one another. As a successful aeronautical engineer, Thomas is not aware of the suffering other people endure in life. The perception changes when he causes a fatal road accident through careless driving. The death of Sarah Jenson makes Thomas become sensitive to the issues affecting other people. This transformation has been explored in a body of sociological research. According to He, individuals achieve transformation of perceptions of events through interactive activities with the environment and the people (377).In the context of Thomas's life, the absence of Jenson is devastating. The new environment transforms Thomas to realize he can get fulfillment from other persons in the society.

The personality conflict that originates from the guilt of causing innocent deaths drives Thomas to set out a criterion that he uses to donate his vital organs and personal assets; the recipients must be good people. This is what he desires as he believes such act would encourage the recipients to do good unto others. To convince beneficiaries of donations, Thomas engages in an effective communication process which promotes interpersonal interactions. Such approach is consistent with the position of He (379) who documents that human beings establish their social structure through communication, and since linguistic communication is an expression of meaning, people can estimate the expected benefits from social interactions. This scenario is evidenced in Thomas approach to Connie Tepos. At the first encounter, Tepos does not believe Thomas but the situation changes afterward, and she accepts the donation of the beach house.

Thomass actions conform to the Interactionist perspective that the self and the mind work hand-in-hand to yield certain social outcomes. According to Dong (10-15), social actions of human beings are based on the meanings that such individuals acquire from various social sources, including their human experience. In other words, meanings are acquired from others through channels such as linguistic communication, and then modified to create values and attitudes. For Thomas to determine the appropriateness of his beneficiaries, he devises ways of checking out their backgrounds so as to understand respective situations of need. Personal experience also plays a significant role in the decision of arriving at his candidates. For instance, he engages Ezra Tuner in an unfriendly conversation to determine whether he is fit for assistance. Tuners soft-spoken nature and calm attitude convinces Thomas of his eligibility. It can be inferred that the decision for Thomas to donate his sight organs were based on perceptions regarding the need for eyesight and the moral standards displayed by the communication with Tuner. He acquired information about Tuner and reshaped it to form personal values and beliefs. It is this social position that motivates the action of Thomas to proceed with the donation.

Conflict, cooperation and identity formation manifest themselves in Thomas encounter with Emily Posa. Emily suffers from a congenital heart condition which attracts Thomass willingness to help. But the decision to help stems not only from the need for saving the life of Posa but also from her generosity. His convictions to accomplish his mission are tested at this point. The generosity of Posa and her kindness makes him fall in love with her, an act that almost compromises his mission. From an Interactionist perspective, the desire to pursue the self aspect like any other human beings triggers a social activity that results in the development of a romantic relationship with Posa. According to He (378), people engage interactive activities to achieve the understanding of the self and self-esteem. Interactionists believe that interactive activities enable individuals to make sense of the important aspects of the self and also the value of such appreciation to other persons in a social structure. When individuals understand their self and the value of crucial aspects of the self to others, bonds often develop. As a result, the self cannot be planned. The position reflects Thomas situation whose initial thoughts and plans did not include a position where he would fall in love.

Conclusion

The Interactionist theory posts that social interactions play a significant role in making individuals make sense of their self and that of others. In effect, they develop behaviors and beliefs that draw value unto themselves as well as those that they meet in social settings. From the Interactionist viewpoint, the loss of Jenson and six strangers gives Tim Thomas a new experience that motivates him to hatch a mission to compensate for the lives lost in the car crash. He learns that there is value in the social interactions, a picture that is in total contrast with his personality before the car accident.

Works Cited

Banks, Lowerye. "Will Smith - Seven Pounds 2008 (film)." YouTube, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=59LiTg8BkFQ&t=4232s.CAK cineforum. "Seven Pounds." CAK cineforum, 2012, cakmalta.org/cineforum/skedi/seven%20pounds.pdf.Dong, Xuan. "Symbolic Interactionism in Sociology of Education Textbooks in Mainland China: Coverage, Perspective and Implications." International Education Studies, vol. 1, no. 3, 2008.

He, Ping. "An Interactionist Perspective on the Internationalization of Curriculum in Colleges and Universities." Sociology Study, vol. 2, no. 5, 2012, pp. 376-385.