Adler’s individual psychology approach and disadvantaged situations: An analysis of the movie “Front of the Class”

Authors : Emre Aslan, Tuğba Sarı
Pages : 227-247
Doi:10.33400/kuje.1523081
View : 124 | Download : 109
Publication Date : 2025-05-31
Article Type : Research Paper
Abstract :Movies have played an important role in people\\\'s lives for a very long time. This has also been reflected in scientific studies. In the science of psychology, films are used to understand the emotions, thoughts, and behaviors of individuals and to see them in a concrete way. In this study, it is aimed to concretize the basic concepts of individual psychology through film analysis and to examine their reflections on disadvantaged situations. Document analysis was used as a method in the research. In this context, the movie \\\"Front of the Class\\\", directed by Peter Werner and written by Thomas Rickman, Brad Cohen, and Lisa Wysocky, based on a real-life story and released in 2008, was analyzed. The movie is about the childhood, family life, and professional life of the protagonist, Brad Cohen, who has Tourette Syndrome. Brad Cohen\\\'s life was analyzed according to the basic concepts of individual psychology: social interest, feelings of inferiority and striving for superiority, lifestyle, life tasks, sibling relationships and birth order, family integrity, first memories, fictional finalism, and creative self. The findings of the study showed that Brad\\\'s social interest was high. He coped with the sense of inferiority triggered by Tourette Syndrome in a healthy way by not allowing Tourette Syndrome to shape his life in a negative way and displayed an effort of superiority. He determined a self-confident and active lifestyle. He fulfilled all his life tasks by developing social relationships with other people, establishing romantic relationships, and acquiring a profession. He adopted a fictional finalism to overcome Tourette Syndrome and revealed his creative self to realize this goal. In conclusion, the analysis of the movie “Front of the Class” offers a theoretical perspective that can be used as an effective educational resource. The movie can function as an educational material.
Keywords : Film analizi, Adlerian yaklaşım, bireysel psikoloji yaklaşımı, dezavantajlı durumlar

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