Movie Analysis for Up

Relationship Development Analysis in Up This paper will focus on interpersonal relationships; more specifically, romantic partners and the development of a relationship in a scene from the movie Up. Relationship development has two spectrums of stages: coming together and coming apart. This paper will focus on the stages taking place in the coming together phase, the relational norms and outcomes, speed of stage advancement, character role in each stage and how they could improve on their interpersonal relationship. The movie Up consists of a boy named Carl Fredricksen who falls in love with a girl named Ellie. They both love the famous explorer Charles Muntz and their friendship revolves around it. Ellie describes a place Muntz traveled to and she makes Carl promise he will take her there. Years later, the two marry and live happily but as they grow older Carl realizes he never got to take Ellie to Paradise Falls in South America. She passes away but still honoring his late wife’s wish, makes his house float with millions of balloons and starts his journey to Paradise Falls. Romantic relationships are seen as “a joyful fusion of closeness [and] communication…” (McCornack, 2010, p. 322) These relationships provide more of a bond than a regular relationship connected with friends and people we know but aren’t close to. A romantic relationship is a chosen interpersonal involvement built through communication in which both people in the relationship see it as romantic. In the development of a relationship, there are five stages. In the phase McCornack calls “coming together” there are five stages: initiating, experimenting, intensifying, integrating, and bonding. The main stage I will be analyzing is the intensifying stage. In one particular scene, Ellie visits Carl after he broke his arm. She sneaks into his room late one night and brings with her “My Adventure Book”. She has never shown anyone her book before, so that makes Carl the first person to see it.

Citations: Rivera, Jonas(Producer),& Doctor, Pete (Director). (2009). Up [Motion Picture]. United States: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures McCornack, Steven (2010). Reflect and Relate: an Introduction to Interpersonal Communication. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s