I Am Sam Analysis
“I Am Sam” is about a man named Sam Dawson who has the mental capacity of a child. He works at a Starbucks and had a daughter named Lucy with a homeless woman who abandoned the two the moment they left the hospital and Sam is left to take care of Lucy all on his own. Sam is shown to be doing a proficient job of taking care of her as she grows with the help of his friends but as she reaches age 7, Sam's limitations start to become a problem. At school Lucy intentionally holds back to avoid looking smarter than him. Once further complications occur and Sam is claimed to be incapable of taking care of Lucy the authorities take her away. From then on Sam seeks help in a successful but cold hearted lawyer by the name of Rita Harrison who eventually
…show more content…
Over the course of the film the audience gains sympathy for Sam and his struggles but also sort of pokes fun at him and his friends. Sam and his friends are depicted as dressing funny, saying a bit silly but somehow charming lines and shows them as loveable because they are so clumsy and strange. This depiction is what makes the scenes where the audience witnesses Sam breaking down, such as the scene in the restaurant where Sam becomes disturbed due to the change in his and Lucy’s usual dinner routine, more heartbreaking. The audience who is more often than not uneducated about the stereotypes and stigma brought up on the mentally disabled community feel bad for Sam and put him in a position as helpless while the rest of the film focuses on saying that he is capable of raising his daughter. The audience does not see how Lucy calms her father down, or watch the scene until the end because it is immediately cut away by another. This film causes audiences to feel pity for Sam rather than seeing that he is capable of making responsible decisions and not letting his disability destroy him. If audiences were able to take the latter message with a grain of salt it would make the experience of watching the film even better than simply just pitying Sam.
Overall, I would recommend this movie because of its moving plot as well as showing mental disability in
Over the course of the film the audience gains sympathy for Sam and his struggles but also sort of pokes fun at him and his friends. Sam and his friends are depicted as dressing funny, saying a bit silly but somehow charming lines and shows them as loveable because they are so clumsy and strange. This depiction is what makes the scenes where the audience witnesses Sam breaking down, such as the scene in the restaurant where Sam becomes disturbed due to the change in his and Lucy’s usual dinner routine, more heartbreaking. The audience who is more often than not uneducated about the stereotypes and stigma brought up on the mentally disabled community feel bad for Sam and put him in a position as helpless while the rest of the film focuses on saying that he is capable of raising his daughter. The audience does not see how Lucy calms her father down, or watch the scene until the end because it is immediately cut away by another. This film causes audiences to feel pity for Sam rather than seeing that he is capable of making responsible decisions and not letting his disability destroy him. If audiences were able to take the latter message with a grain of salt it would make the experience of watching the film even better than simply just pitying Sam.
Overall, I would recommend this movie because of its moving plot as well as showing mental disability in