Antwone Fisher (2002)
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Antwone’s Fisher Early Emotional State
The film Antwone Fisher follows the traumatizing life that has been for an African navy man. Born two months after his father’s murder to his mother at Cleveland Penitentiary for Women, Fisher’s life has never been easy. Foster left prison at two months and lived in a foster home all his life until he joined the American Navy. He narrates his life story to his psychiatrist Doctor Jerome Davenport.
Antwone’s Fisher early emotional state was a rollercoaster. Fisher has anger issues, and he keeps getting in fights with colleagues at the ship where he is stationed. Because of the fights, Fisher is demoted and must undergo an evaluation before returning to his station. Fisher’s anger issues were intense such that he refused to talk to Davenport during the first weeks of the counselling. Fisher is hard-headed and refuses to open up to Dr. Davenport. Fisher would go sit in his office the entire time without speaking to him. Fisher has been through a lot of trauma in his life. His mother refused to claim him after she was released from prison. He was mistreated and raped in his foster home and he watched his best friend as he attempted to rob a shop. All these factors combined scar Foster and left him with heartaches and bitterness.
How Antwone Fisher’s Human Rights were Violated
Growing up, Antwone Fisher were violated in various ways. He was subjected to emotional and physical torture as a child. Her foster mother at the foster home where he lived as a child used to physically assault Fisher and the rest of the boys as s child. There was an instance where the lady ties Fisher and Jesse to a post and flogs them using a wet towel. Additionally, after discovering that Fisher fears fire, she threatens to burn with it. Additionally, Fisher was sexually assaulted by his foster mother’s older daughter. When Fisher was six years old, she would wait until her mother left the house and would force herself onto Fisher in the basement of the house. Even as a grown-up, Fisher is still subjected to discrimination and emotional torture. The reason he got into the first fight is that his white colleague tells him that he has something on his face at the start of the film.
Antwone Fisher’s Relationship with His Mother
To say the least, Antwone Fisher does not have a relationship with his mother. The relationship is non-existent. This has to do with the fact that his mother did not bring up Fisher. His mother abandoned him instead of taking him like Jesse’s mother did. Fisher was born in prison while her mother was serving a sentence. Fisher was only two months old when he was transferred from the prison to a foster home. Essentially, Fisher did not know his mother at all. When he left prison, his mother had the option of claiming him, but she did not once bother to find her child. After they are reunited, Fisher’s mother is too dumbfounded to speak to her son as the film comes to a close. She does not even bother to ask for forgiveness or even explain her actions to her son.
The Institutions that Failed Antwone Fisher
Growing up, various institutions failed Antony Fisher. The Children’s welfare department failed Fisher because they did not rescue Fisher and his friends from the cruel lady who was charged with taking care of them. Instead of giving them a loving and peaceful home, the lady would beat the boys mercilessly and torture them emotionally. Their foster mother mistreated the boys by taking away any money they had and picking on them. She even once threatened Fisher with fire. One can only imagine the amount of psychological pain and agony they must have gone through at the hands of the lady. Even at his station at the Navy, Fisher was failed by the justice system as they were biased and would rush to quickly send him for counseling instead of hearing his side of the story.
Antwone Fisher Fights in The Navy
In my opinion, Fisher was justified in fighting while in the Navy because all along, he was standing up for himself. Most people misunderstood Fisher because he had a short temper. The first time he got into a fight, a white colleague had thrown a racist comment at him and his reaction was only human. He did what any normal human being would do; defend himself. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with Fisher’s actions. Additionally, even during the night out at the bar with his friends, Fisher only got into a fight while defending himself from a friend who accused him of being gay.
Dr. Jerome Davenport
Dr. Davenport was, without a doubt, a liberated gatekeeper. The doctor possesses a tremendous influence on people. He calms them down by just talking to people and even convinces them to shift power. The role comes in handy in various circumstances. Each time Fisher gets into a fight, he must have three counseling sessions with Davenport. Davenport is the perfect middle man and he provides a balance between racial minorities and their white counterparts. Despite being black, he is experienced and level headed. He knows what to say to people. Every time Fisher gets into a fight, Davenport would talk to Fisher’s superior and convince him to let Fisher back to the ship.
How the Foster Care System Demonstrates Institutional Failure.
The foster care demonstrates an institutional failure in various ways. First and foremost, they fail to rescue Fisher from the hands of their evil foster mother, who abuses them both emotionally and physically. The services provided are poor and they fail to protect the children and keep them safe. They fail to recognize that the same people entrusted with their well being beat them and molest them. As a result, these children grow up to become dysfunctional adults who have anger issues.
The Relationship between Fisher and His Girlfriend
Antwone Fisher shares deep and genuine love for one another. From the day, they were both shy around each other. Fisher confessed that he had hesitated approaching her because he thought she was out of his league and Joy also said the same thing. Because of his traumatic past. Fisher is not always honest with Joy and he even tries avoiding her and lying to her. After the therapy sessions with Dr. Devonport, Fisher finally gathers the courage to open up to Joy and tell her about his past and that he was born in prison and did not know who his parents were. Joy shows her love for him and accompanies him searching for his family. She is a supportive girlfriend who genuinely cares for Fisher.
How Fisher’s Girlfriend Supports Antwone Fisher
Joy, Fisher’s girlfriend supports Fisher by travelling with him to Cleveland to help retrace his roots. As soon as Fisher makes up his mind about leaving for Cleveland, he asks Joy to come with him to help him search for his mother and relatives. Joy was just from leave but she managed to pull some strings to get additional leave days so that she could accompany Fisher to Cleveland. She also offers Fisher emotional support and advice. When they arrived in Cleveland, they did not find any relevant information that could help them find Fisher’s mother. Joy advices Fisher to go back to the foster home and ask his foster mother about his parents. She also helps him look through the directory and make calls as they search for his father’s whereabouts.
Importance of Family and Ancestors
The film emphasizes the importance of family in various ways. As the movies is coming to an end, Fisher’s dream comes true. He finally has a family to call his own. His family threw him a party, and there he met with all his relatives. His grandparents and great grandparents are sited in a separate room, and once Fisher enters the room his grandmother welcomes his to the family. They also accept Joy, Fisher’s girlfriend into the family. The film stresses the importance of family as a critical support system for every child’s well being.
Antwone Fisher’s Relationship with his Psychiatrist
I would say that the relationship between Fisher and Devonport is that like of a father and son. Although it started as a purely professional relationship, the two soon became fond of each other. They two share a loving relationship which anybody could be envious of. At one instance, when Fisher graduates and has to move on with life without him, Fisher is frustrated at the news. Devonport treated Fisher as his son and even invited him to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family. This is something that Devonport could not do with all his patients. He had a soft spot for Fisher and he wanted to see him get better.
The Psychiatrist Relationship with his Wife
In my opinion, the relationship between Doctor Devonport and his wife was far from perfect. It is clear as day that they two loved each other every much, but at the same time, something else bothered them. Their relationship is strained because they cannot conceive children. His wife feels his wife is distant from him because he blames her. However after meeting with Antwone Fisher, Doctor Devonport said that his life changed. Fisher made him want to be a better husband to his wife.
Lesson Learnt
The first lesson from the film Antwone Fisher is that anger and frustration are destructive. Every time Fisher landed in a fight, he would be reprimanded by his commanding officer. He would be demoted to serve in a junior position and attend mandatory counseling. This teaches people to let go of their anger as they are likely to land us trouble. Another key lesson is that life is not static. Nobody knows another person’s fate. The fact that one’s life is messed up now does not mean it will always be like that. Another lesson is to forgive the people that wrong us. Like Fisher forgave his mother for abandoning him, we should forgive the people who do us wrong.
Works Cited
Antwone Fisher (2002) Movie
