The making of a teenager: The lie

The goal of this project is to consider how family relationships helped shape the characters in some of the most beloved films about teenagers from the 1980s.

Pretty in Pink (1986), Written by John Hughes

Andy: Daddy, Where'd you get the money to pay for this (Prom dress)? Father: It wasn't that much. I had some money.
Andy: From your new job?
Father: Yeah. From my new job.
Andy: I came home from school and your car was here. You weren’t at work. You didn't have to lie to me!
Father: Yes, I did.

Therapist Comment:

Who is in charge of this family? If it is Andy (teenager), what impact do you think worrying about her father will have on her grades, her ability to sustain romantic relationships, her career choices?
What is the function of father’s lying to his daughter? Is it more for him, or for her?

To learn how to create and understand your own family diagram, see Chapter 7 in Takes More Than Love by Dr. Aliza Israel & Avrum Nadigel, MSW.

For a general introduction to family diagrams see Monica Mcgoldrick’s “Genograms”

﻿The goal of this project is to consider how family relationships helped shape the characters in some of the most beloved films about teenagers from the 1980s.

The goal of this project is to consider how family relationships helped shape the characters in some of the most beloved films about teenagers from the 1980s.