Jessica Forsdick TR Accessibility 2/20/13

Whats Eating Gilbert Grape Whats Eating Gilbert Grape is about a family living in a small town in Iowa. Gilbert Grape cares for his younger brother, Arnie, who suffers from mental retardation. The whole family also cares for their widowed mother, Bonnie, who is morbidly obese. Arnie often runs out of sight and climbs the towns water tower, which causes a large scene in the small town. After climbing to the top of the water tower, a large cherry picker is brought into town to get Arnie off. This was the last straw and the sheriff took Arnie into custody. After hearing about this, Bonnie gets out of the house to get him. Bonnie had not left the house in seven years, so naturally this caused quite a commotion in the little town of Endora, Iowa. The night before Arnies eighteenth birthday, Gilbert loses his temper after Arnie ruined two cakes and refused to get in the bath. Gilbert hits Arnie, then storms out of the house. Gilbert goes to the broken down trailer of his newly found love affair, Becky. Becky is very understanding of what Gilbert did, and she is also very understanding and helpful with the care of Arnie. On Arnies birthday, Gilbert returns and Arnie forgives him for the assault. Bonnie tells Gilbert that she was worried he was never coming back, just like his oldest brother and father, and admits how much Gilbert has done for her and Arnie. She then dies after making the trek up the stairs to a bed she had not slept in for years. The family burns the house down not wanting the whole town to come watch as she is lifted by a crane out of the house. Gilbert continues to watch over Arnie, and eventually leave the small town with Becky. Arnies disability is never fully explained, just that he was mentally retarded and, could go at any time. He had different tics, mimicked others as well as continued to echo the action or words, incapable of self care, low comprehension, and no social skills. The mother, Bonnie, suffered from obesity. Although this is a self inflicted disability, its affect was very prominent in

Jessica Forsdick TR Accessibility 2/20/13

the movie. After her husband committed suicide, Bonnie could not cope with it and became severely depressed and was unable to care for herself. She could not walk about the house, cook for the family, or even bathe herself. There were not many labels used in the movie towards Arnie. The town seemed to accept him very well, especially Gilberts boss and Becky. The children of the town were often rude to Arnie and teased him, but never called him any names and did attend his birthday party. The mother, however, was a spectacle for the whole town to gawk at and make snide remarks about. The children of the town often came to the house to get a peek at the woman, which Gilbert aided. Bonnies children were embarrassed by her and made remarks of their own. Gilbert often called her a beached whale and other derogatory terms. When the mother went to the jail to get Arnie out, the town gathered outside of the building and awaited her exit. They all stared at her, the children laughed, and some even photographed her. She was very embarrassed by this and, before she died, confronted Gilbert about it. She asked if he was embarrassed by her, which he replied no, although it was obvious throughout the movie he was. She apologizes for her disability and the burden she had been to the family. Gilberts attitude towards Arnie was mainly those of a care giver, but also someone who had no freedom of choice and was always in charge of caring for him. He is usually very calm and collected with Arnie, playing along with his games and making him happy. But the night when Gilbert loses temper and hits Arnie, you see that the pressure of taking care of his brother is too much for him. Becky treats Arnie with care and compassion. She understands his needs to recreate and play. The night Gilbert hit him, Arnie ran to Beckys trailer. She cleaned him up and got him to play in the lake with her. Ellen, Arnies little sister, gets angry with Arnie often and does not seem to have any compassion for him. She was watching over him one day and when he

Jessica Forsdick TR Accessibility 2/20/13

tried to climb the water tower again, she yanked him off of it and dragged him away from it. The townspeople do not take much notice to Arnie, and mostly treat him like any other child. Although the children are ashamed of their mother, they do all they can to care for her. Amy, the older sister, cooks and cleans for her mother and Gilbert keeps up on the house and cares for Arnie. The townspeople say bad things about Bonnie, and also gawk at her like she is on display for their entertainment. When Bonnie goes to get Arnie, the sheriff seems to be afraid of her and when she raises her voice, he does what she says. The barriers of this movie mostly portray to Gilbert, rather than the individuals with disabilities. Gilbert his hindered by the burden of caring for his brother and mother. Everything he does is for them, and he realize this after talking with Becky. Something that would help Arnies situation to overcome some barriers would be to have a program in the school that would accommodate him. It is never said in the movie, but implied, that Arnie did not attend school. This would have greatly altered the familys life and would have helped Arnie develop more skills to take care of himself and socially interact with people. The barriers that the mother faces are mostly her own. Her weight hinders her from doing the smallest of activities and she is unable to care for herself. This movies is a movie I would recommend to others. It portrays how the care for individuals with disabilities affects the lives of the caregiver if they are not properly trained as well as how to overcome those obstacles. This movie has a few twists and turns in it, but is easy to follow and understand. The end is happy and offers relief to the audience as well as the characters.