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Juno (2007, 96 minutes) stars Ellen Page as Juno, a pregnant high school junior. She faces a
number of conflicts and, as she explains to her father, she must “deal with things way beyond
my maturity level.” While working through her options, she comes into conflict with her
boyfriend and becomes aware that the potential adoptive father is inappropriate. As Juno
wrestles with these issues, her father, stepmother, and best friend help her work toward
collaborative solutions.
The Kite Runner (2007, 128 minutes) is a potent and memorable film centered around Amir,
an Afghan boy raised by his wealthy father, and Amir’s childhood friend and servant,
Hassan. The plot spans the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the country’s subsequent
control by the Taliban. The film movingly depicts the influence of power on conflict, and
illustrates several power currencies—as seen through Amir’s eyes in the Afghanistan of his
childhood, in his new home in America, and finally in contemporary Afghanistan, when Amir
searches a Kabul orphanage for Hassan’s son.
War of the Roses (1989, 116 minutes) is a dark comedy tracing the marriage of a wealthy
couple, the Roses (played by Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas). Their marriage begins
to fall apart and then becomes a bitter divorce battle, which is described to the audience by a
narrator (Danny DeVito) as a cautionary tale of conflict escalation. The film shows conflict
types and the results of managing conflict poorly.
The Hunger Games (2012, 142 minutes). Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers
to take the place of her sister in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death in which
twelve teenagers are chosen at random to compete. This movie is effective for demonstrating
how the “games” possesses all the features of conflict: expressed struggle (for survival);
incompatible goals (one contestant’s win means death for the others); scarce rewards
(weapons, food, water); interdependence (the contestants’ fates are linked together). The film
also highlights how Katniss uses collaboration to survive and win the hunger game
competition.
Zero Dark Thirty (2012, 157 minutes). After September 11, 2011, CIA intelligence expert
Maya (Jessica Chastain), is assigned to Pakistan to seek out Osama bin Laden. As a woman
in a male-dominated hierarchy, she is often overlooked and belittled. She gradually earns
acceptance by being tireless, strong willed, and assertive—qualities typically associated with
masculinity.
The Social Network (2010, 121 minutes). Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) creates the
social networking site that would become known as Facebook. The film provides several
examples of technology’s influence on conflict: for example, the consequences of blogging
about a breakup, the dangers of online gossip, and the power of cyberbullying (when Mark
and his friends develop an algorithm for ranking the attractiveness of their female classmates
online).