Ecological perspective means an ecological science concept that involves organisms and their environmental interaction study. It shows the relationship of an individual to the environment. The ecological theory in humans recognizes five ecological mappings. These ecological mappings include the micro-system, mesosystem, exosystem, macro-system, and chrono-system. In the film Larry versus Lockney, Larry is one of the characters. Larry resides in Lockney, a town in western Texas. Larry, a 3rd generation farmer, believed that tasting in his son’s school degraded the Fourth Amendment rights. As a result, Larry sued the school to overturn this policy. In this battle, Larry was the talk of the town from every communication media; he lost his job and his family received threats (Larry v. Lockney POV). In this paper, I will discuss an ecological perspective in the film Larry Lockney of Larry’s life and an ecological paradigm’s importance.
I will start with Larry’s Eco mapping before the conflict with the school board. Ecological mapping involves a presentation showing the systems involved in an individual’s life. This ecological map involves five systems: micro-system, mesosystem, exosystem, macro-system, and chrono-system. In the film Larry versus Lockney, Larry is at the center. Besides Larry is the microsystem such as their family including his son of 12 years Brady. Second to this microsystem is the Meso-system, where Larry has a relationship with his job, and the school among other settings. Third, Larry has a connection with the social setting. For example, Larry is a farmer who interacts with other people in his work. Fourth, in the macro system, Larry lives in a setting made of laws (Larry v. Lockney POV). Therefore, Larry understands the laws and rights of his son. Finally, in the chronosystem, Larry is involved in an environmental change of events, he is a third-generation farmer farming cotton. Therefore, in the film Larry versus Lockney, Larry’s ecological mapping involves all five systems.
However, Larry’s ecological map changed after the conflict with the school board over the drug-testing policy. When Larry realized Lockney Independent School District had introduced the drug-testing policy, he did not sign a consent form. Larry argued that this drug-testing policy was constitutional and was exploiting his son’s rights. In Lockney town, he was the only parent objecting to this drug-testing policy. This case shows that social support was not involved. At the same time, after the school dropped the in-school suspension he continued seeking legal justice, creating enmity with the school and even losing his job, and the family received threats (Larry v. Lockney POV) Therefore, the ecological map of Larry changed after the conflict over drug-testing policy.
After settling the lawsuit, the relationship between Larry and the other people in Lockney returned to good. After the judge declared the drug-testing policy unconstitutional, the test became voluntary. The parents could choose whether their children must take the test. As a result, individual liberties, as well as the maintenance of public security, were achieved. Larry’s choice greatly benefited society, and other individuals enjoyed its privileges (Larry v. Lockney POV).
Finally, the ecological paradigm is important in evaluating people in the social context. The ecological paradigm provides the general framework for understanding people’s natural relations with their social-cultural and physical surroundings (Larry v. Lockney POV).
In conclusion, in the film Larry versus Lockney, Larry’s life shows an ecological map that changes after his conflict over the drug-testing policy, which violates his son’s rights. However, after the judge settled the lawsuit he won, and the whole of society benefited from it. Therefore, the ecological paradigm is important in understanding people’s social life.
Work Cited
Larry v. Lockney | POV | PBS. POV | American Documentary Inc. Available at: http://www.pbs.org/pov/larryvlockney/. Accessed February 9, 2018.
http://www.pbs.org/pov/larryvlockney/film-description/
