Running on Empty (1988)

             ‘Running on Empty’ is a 1988 film directed by Sidney Lumet. The film won ‘Best Screenplay’ award in 46th Golden Globe Awards. The plot is about a family who are currently running away from FBI to escape persecution for the parents’ anti-war protest bombing of a napalm laboratory in 1970s which accidentally blinded and paralyzed a janitor. They have been running since their first born was just two years old by assuming different identities and jobs in varies places. Whenever Arthur Pope, the head of family, senses the verge of being captured in one particular place, he immediately moves together with his family to another place with assuming different identities again. In the film, during their settlement in latest town, their first son, Danny now a grown up teenager begins to realize his identity outside from his family once he start to fall in love with his school principal’s daughter, Lorna Phillips. What happens to the family’s unity in the end forms the rest of the story.

          Talking about parenting style portrayed in the film, both Arthur and Annie shows authoritarian parenting style towards their children. Both of them seem to make their children to follow their direction and orders since they were small. All they were thought was the unity of the family member. They never consider about their children’s social life and future. They keep on relocate to new place and school for their sons whenever they doubt their real identity exposed. So this condition leaves both Danny and his brother Harry to not have proper education records as well as no proper peers to mix around and develop their social skills. Mr. & Mrs. Popes may provide food and resources as long as they are around but they also should have thought about what will happens to these two children if both of them are not around (in case get caught by FBI or by get involved in car accident and died). Since both of them didn’t have any proper education records and social contacts, it will be very hard for them to live without their parents for example like getting a job or looking forward to ask help from anyone else to support them. Since these two children were running away from their very early age, they seem to be matured in term of cognitive compared to other children with their ages. This might make them to feel alienate and different from other peers in their respective schools.

            In the film, Danny Pope’s character did illustrate Erikson's fifth stage of development ‘Identity vs. Confusion’.  At the stage of adolescence, Danny become confused with his identity as being son to his parents and also with his new identity as romantic partner for Lorna Phillips, the girl that he love very much. Danny’s family secrets prevented him from revealing much about him to Lorna, which become barrier for him to express his intimate feelings towards her. At this stage, the curiosity for knowing about his identity causes him to impersonate as a pizza delivery boy in order to visit his grandparents’ house. And also to explore more about his music potential, he went for an audition even without telling his parents anything regarding this. This action shows that he started to care about having his own life and not just running away for the rest of his life from FBI.

              
            For me the film is watchable to create awareness among parents to not hold their children’s future by their own and let their children to make their own choices in life. I really like the ending part of the film where Mrs. Annie Pope would risk herself to meet with her father after so many years to arrange a home and life for Danny if they should decide to leave him behind. And I didn’t expect Mr. Arthur Pope will realize his mistake and leaves Danny behind to have his own life with his grandparents after hearing in radio that one of his colleagues has been shot and killed for running from the authorities.