Basic Elements of Systems Theory
Hierarchy--What systems exist in the movie? What are the larger systems and then subsets of that system?
How are the characters interdependent (i.e., depend on each other) and for what reasons do they depend on
each other?
What permeable boundaries exist? Are the boundaries open, closed, both?
Input-Throughput-Output Processes
diagram of input, system throughput, boundary, and output with environment shaded at the bottom
What input, throughput, and output is seen in the movie? And by whom? How does the environment contribute
to how their system operates?
System Properties
How is the system "more than the sum of its parts?"
How do the people thrive in these dysfunctional families? (entropy)
What multiple paths do the characters take to get their final results?
Is there any negative feedback? (feedback that counteracts imposed change)
Is there any positive feedback? (amplifies changes to the system)
Sample Solution