AKEELAH IN THE BEE-CD

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Don’ Keisha Neely

FMSC-3340-8B

Professor Jiao

4 August 2026

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Developmental Movie Analysis Part 1: Akeelah and the Bee

Movie Selected

Akeelah and the Bee is a movie that will be used for this developmental analysis and will

be written by Doug Atchison and directed. The film premiered in 2006, featuring Keke Palmer in

the role of Akeelah Anderson, Angela Bassett playing her mother Tanya and Laurence Fishburne

as Dr. Joshua Larabee. The narrative is about an intelligent, 11-years-old African American girl,

named Akeelah, who is from South Los Angeles and has an exceptional ability to spell. She is

not seeking praise for her academic prowess, but she does enter competitions for spelling and

strives to qualify for the national Scripps Spelling Bee (Atchison, 2008). The movie focuses on

her experiences at school, relationships with family and friends, interactions with adults, and

growing involvement in her community.

Child Character and Approximate Age

The primary child character observed is Akeelah Anderson, who is approximately 11

years old. She is in the seventh grade at a middle school in the Crenshaw area of South Los

Angeles. Akeelah is characterized as being smart and particularly gifted in language and spelling.

However, she does not consistently apply herself at school and sometimes skips classes. Her

actions seem to relate to her home, school and neighbourhood experiences. She also suffers the

loss of her father, who died when she was 6 years old.

Other key young characters are Javier Mendez, a fellow spelling competitor who

becomes Akeelah's best friend, and Dylan Chiu, who is a very good spelling student who is filled

with pressure from his father. The characters make more observations about children with their

friendship, competition, expectations and family relationships.

Developmental Stage Represented

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The major developmental period portrayed in the movie is middle childhood and early

adolescence due to Akeelah being eleven years old and in seventh grade. The film also features

other kids and teens involved in academic contests and learning how to deal with their parents,

teachers, peers, and other adults. The characters' experiences provide many opportunities to

observe their behavior, abilities, relationships, emotions, responsibilities, and responses to their

surrounding environments.

Observation 1: Akeelah's School Experience

One important observation is Akeelah's relationship with school. She is intelligent, but

her school is boring and she has poor attention span when it comes to studying. She misses the

classes and is running the risk of detention due to her lack of attendance. This demonstrates a

difference between her intelligence and engagement in school. Her teacher Dalia Phillips feels a

kid like Akeelah could have promise, so she'll do something to discover it; enroll Akeelah in the

school's spelling bee. The principal also suggests that she enter the competition. Akeelah initially

resists because she does not want to attract attention to herself or be viewed as a “brainiac.”

Observation 2: Akeelah's Performance in the School Spelling Bee

A second significant observation is when Akeelah enters a Spelling Bee at school. Even

though she initially does not want to compete, she performs extremely well and wins the

competition. Her achievements come as a surprise to those around her, and allow her to enter

into more advanced levels of competition. This scene helps to show that she and Akeelah see

different things in themselves and what they can do. Her success also alters the way teachers and

school administrators react to her.

Observation 3: Akeelah's Relationship With Her Mother

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Another important observation is between Akeelah and her mother, Tanya. Tanya is a

nurse and has lots of responsibilities. Akeelah's father died when she was six, leaving Tanya to

manage the family. Akeelah does not immediately tell her mother about her involvement in the

spelling competition because she believes her mother may not support the activity. Tanya is

worried about Akeelah's schoolwork and thinks that the spelling bee may affect her learning.

Their interactions show differences in expectations and communication between a parent and

child.

Observation 4: Akeelah's Relationship With Dr. Larabee

The fourth observation is about Akeelah's interaction with Dr. Joshua Larabee. He is a

college professor and a former Spelling Bee competitor who then becomes her coach. Initially,

Akeelah thinks that if she can, she can do it without him helping her and resists his coaching. Dr.

Larabee is demanding and challenges her to improve her discipline, creativity and spelling. He

instructs her in words make-up, meaning, and memory techniques. He also provides her with

thousands of words to learn on her own, all the time. Their relationship starts to be important to

Akeelah's development slowly.

Observation 5: Akeelah's Friendship With Javier

The fifth is Akeelah's growing friendship with another Spelling Contestant, Javier

Mendez. They interact in the L.A. district competition and form a positive relationship with one

another. Javier is apt to become someone Akeelah can learn about spelling competitions from.

Akeelah finds companions in their friendship as she endures the pressures of competing at higher

and higher levels.

Observation 6: Dylan's Relationship With His Father

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The sixth observation is of Dylan Chiu and his father. Dylan is a very talented spelling

competitor, and already has some success in national competitions. However, his father has his

much to prove on his. Dylan must play like there's no tomorrow and he's never going to settle, to

play his very best. This creates a noticeable contrast between his academic talent and the

pressure surrounding his participation. Akeelah sees the predicament and is sympathetic toward

him while competing for the top spot.

Observation 7: Support From the Community

One of the most important revelations happens when Akeelah starts to get help from

people around her. Once Dr. Larabee has given her thousands of words to learn, she figures out

that she isn't up to huge amounts on her own. Family members, friends, classmates and

neighbors help her. People who have nothing to do with her studies and appear to be

disinterested also get involved to help with her preparations. This community involvement

becomes more vital and significant as Akeelah moves on to the national competition.

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Reference

Atchison, D. (Director). (2008, April 11). Akeelah and the bee (2006) [Video recording].