Bull Meechum: A Marine in War and in Peace.

"The Great Santini" is a film that centers on Bull Meechum, a Marine fighter pilot, and his family, particularly his son Ben. Bull's career is of great importance in this film because it affects literally every aspect of Bull's interpersonal relationship with his family. His social role as a soldier is indistinguishable from his role as a father, "conditioning" his children the same as his subordinate pilots. The fault in this method is that the …

…likely the way that Bull was treated as a private, and it was the way he treated his privates. I think that in showing Ben as following in his father's footsteps at the end proves the impact, whether positive or negative, that a parent has on a child's development of self, communication, and perception. I do not believe that Bull was a bad father, he was simply deeply incompetent in the art of interpersonal communication.