The perks of being a wallflower directed by Stephen Chbosky is a film that follows an awkward 15 year old Charlie Kelmeckis and the difficult and troubled life he’d had leading up to his first year at high school. but finding a loyal friendship within beautiful Sam and wild Patrick takes him on a whirlwind of experiences as he finally finds his place in life and highschool.
A character in the movie I found interesting was Charlie. He is an intelligent and caring teen with eyes only for Sam, if only he could tell if she felt the same way. His love for literature catches my attention as he, like me, loves to read many different books. Although he hasn’t confessed his love for sam he doesn’t understand why she won’t choose him, he consoles in his first friend, his english teacher, asking why good people always choose bad people to love, referring to both Sam and Aunt helen, the response he received was “because we accept the love we think we deserve” this quote relates to the world we live in today as people rush into love and dont always choose people that make them happy.
A message I took from the text is that the past should not alter the future, Charlie had a difficult time as a child as he was molested by his trusted aunt Helen, blamed himself for her death, suffers from ptsd, and does impulsive things without a second thought, but he knows how to move forward, he puts his energy into writing book reports, making mixtapes and writing letters to his best friend he lost to suicide. Because of his past, Charlie doesn’t do well in social settings, he doesn’t especially understand the idea of love and wonders why he has such bad luck when trying to grab sams attention.
Every character in the film the perks of being a wallflower was highschool and figuring out who they are as people. Highschool can be hard with bullies, and careless teachers. but when you don’t even know yourself it makes the situation even worse. Patrick was in love with the star football player but their love was hidden and Patrick was over waiting for him. Sam had a reputation in relationships and rushed into toxic relationships. Charlie wanted to look out for his friends because that’s what he feels is the right thing to do, but whatever he does doesn’t seem to make anyone’s situation better. Throughout the perks of being a wallflower the film celebrates individuality and difference as people grow to love Charlie for the funny, innocent guy he is, people start to understand everything Charlie went through as a child and can relate with their own past experiences creating great friendship which can ultimately survive highschool.
The title The perks of being a wallflower is fitting because at the start of the film Charlie was a wallflower he didn’t interact with anyone or speak out in group settings he often kept to himself and only spoke to his english teacher (his first friend at high school). Charlie is an introvert and would rather be alone then figure all the dynamics of how to keep a conversation going. The definition of a wallflower is someone that is socially awkward, not particularly shy but keeps to themselves, both things I believe perfectly describe charlie.
I would recommend this film to people who are 13 and above and enjoy watching romance, coming of age films and dont mind shedding a tear for fictional characters. The Perks of being a Wallflower is a flawless representation of highschool and the harsh realities of life.
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