Friday, January 19, 2018

Stand By Me

Stand By Me (1986)

1. Stand by Me is the story of four 12 year old boys on a mission to find the body of a missing boy. Along the way, what starts as a simple quest, turns into one of the most life-changing journeys for each of them. They discover the meaning of true friendship, the hardships of reality, and what it truly looks like to stand up for what is right. This movie touches on the nostalgia of growing up and making memories that will last.

2.   In the film, Vern Tessio is the "picked-on" kid of the group. Most of the time his friends make fun of him or he is the butt of the joke. He represents the self-conscious, fearful pre-teen who allows himself to be walked over in order to gain acceptance from his friend. While this is exaggerated in some parts, the part that rings true is the willingness to be walked upon in order to be accepted. Middle schoolers want to be accepted, and some are willing to be the butt of a joke if it means that get to be associated with a group of friends. Where this stereotype is taken a bit too far, is that Vern is portrayed as extremely dumb and a wimp. This is all that his character is; in reality kids have much more to them than these characteristics.
Chris Chambers is the kid who is ruined by his family's reputation. While seemingly known as having a hard upbringing, these factors do not impact Chris's personality and decisions. He is seen as being the leader of the group and voices reason during times of tension. Chris represents the kid that pushes against the odds of his family - while still being angsty and rebellious, he is the most kindhearted of the group and can be seen as the dad figure. The most realistic part of Chris's character is the angsty-rebellious piece. This describes most middle schoolers as they begin pushing boundaries and discover more of who they are. Where this stereotype diverges is in the intensity of his character and his confidence; while some pre-teens may be to this level of maturity and self-awareness, most are still in the development stage of this.
Ace Merrill is the typical bully figure. While dramatized in certain scenes of the movie, Ace is the leader of the mean kids and even threatens to kill the boys. In every pre-teen film, there must be the bad guy - Ace encapsulates this stereotype to a tee. Where Ace's character speaks truth is in the fact that, unfortunately, there is always some kind of bully figure in a school or clique. However, most middle schoolers are not as violently motivated as Ace is portrayed in the movie.

3. In middle-school I would most identify with Gordie because of his quiet and introspective tendencies. In my own friend group, I tended to be more mature and decisive about things. Like Gordie, I was also extremely insecure and probably thought a little bit too much. While our insecurities stemmed from different places, both were tied to parental acceptance. Loyalty was also a deep characteristic of Gordie that I also identified with.


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