Contemporary Romanticism in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Dreams and Their Fall: Growing Up
First Love
Painful Past and Memories
Fear, Doubt, and Disappointment
Conclusion
Reference

Introduction

An example of contemporary romanticism is The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The main focus is on the 16-year-old boy Charlie, who is surrounded by typical problems for his age: school parties, cool friends, relationships, unrequited love, drugs and alcohol, and teenage depression. Like any romantic character, Charlie struggles with the outer reality that he is unwilling to accept. The central romantic idea of the movie is that the protagonist is that Charlie matures, and his view of the world, experience, and environment changes. Therefore, even though people can hardly view modern films from the point of view of romanticism, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a worthy example of a romantic work of art.

Dreams and Their Fall: Growing Up

The childhood period allows a person to create many dreams, in which the young psyche believes until the first failure. The film’s main characters, Charlie, Patrick, and Sam, although seeming pretty grown-up people, are filled with childish hopes. Sam rejects Charlie in favor of Craig, and he does not know how to get over this disappointment. However, current events do not lead to Charlie writing music or dedicating poetry to Sam. He does not go on a journey toward his dreams and does not engage in charity in self-sacrificing attempts. Charlie decides to try a relationship with Mary Elizabeth, but he cannot forget Sam. Charlie meets the force of his emotions, succumbs to it, and cannot resist or hide it. He suffers condemnation from society, which rationalizes his actions and demands this rationalization from him. These accusations from people make Charlie feel alone and renunciate. Thus ends, it would seem, his dream of great love, destroyed by circumstances and strongest emotions.

Adolescence for many people is associated with a strong need to feel included and attached to a social group, and they find spiritual loneliness unbearable and non-recognition from their peers. Many people dream of a big group of friends, modern teenagers, not the ones about whom the film tells, try to spend time on social networks to share their thoughts with pen pals. It is also essential for adolescents to be considered part of the community; their first (or one of the first) experiences of self-determination and identification are associated. This experience in the future will have a tremendous impact on self-esteem, positioning in society, and the formation of requirements for other people.

Escape from loneliness and an attempt to self-define by finding friends runs throughout the film. Charlie contrasts with Patrick, who has a lot of attention and wears a smile on his face. Charlie wants to befriend him but does not know how to do it. He does not know anything about Patrick initially, and this charisma draws him in. Charlie is a romantic character, overwhelmed by thoughts of himself, and memories (Steiner & Foster, 2020). People like him are often precocious; peers are usually bored with Charlie; the character is drawn exceptionally. He cherishes the dream of making friends in his heart, and by the end of the movie, he finds real friends. However, there were some problems and disappointments along the way.

First Love

First love, the purest feeling, is often described in romantic writing from different perspectives. It is often unhappy love, where the main character experiences non-reciprocal feelings. Sometimes romantic authors use tricks to show that the characters love each other, but they cannot be together due to circumstances (and only due to them). Perhaps, in the example The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the characters occupy some intermediate position.

Charlie falls in love with Sam while she is in a formal relationship with Craig. After being rejected, Charlie becomes confused about his feelings and wants to start with Mary Elizabeth. Perhaps, as a young man, a teenager, certain social expectations are pressing on him, so it seems to him that he should have a couple. He has no feelings for Mary Elizabeth but officially enters into a relationship with her, and she becomes his first girlfriend. Having experienced the disappointment of rejection, Charlie does not understand that Mary Elizabeth is in love with him unrequitedly and inflicts mental trauma on her. He agrees to a relationship with her only for the sake of, perhaps, status and his peace of mind. After he kisses Sam, the friends take Mary Elizabeth’s side. Being a victim of unrequited love, Charlie makes Mary Elizabeth the same victim.

In romantic works, the authors often show the ambivalence of the feelings of young people. Young people who are not yet experienced in expressing feelings and emotions may show neglect or even cruelty (Steiner & Foster, 2020). The love story of Charlie and Sam is not perfect and is not a model or standard of a romantic story. There are many contradictions here, and the characters do things that reveal them from the wrong side, even though age justifies many things.

On the other hand, the film also unfolds the history of homosexual love. Patrick and Brad are two attractive young people who are in a relationship. Patrick is always smiling, surrounded by many friends, knows how to play the guitar, and becomes the ringleader at parties. Friends can call such people the company’s soul because others are very comfortable with them. It is easy for Brad to fade into the background next to Patrick, who is in the spotlight. Brad prefers a slightly less relaxed lifestyle and generally hides his sexuality from most people. It is this inept stealth that destroys Patrick and Brad’s relationship. It seemed that they started very quickly and collapsed very soon due to the fault of Brad’s father. In the example of these relationships, elements of secret love, the secrecy of relationships, and the intimacy of young people, who are still a little awkward in communication, can be traced. At the same time, these relationships show the speed of love feelings burning and fading and, not least, the cruelty of love prohibitions; the latter is widespread in romantic works.

Painful Past and Memories

Throughout the film, Charlie is experiencing the past problem, tormented by memories of the loss of two close people: an aunt and a friend. It is only towards the end of the film that he subjugates these memories and discovers the psychological trauma; his family and friends are supportive, which surprises Charlie. Perhaps it is appropriate to say that it was the experiences from the past that negatively affected Charlie’s self-esteem. For many teenagers, this can be an example of how past unanswered questions and misunderstandings can hurt.

Charlie seeks help from a psychologist, unable to deal with the past trauma. Only professional support opens his eyes to what happened and teaches him to rejoice with his friends in life. Charlie realizes that he and his friends have a lot of pleasant events ahead. Fixation of the past becomes meaningless for him; these impediments need to be removed. Charlie would have suffered from self-flagellation and accusations without working through childhood trauma. Constant guilt weighed heavily on his soul, and he suffered like a romantic hero.

Fear, Doubt, and Disappointment

Young Charlie constantly suffers from fears and fear; his soul is full of uncertainty and doubt. He is not sure of himself as a man; he is not sure of himself as a friend. The childhood trauma described above does not allow him to relax and gain self-confidence. Charlie’s undertakings, which turn out to be unsuccessful, hurt him and lead him to do stupid things (communication and relationships with Mary Elizabeth after Sam rejected in favor of Craig), which he endlessly regrets. The romantic hero thus finds himself in endless torment, passing from one cause to another. Only the circumstance changes, but not the strong feeling experienced. In the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower, these feelings are fear, doubt, and disappointment.

Conclusion

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a relevant example of modern romanticism in cinema, especially since modern culture has long rejected the ideals of romanticism of the Schlegel brothers. Charlie takes leave of his dreams and fantasies throughout the film. Viewers can see how they break down and their effect on Charlie. Charlie and his friends experience first love and separation, first rejection, and attempts to avoid suffering. Like a typical hero of romanticism, Charlie is tormented by the memories. He does not let go of the memories, and they hang like a burden on his soul, constantly forcing him to experience uncertainty. As a result, Charlie lives his youth in doubt, fear, and disappointment. He is vulnerable and cannot appreciate his failure to communicate, relate to the woman he likes, and accept himself.

Reference

Steiner, L., & Foster, M. (Eds.). (2020). Romanticism, philosophy, and literature. Springer International Publishing.

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