The Perks of Being a Wallflower - how it influenced my views.

The film ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ is an example of a piece of text that has changed my views of the opinions of society and it has also changed the way I see other people. Many people will class ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ as a ‘coming of age’ film that only appeals to young people who are lost and need to be reminded that they are not the only ones that are going through what they are although they may feel like this.

When I first watched ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ I didn't fully understand the true meaning of the film. I watched an immediately associated myself with one of the characters on the screen without giving it much thought similar to every other teenager who viewed each character. I knew straight away that the film would include the classic struggles that every teenager goes through; however I underestimated the main story of the character Charlie. The characters of Charlie is a young boy who often has confusion, pain, stress and fright that in the film we find out comes from a repressed memory. The characters story is not one that gets revealed at the beginning of the film but after the audience has gathered an emotional connection to this particular character. The core part of Charlie’s story is that he was sexually abused by a female relative. In the film after gaining a connection to the character the reveal of the abuse shocks the audience as they never thought it would happen, the film and the character make you relate therefore you feel the pain and confusion that Charlie feels.

After watching ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ I have not only strongly developed my opinions on sexual abused and how wrong it is but also how unaware many people are that men can be sexually abused by women, it doesn't always have to be the opposite way round. I am also much more aware that everybody has a past and everybody has a story.