Special Report

Perks of Being a Wallflower


· Directed by Stephen Chbosky
· Genre: Drama
· Starring: Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller
· 102 Min.


Nowadays, there are people who take their own lives because of personal problems. Their troubles usually start when they are young and affect their whole lives intensely. These things are called traumas. A trauma is a shock that causes people permanent mental problems. People who have trauma feel intense pain and nervousness if they face certain situations. It is difficult for them to lead normal lives because they always worry about the pain and difficulties that they face every day.

In Perks of Being a Wallflower, the main character Charlie has great difficulty communicating with other people because of his trauma. He always locks himself in his own world and stays alone. Moreover, he seldom talks with other people, except his family members. His trauma occurred in his childhood when his aunt died. Even though it was not his fault, he always feels guilty and suffers from painful memories. When he was in middle school, his best friend killed himself. After that, his worries and fears got worries. The more he thinks he caused their deaths, the more difficulties he has being around other people.

Because of his timidity and pain, he can't open his closed mind. Also he is always excluded from things by his classmates. His depression continues during high school. Even though he knows the answers in class, he can't say them because he worries about what other students will think and say. Charlie's personality can be characterized by the word flower wall. Wallflower is a word that means an unpopular person at dances who doesn't have a partner. It is also used to express a person who is bashful and spiritless. One day Charlie randomly meets seniors Patrick and Samantha in the football stadium. They are so energetic and positive, completely opposite of Charlie. They become friends and help him to talk with other people and to make other friends. He tries to overcome his difficulties and be happier than before.

This movie shows us that it is not good to keep our difficulties bottled up inside. Doing that makes us have more negative thoughts which may cause other problems. These days university students are worried about their future and dreams. They feel burdened and suffer from many problems. Because of these things, students become more negative and some of them commit suicide. Students can overcome their problems with the help of other people like Charlie did. We think that showing our problems to other people can't make the situation better, but that's not true. By talking to others, we can get willpower to overcome difficulties. This movie can help people who are worried about their troubles and have suffered from trying to solve their problems alone.