The Perks of Being a Wallflower(movie) - Ella Collins

 Over quarantine, I had a lot of free time on my hands, and I watched a lot of movies. One of my favorite movies that I watched was the Perks of being a wallflower. It really emphasized people's mental health and how you really don't know what's going on with other people because you haven't been in their shoes. Charlie was a shy and anxious kid who was very introverted. He wasn't close to anyone, not even his own family. His father was nice however strict, his mother was sweet but oblivious to many of his problems, and as much as his sister Candace tried to include him, she was reluctant to do so. His best friend Michael had killed himself a year prior. However, Charlie was able to meet seniors, Sam, Patrick, Mary Elizabeth, and Alice who saw potential in him. The more the group accepted Charlie for who he was he came out of his shell. Throughout the movie an incident with Charlie's aunt continues to haunt him in ways he doesn't even realize and his anxieties worsen. Mr. Anderson, Charlie's English teacher, also formed a connection with Charlie. He gave him books to read and would even give Charlie advice sometimes. For example, Charlie asked him why sometimes girls pick the wrong guy and he said, "We accept the love we think we deserve," which helped Charlie a lot. As well, every character in the movie had their own problems such as sexual abuse, dealing with their sexual orientation, eating disorders, and mental illness, which are all things that teens today have to deal with. Throughout the movie, it is revealed that his Aunt Helen had died. At the end of the movie, it is revealed that Aunt Helen had molested Charlie and it was a repressed memory in his mind. From this, he suffered PTSD and flashbacks. For a while, he thought that he was responsible for Aunt Helen's death because she died in a car crash going to get his Birthday gift. This built up an overload of guilt in Charlie's head and even lead to him telling people that aunt Helen was his favorite person. The movie really put a spotlight on things that are somewhat difficult to talk about but that almost every teen goes through. It also reminds you to never judge someone because you have no clue what has happened to them or anything about them.