Week 9: Why “Wonder” is a Wonder But Just That
If you still wonder what the topic is, yes I’m going to talk about the film Wonder.
Based on the New York Times bestseller, WONDER tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time. (IMDb)
To start with, it seemed to me that everyone loved it so much, giving it all kinds of generous praises. And I agree to a large extent.
So I will start with my reasons why it’s a wonder.
It’s so full of positiveness. There are no bad guys, just people in development. I appreciate very much that the film is not only from the perspective of the special boy, but also from that of people close to him. It is through such an arrangement that the audience can understand the otherwise strange, even cruel behaviors of the ordinary yet special people around our little hero.
It’s so inclusive, covering most of the major issues facing the US society, even the integration of immigrants as many people allege after generalizing the situations faced by our little hero in the film. Everyone has his/her issues, but the film serves almost like a guide on how we can turn things around and make it right in the end, even after some damage is done.
I guess after watching this film, most people would feel inspired and energized, better prepared to face, in a more positive way, their respective problems in the real life. How wonderful! I’m sure the filmmakers would be happy to see the impact they make on people through this story.
However, after some further thinking, I would like to explain also why I think it’s just a wonder but not something bigger.
My main wonder is about the setting of the story.
Like the strong, capable and loving mother told her son at the graduation ceremony, “You really are a wonder, Auggie. You are a wonder”.
“Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right using of strength. He or she is the greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts by the attraction of his own.” — Henry Ward Beecher
And as this inspiring quotation that the principal shared in his introductory speech to the Henry Ward Beecher Medal and its winner, the little hero of the film is truly a wonder who not only overcame the obstacles of fitting into the “mainstream world”, but also carried up so many hearts around him, young and old.
But I can’t help wondering what if we don’t have such a special character around us, how much of this wonderful impact would still realize?
In this film, Auggie got a lot of special treatment, be it bad or good. And indeed he attracted a lot of special attention, be it bad or good. What if he was just an ordinary boy? I’m sure he would still have a lot of puzzles and difficulties fitting into a new environment. But then what?
What if his parents happened to be like the other ordinary parents — who represent the majority of parents I’m afraid — and already had a lot to worry about earning the bread for the family so they couldn’t afford to give as much care to their boy?
What if his siblings were not so considerate or inspired by their equally ordinary little brother so they didn’t offer as much support when needed?
And what if the school administration, the teachers and the classmates all started by treating him no differently as they do to others?
Without the wonderful setting, the wonder can hardly reproduce itself. I wonder maybe it’s part of the reason for the title of the story.
I know my assumptions and wonders are not more valid than the story, but the message I want to convey here is that although this nice and warm film is inspiring the audience towards positiveness and optimism, all it can provides is just that, no more.
And it actually takes a lot more to really turn such a wonder into a daily scene. But what if everyone of us can think and do a little bit more toward this goal? I wonder.
