Perks of Being Conflicted

Which aren't many....

Wrestling, sorry about my handwriting

The more research I do, the more ideas seem to arise. This would be great if I could incorporate all of them into one thesis but that would be insane. As posted in my first tweethis statement, I wanted to compare the relationship between the Perks of Being a Wallflower movie and the book. Doing this would allow others to see how motion pictures can work hand in hand with the novels they are based on. What I did not realize was that looking at both the book and the movie, there would be a lot to compare....

One of the first things I began to research was interviews with the author, Stephen Chbosky. I wanted to find more evidence about the relationship between the novel and the film, which luckily I did. In the interview below, he discusses how these images have been in his head and finally was able to put it out there. In this interview, he talks about the music incorporated and how it was first tested by younger audiences to see how they responded. Not only did Chbosky write the novel but he had a huge role in the film as well: he was the director! I didn't know this. This is the reason for the strong cohesion between the two.

When I was writing my teaser in my previous post, I found myself discussing a different topic. Instead of focusing on my book/movie comparison, I brought up the idea of loneliness in the story. The main character, Charlie, is alone when he begins high school but then find others who he clicks with. I thought "Can I incorporate lonliness into my version comparison?" Chbosky has said how the plot is somewhat autobiographical in the sense that he as well has experienced something similar to Charlie. This was also the intent for readers and watchers. He says he wanted audiences to think about times that they have also gone through something like this. Then, possible arguments began to come into my head such as "Chbosky addresses the concept of loneliness by using parallels in the plot to relate to audiences and then expressing it through physical features in the film." A bit too wordy and unfocused? Probably but that's where I am so far.

I guess some of my loose ends would be the combination of these two concepts. How can I analyze the formal elements of the text while discussing the physical attributions of the film? Visual and musical aspects are important to Chbosky which explains him directing the movie. How can I elaborate on one part of the argument while not shortchanging the other? I have a lot of work ahead of me and my paper shell shows it.