The Perks of Being a Wallflower: A reflection on your own life, your relationships, and the path to adulthood.

Dear reader,

I am writing these lines with the intention that, if you have already seen the film, it will serve as a complement to what you felt when you saw it. If it was a long time ago, it will serve as a reminder and an invitation to see it again. And if you have never seen it, it will tempt you to get excited and enjoy one of the best films about the transition to youth and adulthood.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a book that has undoubtedly resonated deeply with teenage audiences. It is an epistolary novel that speaks directly to you, dear reader, through its letters. You are therefore a character in the novel, and not just any character.

The 2012 film is based on the novel of the same name published in 1999, written by author Stephen Chbosky , who also adapted and directed the film, which is a curious and special situation, firstly because it is not common, and secondly because, as the writer himself adapts his work into a screenplay and directs the result, fidelity to the narrative is guaranteed. Or at least to the vision of the author and creator himself and not to yet another interpretation by a reader, without detracting from that type of adaptation.

Charlie writes:

"Dear friend,

I am writing to you because she said you would listen and understand, and because you didn't sleep with that person at that party even though you could have. Please don't try to find out who I am, I don't want you to. I need to know that people like you exist. If you knew me, you wouldn't think I was the weird kid who spent time in the hospital, and I wouldn't make you nervous. I hope it's okay to think that. I haven't talked to anyone outside my family all summer, but tomorrow is my first day of high school, and I need a change, so I have a plan. As soon as I walk into school, I'll visualize what the last day of my senior year will be like, although unfortunately I counted and there are 1,385 days left."

Even though I didn't see this movie when I was a teenager, I saw it a little later in life, at a time when I was going through a transition, and its story and characters connected with me in a very special way. It explores topics that few people talk about, that your family, work, or school don't teach you. Apart from growing pains, insecurities, traumas, false beliefs, and low self-esteem, it also touches on other controversial topics, such as depression, drug use, homosexuality, and sexual abuse, in an honest way without stilted moralizing.

When Charlie arrives at school, he finds himself on a battlefield, a savage environment of abuse and mockery, where older students harass younger ones, bullying them for their differences, where making friends and ceasing to be the loner or the one ignored by everyone seems an impossible task... The only good thing about that first day was the literature teacher, a kind person, an oasis in the middle of the desert of school hostility.

Charlie (Logan Lerman) is an introverted young man for whom it is not easy to make friends, which is why changing classes makes him very insecure, but his life is about to change. He meets Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller), a couple of seniors who will help him deal with his problems.

"If you make a friend on the first day of school, you'll do well, and he wanted to be his friend. That his first friend was a teacher was a little depressing, but Charlie accepted the gesture."

Music that makes you feel infinite

As if all of the above weren't enough, the soundtrack is amazing; it features a selection of pop, rock, and jazz compilations by various artists, ranging from "Come on Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners to "Heroes" by David Bowie

Some of the best reflections:

Charlie asks: Why do good people choose to date the wrong people?

Mr. Anderson's answer: "We accept the love we believe we deserve."

Childhood situations, traumas, and problems that generate low self-esteem can make us vulnerable to unhealthy relationships. Sometimes, the person who judges us the most, who is the hardest on us, is ourselves. Sometimes we tend to judge people, especially women, because they choose the bad boy, and we easily say that they are stupid or hypergamous, etc., always putting prejudices and stereotypes above reason. The story makes us empathize with the characters, allowing us to understand the reasons for their actions, learning to understand more and judge less.

"Don't judge anyone for what they were in the past"

Charlie's sister, Candace told him that when Sam started high school, older guys would get her drunk at parties, which gave her a bad reputation.
But Charlie doesn't care about that, because he wouldn't judge Sam for what she was in the past, just as he wouldn't want her to judge him for who he was before. That's why he's determined to express his feelings to Sam and prepares a cassette tape with music dedicated to her.

Is an admirable position taken by the protagonist Charlie, in the face of Sam's bad reputation.

The past does not define us; life is transformation and evolution. It is valid to repent, make mistakes, heal, and improve as a human being or as a person. Who you were yesterday no longer exists.

If you say you know me based on who I was a year ago, you no longer know me. My evolution is constant. Allow me to introduce myself again.

Oscar Wilde

All literature is transformation

Another wonderful aspect of the film is the theme of being a writer or reader, which is central to the story, recommending books and reflecting briefly on them, opening doors to that literary world that is also transformation.
You often find people who read a lot but don't change anything; they remain radicals who fit into an unshakeable identity, pigeonholed into a scientific or religious dogma or a flag (Palestine or Israel) or immersed in their ideological tribe that stifles their freedom of thought. They don't understand that reading is about change, about ceasing to be who you were, and the same thing happens with some films, such as this one.

Books help us to better understand our own inner world and the world around us.
Literature teacher Bill Anderson (Paul Rudd) assigns Charlie several books to develop his critical thinking and understanding of the world. Some of the books are:

1. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee: Addresses issues of racism, justice, and the loss of innocence.
2. "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger: Alienation, the search for authenticity, and disillusionment with the adult world.
3. On the Road by Jack Kerouac: The Beat Generation, which deals with freedom, rebellion, friendship, and the search for meaning in life.
4. Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs: Explores themes such as addiction, homosexuality, and the disintegration of reality.
5. The Stranger by Albert Camus: Existentialism that addresses the absurdity of life and the indifference of the universe.
6. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Youth, love, ambition, and disillusionment.
7. Walden by Henry David Thoreau: An essay reflecting on simple life in nature, independence, and self-confidence.
8. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand: A novel that promotes individualism and the philosophy of objectivism.
9. A Separate Peace by John Knowles: A novel that addresses friendship, rivalry, and the complexity of human relationships in a boarding school.

At the end, Charlie addresses this letter to you, the reader, as a farewell:

Dear friend,
I don't know if I'll have time to write more letters because I might be too busy trying to participate. So if this ends up being the last letter, I just want you to know that I was in a bad place before I started high school and you helped me. Even if you didn't know what I was talking about or if you knew someone who had been through it. You didn't make me feel alone. Because I know there are people who say that all these things don't happen. And there are people who forget what it's like to be sixteen when they turn seventeen. And I know that all of these will be stories someday, and our photos will become old photographs, and we will all become someone's mom or dad.
But right now, these moments are not stories. This is happening. I'm here, and I'm looking at her, and she's so beautiful. I can see it. This moment when you know you're not a sad story, you're alive. And you stand up and see the lights in the buildings and everything that makes you wonder, when you were listening to that song on that trip with the people you love most in this world. And right now, I swear, we are infinite."