"The Body" --Film Blog

Plot

One of the main differences I saw in plot during the movie, was the way the differences between the older group of boys (the antagonists) and the younger group of boys (protagonists) interacted. In the book, we did not see a real entanglement between the groups until they both arrived at the scene of the body. However, in the movie, Ace throws Chris onto the ground and holds a cigarette to this face. Although it is not seen in the book, I think it helps to show a violent scene in the commencement of the film. Because the reader knows how abusive the elder group is, it is easier for us to understand the young boys' fear. Then, when they both are present at the scene of the body, it makes the younger boys' look far more courageous. Also, another difference in that scene would be the one who pointed the gun at the older kids. In the book, it is Chris who has possession of the gun during the scene; on the other hand, in the movie, it is Gordie who has possession of the gun. For the most part, because Gordie is the narrator, the movie seems to be more focused on himself, so when Chris had the gun and was threatening the older boys, it seemed to be more heroic. He was the underdog, classified as a thief and bad kid, who turned out to be the hero. One last scene in the book that was not displayed in the film was the telling of Gordie's story, "Stud City." In the book, it made Gordie's writing seem advanced and mature compared the story he tells called "Revenge of the Lardass Hogan." Because it is left out in the movie, we do not get to see how Gordie relates his work to his life. In "Stud City" there are aspects that reflect his dead brother. He said, "It was the first time I had ever really used the place I knew and the things I felt in a piece of fiction, and there was a dreadful exhilaration in seeing things that had troubled me for years come out in a new form." (page 327) Also, the frame story allowed the reader to know more complex details about Gordie's personality that we would have never picked up on in only the movie.

Characterization

Similar to the characterization in the short story, the author presents each of the individual characters in a direct manner. The beginning of the film is purely based on introducing the characters, their background, their town, and the upcoming adventure that will take place. Because of the direct characterization, it is easy to understand why the characters behave the way that they do on their journey to find the body. One difference I did see in the book and movie was Vern's personality and the way he reacted to situations. In the book, Vern is understood to be uneducated and easily-influenced. However, in the film, he is seen as more of a "sissy boy" or a "cry baby." While reading the book, I did not not think Vern was neither annoying nor naive. But while I was watching the movie, he always was panicking, or almost in tears. "'So anyway, you want to go see it?' Vern asked. He was squirming around like he had to go to the bathroom he was so excited."' (page 305) Instead of being scared and hestitant like he was in the movie, Vern is positive and excited about going to find the body in the short story. This made the group of boys seem different to me. In the book, they seem older and more mature than their age. In the film, the immaturity of Vern reminded me of their age and showed the boys' innocence.

Theme

The theme in the movie and the theme in the short story are very similar. In both versions, the boys are overcome aspects of innocence. One of my favorite lines in the movie is when the boys are walking back to town on their adventure, and the narrator says, "The town looked smaller to us than it had before." In the beginning of the book and the movie, Gordie tells the audience that although the town was small, it seemed like the world to them. The fact that the boys realize there is much more out in the world than they see in the small town made them seem like they had aged. The other theme, overcoming stereotypes, was not seen as much in the movie as it was in the short story. The ending of the movie did not focus as much on the boys' futures besides Gordie's. We were given short descriptions of each, but nothing that elaborated. Also, Chris was not the one holding the gun at the scene of the body, but Gordie was the hero instead. Both of these instances clarified that Chris had overcome the labels of society, but in the movie he had not.

Point of View

The film is also told in first-person point of view. Also, similar to the book, the narrator is Gordie, an older version of one of the characters who discovers the body. Because it is told in first person, the story itself seems more realistic; it is a pasttime. In the beginning of the movie, Gordie is seen holding a newspaper on the road near the railroad. The newspaper has an article about the death of Chris, his childhood friend. Because of this scene, the audience immediately understands that this event had a huge impact on his life. Although it was just two days in his entire life, it still had an effect on him as an adult. In the end of the movie, Gordie is shown typing the story at his computer in which he says that those were the best friends he had ever had. This shows that Gordie wanted to share his story with other people, and it created a more personal point of view to the story, instead of it being a stranger telling about four random boys. The story had more meaning because it was being told by someone who was impacted by the journey.

Setting

The film is also about a small town in Maine during 1960, and the entire setting in the film is almost exactly like the setting in the short story. In one of the opening scenes of the film, the boys are sitting around in their treehouse smoking cigarettes. Every time I have watched the movie, that scene is struck me as insane! I would never imagine a twelve-year-old-boy smoking cigarettes legally. However, knowing that this was fifty years ago makes the situation more believable. Also, it shows the differences in the lives of children then, and the lives of children today. Instead of going out and roaming the woods, kids sit inside and play video games all day. Although the cigarettes and cussing, such as "Suck my fat one," (said by Gordie in the movie) might be a little old-fashioned, the adventurous nature of the boys should not be.