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Emily Short
Mr. Lee Bullock
WRD111-031
25 March 2013
Mental Illness Within The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The novel and movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower was written and directed by
Stephen Chbosky, an American man of many talents. Chbosky is an "author, editor, screen
writer, and film director" (Thompson). His purpose of writing this specific novel was to
demonstrate his support for gay rights as well as portray the controversial ideas of "drug use,
homosexuality, and premarital sex" (Thompson). These topics play just a leading role in the
novel because they all lead to one main idea, mental illness. The ideas and events in the novel
trigger emotions ranging from sorrow and sympathy to joy and excitement within the mature
reader. The novel became such a massive success that he allowed it to become a film and even
produced and directed it himself. The trailer used to advertise the film presents the idea of a
young man, Charlie, feeling like a loner and attempting to figure out what he should do to
improve his life experience and to "[deal] with his own mental illness" (IMDb).
The movie trailer begins with a few bars of music that seems to be easy going and even
happy. Then Charlie's voice kicks in and he starts off by saying "dear friend" as he is shown on
the screen looking down in the reflection of a window (Chbosky). The camera is clearly at his
back, and the reflection makes it seem as if he is looking down at a desk where he may be
writing or typing. He continues on to explain that throughout the entire summer the only people
he has spoken with, mainly, are his family. As these words are spoken there is a scene where
Charlie is sitting on a bed that looks as if it is some sort of hospital bed and two people, who are

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assumed to be part of his family, are sitting around the bed playing cards with him. Charlie
continues to speak, and is shown writing again, about how he does not always speak to people
and he explains that he wants to change that this school year. This idea of Charlie sitting on a bed
that looks like a hospital bed and explaining how he wants to change leads to an idea that Charlie
may be sick in some way. The viewer of the trailer does not know if it is physical or mental
illness, but it is very obvious that Charlie is staying in a place that is to assists the ill. As he
speaks about wanting to change the fact that he speaks to no one but his family the image of this
hospital bed is on the screen which can lead to the idea that being ill in some way could possibly
make one an outcast. Throughout this scene the happy music continues to play, but after Charlie
is flashed on the screen writing at his desk there is a moment of darkness and the music stops.
Then his voice is heard saying "I really want to turn things around this year" which shows that he
is not happy with the way his life has been going (Chbosky).
The trailer moves forward showing scenes of students in the high school bullying him
due to his being a freshman. The scene demonstrates a good amount of commotion which puts
across to the viewer that he is frazzled and overwhelmed by the idea of high school. The happy
music continues while students are yelling, and Charlie is shown on the screen looking
vulnerable and nervous. He then has a conversation with one of his teachers. The teacher reaches
out to Charlie and tells him that by making one friend on the first day he will be fine, but Charlie
explains his feeling that if his English teacher is his only friend that would be "sort of
depressing" (Chbosky). The word "depressing" is used in this statement not literally meaning
depressing, but an over exaggeration of sad (Chbosky). Although Charlie did not truly mean
"depressing" the word is now in the viewers mind and can begin to make connections back to the
scene of Charlie in the hospital bed (Chbosky).

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Next, there is text that begins coming up on the screen. The first shot of text says "Charlie
never stood out" and then he is shown standing up against a wall, alone in the shadows, at what
looks like a school dance (Chbosky). Then a girl and boy who are dancing are shown looking at
Charlie and he begins to start walking away from the wall and dancing himself. The next screen
of text then comes up and states "until he found friends that let him in" (Chbosky). There are
shots of Charlie at the dance, at a party with friends, and then a girl kneels down in front of him
and says "welcome to the island of misfit toys" (Chbosky). The word "misfit" in this context
indicates that the people in this friend group are the people that do not fit in with any other friend
group (Chbosky). Charlie seems to feel like and actually be one of those people, and is now
invited to be friends with these people. Throughout all of these consecutive scenes, the people
seem to be dressed up and either smiling or dancing. The next two scenes explain who the two
people were that were dancing at the school dance who turn out to be "two seniors, Sam and
Patrick, who welcome him to the real world" (IMDb). Text comes up saying "Patrick" with
scenes of Charlie and Patrick following, then text saying "Sam" comes up with scenes of Charlie
and Sam following (Chbosky). These scenes are identifying the new friends Charlie has made
and offering a look at how they interact.
Following this evidence of Charlie's new relationships the viewer is able to hear Charlie
ask "do you think if people knew how crazy you really were no one would ever talk to you?"
which is followed by Sam and Patrick laughing as they sit at a table with Charlie (Chbosky).
This question portrays the idea that Charlie feels that he has something wrong with him which is
able to lead back to the beginning scene where he is in the hospital bed, when he uses the word
"depressing" to his teacher, and when Sam uses the word "misfit" when welcoming him into
their friend group (Chbosky). In response to Charlie's question, Sam says to him "come on, let's

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go be psychos together" which once again has an interesting word choice (Chbosky). Sam uses
the word "psycho" in this invitation not in a harmful or negative way, but in a way that means
she feels that she is different too and that is something they can bond over (Chbosky). The subtle
hints toward being abnormal all come together to form the idea that Charlie may have some kind
of mental illness or problem.
Soon after Sam invites Charlie to be "psycho" with her, Charlie is shown to be on what
looks like a bridge with both Sam and Patrick (Chbosky). Patrick is holding a paper that has a
paper marked with a giant "C-" on it (Chbosky). Patrick screams due to his excitement, and they
all celebrate the fact that he is "below average" (Chbosky). To this group of people being
abnormal is a good thing rather than weird or negative. They celebrate the things that make them
different from everyone else and this characteristic of this friend group demonstrates why Sam
refers to them as the "misfit toys" (Chbosky).
For the next portion of the trailer there are scenes of Charlie with his different friends
having fun, laughing, and being happy. Then comes a scene where Patrick is standing in front of
Charlie with his arm stretched out holding a blue plastic cup as if he is going to propose a toast,
and he does. His toast goes to Charlie. Patrick toasts to Charlie being a "wallflower" meaning he
sees things and is not judgmental (Chbosky). In response to this toast Charlie smiles and states "I
didn't think anyone noticed me" which relates to the very beginning of the trailer (Chbosky).
Charlie has struggled with not being social and lacking friends and he is now realizing that he is
able to be himself and be surrounded with people that accept him for who he is.
The rest of the trailer plays different scenes that show Charlie having fun with his friends,
his friends being happy, Charlie dancing while listening to music in his room, and the last
moving image in the trailer is Charlie standing in the bed of a truck with his hands up. As this

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scene happens Charlie's voice states "and in this moment, I swear, we are infinite" which is
exactly how Charlie feels at that moment (Chbosky). His arms are up in the air with the wind
blowing against his body, he is with the friends that accept him for who he is, and he finally feels
alive. This final scene is one of the most important because it provides somewhat of a resolution
to the trailer and to all of the previous thoughts about Charlie possibly having a mental illness.
Even though the trailer portrays the idea that Charlie may have a mental illness, it allows
the audience to see this issue in a more positive light. At first it is shown that Charlie has had
issues previously in his life, but then it continues on to show that he is able to make new friends
and be accepted for who he is. I have conducted a survey that I posted on multiple social
networking cites and twenty nine people took it. Of the twenty nine people that took the survey,
seven of them have seen the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Five out of those seven
people explained that the movie portrayed mental illness in a positive way. The other two people
believe that the movie portrays mental illness in a more negative way, but that number does not
compare to the number of people that believe that the media, overall, portrays mental illness in a
negative way.
All twenty nine people that took the survey were asked whether they believe the media
portrays mental illness in a positive or negative way. Twenty four of these people reported that
they believe that answer is negatively. There were various reasons, but there were two that
seemed to reoccur. The first reoccurring answer was that the media makes it seem as if people
with mental illness are dangerous. This specific idea is mainly referring to the news and movies
that deal with crimes being committed by someone who may be suffering from a mental illness.
The second reoccurring answer was that people with mental illness are portrayed as unable to
function in society or as a burden. The majority of the people that took the survey explained that

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they believe the media makes mental illness look negative, but this common answer was put to
the test with the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Those who have seen it mainly believed
it made mental illness not seem scary or negative, but it made it seem as if it is something that
can be dealt with and handled without any problem. Contrary to the norm of the media
portraying mental illness in a negative way, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one strong
example of someone with a mental illness being able to live life normally with the support of his
friends and family.

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Works Cited
Chbosky. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower Trailer." 12 October 2012. Online video clip.
Internet Movie Database. Accessed on 18 March 2013.
< http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1659337/>.
Short, Emily. "Mental Illness in the Media." Survey. SurveyMonkey. SurveyMonkey, 1999. Web.
16 March 2013.
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)." Internet Movie Database. IMDb, Inc., 12 Oct 2012.
Web. 18 Mar 2013. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1659337/>.
Thompson, Elizabeth. "Chbosky, Stephen." Pennsylvania Center for the Book. The Pennsylvania
State University, n.d. Web. 26 Feb 2013.
<http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Chbosky__Stephen.html>.