21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

Eddie Kim M. Caño 12- STEM Democritus March 04, 2020

FLIPPED

Do you know what it’s like to admire someone so much you can’t stand it and know that
they’ll never feel the same way? Perhaps all of us know this feeling and everyone can relate to
it. However, what if one day the one whom you've liked a long time ago realizes that he/she
feels something special for you? What will you do?

A story of puppy love, Flipped is a 2010 American romantic-comedy drama film directed
by Robert Reiner. It is a movie about two eighth-graders, Julianna Baker and Bryce Loski,
whom starts to have feelings for each other asynchronously despite being total opposites. It is
based on the novel written by Wendelin Van Draanen.

The story begins when they meet in second grade and Juli whom had an eye contact
with her neighbor's dazzling eyes, Bryce, falls instantly in love with him. However, he does not
feel the same way she likes him which pushed him to date Sherry Stalls just to keep the bold
and unpredictable Juli at bay.

After six years, the tables turned around as Bryce begins to think why he can't even
confront Juli. That is the time when he realized that he is slowly falling for the girl whom he
assumes is weird for caring about a single tree and raising chickens. On the contrary, Juli
begins to feel that she was wrong about him being the love of her life. She started to see
beyond the attractive eyes of the boy and tries to figure out if he were more or less than the
sum of his parts. Until one day, she was able to comprehend that the Bryce she knew that
would have greater sum of his parts before now has less and at some point realizes that she no
longer cares about him.

The film is interesting to watch because aside from the fact that it tackles about the two
young adults journey and realizations in life, it also centers on the conflicts present in the story.
The most remarkable conflict among all that I've observed is Man vs. Society. It is the scene
where Juli stays at the top of the old sycamore tree standing in the way of the authorities that
will be cutting it down. She may be seen stubborn by others in the movie however, the bold
action of her proved that she cares not only for nature's preservation but also appreciation on
the gifts of God's creation. As seen in the movie, she states that whenever she's on top of the
tree, she can see the sunset and sunrise which lets her view a beautiful world apart from what
they think. It is admiring on my part because at a young age, she displayed such bravery that
no one else does despite her classmates ignored her call for help.

In relation to that, Industrialization is one of the main problems that our society is facing
off. A lot of lands are being converted into houses or real estate properties destroying the
ecological balance in the environment and what is more alarming is the fact that no one's
getting in the way which proves that people tends to get rid of the things that gets in the path
in order for them to get what they want. Without even wondering what will happen if that will
be removed from its place is one of the mistakes that the society has been taken into action.
The scene in the movie where Juli calls her classmates to go up is a message conveyed by the
writer. All of us must unite for the betterment of our society. Though it is not achieved in the
movie, its main target is for the youth of today to answer the call of the nature.
 Proceeding to the next conflict, Man vs. Man was observed in the film. Bryce Loski's
grandfather, Chet Duncan, and his father, Rick Loski aren't in good terms with each other. It
was seen in the film where the two had a heated discussion when Chet was able to help fixed
the yard of the Baker's but wasn't able to have a moment with his grandson. This was also seen
in the part where Rick Loski belittles the Baker family for not being able to take care of their
yard and for having a father who's following his heart desires as a painter.

Another part where the conflict is portrayed was when Bryce wasn't able to talk to Juli
about the eggs that she gave them for free. Bryce lacking courage to talk to Juli about the
chickens led him to observed her in their yard. That given, his misunderstanding on the
sanitation of the place and wrong choice of words brought him to a situation where he mustn't
accept anymore of her eggs because his family thought that the eggs might bring salmonella.

In order for Juli’s feelings not to be hurt, Bryce anticipates her every time she will knock
at their door and wholeheartedly accepts the eggs that she brings and throws it in the trash can
after she left. Until one day, Juli caught Bryce in the act of throwing the eggs she gave to him
which led her to know that he has been doing that all the time that made her annoyed of him.

The conflict grew even more as Juli purposely overheard his conversation with Garret.
The conversation was all about his feelings for Juli and her uncle's situation however instead of
defending them from Garret, he just laughed awkwardly as an answer to him. That heated up
the tension even more between the two until the Loski's family dinner where she refused to talk
to him anymore. In addition to the given conflict, it was also depicted when Bryce tried to kiss
Juli in the school but she agitatedly ran away from him.

The last conflict present in the movie is Man vs. Self. It was portrayed in the scene
where Juli assesses her feelings for Bryce whether she admired him because of his looks or
what he really is. She tries to figure out if he were more or less than sum of his parts because
she once had been biased to him by wanting him to be greater, far greater than the sum of his
parts. Just like Juli, Bryce reached the point where he was able to realized that the person
whom he thought for as a weird, brash and unpredictable was totally the opposite. He then
thinks that Juli is an amazing girl that he has never thought before which made him to think of
her even more. Lastly, Rick Loski has the same issues with himself. As said by Juli in the movie,
"Mr. Loski was clean and smooth on the outside but it seemed like there was something rotten
buried beneath the surface." The statement of her reveals about Rick's regrets in his life as he
never did pursue the dream he always wanted that made him envious of her brothers and
fathers who have been living the life that they want.

The movie is more than just the puppy love of the two main characters because this film
teaches us to know our true feelings for others. It is easy for us to be blinded by the looks of
other people without knowing what is real from not. Sometimes we depend on what we see on
the outside than the inside which is a mistake to begin with. Instead of being captivated by the
beauty that the beholder has, we must thrive to create a connection between you and that
person to know deepen your understanding of what he/she truly is. By creating a more
meaningful connection will help you assess if you really feel something special for that person
or not.

The film also teaches us that if we ever did something wrong to others, we mustn't rely
only on giving our apology but also through showing actions that would prove our sincerity to
them. Just like what Bryce did in the movie where he planted a tree in the yard of the Bakers
just to show how sincere his apology for Juli, we must also do that kind of thing in a way
because reaching out for their acceptance with that kind of action truly deserves a second
chance and forgiveness. In that way, we will be able to show that we're more than just the
person whom they know and we work hard for their forgiveness.
 Lastly, the movie overall teaches us to be brave and take a stand on certain issues in
our society. Through this, we're able to help others to be their voice and encouraged them to
fight for what is right and just. This will help us to know more about ourselves and how can we
grow more as a person. The tables might have turned but being attentive to changes will help
us to track the path that we've undergone.