16 September 2020

Wonder Film Review: Facial Deformity Vs. Social Rejection

"When given the choice between being right and being kind, choose kind," reads

Summer, as Mr. Browne had introduced a new precept for the class on the first day of 5th grade.

Based on R.J. Palacio's award-winning novel, Stephen Chbosky directs the film Wonder, which

reflects the precept throughout the school year (“Choose Kind”). August - the lead protagonist,

repeats this inspirational quote as he receives his standing ovation for an award. But why? What

makes him so special? In the first scene of the film, he sighs and says, "I know I'm not an

ordinary 10-year-old," as he hides his face in an astronaut helmet. When he reveals it, we see

why. With his undeveloped ears, uneven scarred skin, and tear-dropped eyes, the young child

describes his craniofacial disorder that goes along with 27 operations (Kenny). However, this

school year, he transitions from being home-schooled by his mother to attending a mainstream

school for the first time.

The movie Wonder story tell August's journey through the 5th grade as he deals with

social rejection due to his facial disfigurement and struggles to discover his acceptance in society

with his classmates. Not only does he struggle to make friends, but also gets harassed by bullies

from the "popular" group. These intimidators convince him to believe that he isn’t “human”

enough due to his appearance, which leads to an internal conflict within himself. C. Nathan

DeWall, a psychologist from the University of Kentucky says, “Humans have a fundamental

need to belong. Just as we have needs for food and water, we also have needs for positive and

lasting relationships.” (Weir). From this, we become conscious that everybody yearns for social

acceptance, including August.

 This internal conflict is indicated in one key scene where Auggie does the unpredictable.

One of his most favorable traits of himself is a braid he grew, as it matches his favorite Star Wars

character – Padawan. On the first day of school, Julian – the main antagonist – taunts him about

his braid. He then immediately walks away, putting on his astronaut helmet to cover his face.

With this helmet symbolizing his insecurity, he feels safe when hiding his true self (“Wonder

Symbols, Allegory and Motifs”). Afterward, the scene shows the agonized fellow rushing home

and zooms into an extreme close-up shot towards a pair of scissors to emphasize a crucial prop,

which he grabs to cut his braid off without hesitating. This scene highlights his longing for

acceptance; he’d lose his favorite braid just for some form of validation from society.

As the story continues, he eventually befriends Jack Will. Like any other friendship, their

bond is inseparable as they play video games, eat lunch together while competing who was

“more disgusting”, play thumb wars and fight with lightsabers. Soon enough, Halloween was

around the corner. It was August’s favorite holiday because it’s the only day of the year where he

could hold his head high rather than avoid being seen. Nobody cared about August’s deformed

face. The scene successfully portrays his contentment on that day by maximizing its saturation

and bright lighting, showing positive emotions. As he wears his Ghostface costume, he

cheerfully skips through the hallways and high-fives a random kid in slow-motion. However, he

then overhears Julian and his friends – including Jack – teasing him behind his back. Out of them

all, his own best friend betrays him and jokes that he’d “kill himself if he looked like August”. In

similar ways, we see that he’d cross boundaries, like making fun of August, just to fit in with the

popular boys. On the other hand, Auggie loses all hope in friendship. In contrary to the prior

scene, the hue of this scene heavily desaturates. As he slowly walks out the hallway with his

head down, the tormented little soul rejects the same random kid’s high-five. Stephen Chbosky
intentionally differentiates the two cinematic experiences from both scenes; the prior scene

illustrates exhilaration and the latter expresses desolation and betrayal. It emphasizes the moment

Jack’s cruel words reached August’s ears and drained all of his happiness. Auggie starts truly

believing the atrocious comments society has constantly told him every single day. He was

extremely outraged until he shouts at his mother, saying he’d do anything to be born without a

birth defect to be like the others. Again, this asserts his hatred of social rejection.

Towards the end of the story, a key scene illustrates the epitome of his journey which

happens when Beecher Prep School stays in a nature reserve for a field trip. While Jack and

August go out for a break, they encounter a few seventh graders who teased Auggie's face. This

leads to a physical fight between the two groups. As Jack falls, Auggie keeps defending himself.

Throughout the school year, he has always accepted and ignored society’s criticism, but this

moment shows his character growth in which he finally stands up for himself. Here, the hue of

the scene desaturates, signifying all his indignation and resentment fighting against unfair

cruelty. It then quickly alternates from one short cut to another, utilizing a close-up shot to focus

on the punches and kicks to create high adrenaline. Seconds later, Julian's friends rush over to

see the commotion and surprisingly fights back the older kids, siding with August. They

eventually scurry away to a lake bank. August then cries happy tears as he feels a surge of joy

because of how Julian's friends finally accepted him for who he was instead of his appearance.

The scene utilizes a master shot of the friend’s silhouette staring to the horizon of the lake to

capture the scene in its entirety, emphasizing on the new bond they shared. It reveals that August

finally redeems his longing for being tolerated in society. Ultimately, he even refuses to wear his

helmet, confirming that he doesn’t need it to feel normal anymore.

 By using key scenes with appropriate cinematic techniques, Wonder is successful in

effectively discussing the significance of personal development of dealing with social rejection

ingrained in August’s journey – as a person with a facial deformity. His character and acceptance

in the school community develop from the first day of school to the last day of graduation. In the

beginning, all the students shot disgusted glances at him and commented cruelly about his face

whenever he passed by. But by the end of the film, he has made close friendships with Summer

and Jack and was acclaimed by everyone in the school assembly as he proudly walks up to the

podium to be awarded the biggest accomplishment of 5th grade: the Henry Ward Beecher Award,

which is annually bestowed to a student for recognition of their acts of service towards others.

As we understand by now, his journey wasn’t simple. However, in the end, he smiled and proved

that “you can’t blend in when you were born to stand out.”

After watching this sentimental family-friendly film, we understand to accept others for

who they truly are instead of their appearances. Not only because we’ve no idea what others are

going through, but also to make life better for everyone. By conveying its meaningful moral

about social acceptance, Wonder’s transformative power changes the audience’s perspectives on

how our actions affect others.

Works Cited
“Choose Kind.” Wonder, 20 Sept. 2020, wonderthebook.com/choose-kind#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIf

%20you%20have%20a%20choice.

Kenny, Glenn. “Review: In ‘Wonder,’ a Not-So-Ordinary Boy Makes His Way.” The New York Times,

16 Nov. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/11/16/movies/wonder-review-jacob-tremblay-julia-

roberts-owen-wilson.html. Accessed 20 Sept. 2020.

Weir, Kirsten. “The Pain of Social Rejection.” Https://Www.Apa.Org, 2012,

www.apa.org/monitor/2012/04/rejection.

“Wonder Symbols, Allegory and Motifs.” Gradesaver.Com, GradeSaver, 11 Jan. 2020,

www.gradesaver.com/wonder/study-guide/symbols-allegory-motifs.