Film Analysis: The Way Back

540 Words2 Pages

Intro: Attention getter: Thesis: In the movie “The Way Way Back”, an adolescent boy, Duncan, battles with his self confidence stemming from his mom’s new boyfriend who rates him as a 3 out of 10. The movie is a heartwarming story as it takes the audience through Duncan’s internal battle and he discovers somewhere and someone he can call home. Body Paragraphs: Plot: The Way Way Back starts with a summer long family vacation to the beach. Duncan and his mom join with her new boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carell), and his teenage daughter. Carell’s character in the movie is unusual compared to the characters he has played in the past but he does well playing a stern character. Trent does not hide his hurtful opinion about Duncan’s shy personality. His comments start Duncan’s struggle with self confidence and sets in motion his journey towards finding himself. As Duncan explores the new town he discovers a water park called the Water Wizz with an outgoing manager named Owen. After Owen offers Duncan a job, Duncan receives a nickname and starts to feel at home with the new people he has met that appreciate him for who he is. Analysis of criteria: A common theme in movies is the …show more content…

Instead of the crowd of people reacting in a disapproving manner, they welcome Duncan and ask him to show them his moves. Knowing Duncan’s shy character, he was not in favor of the idea at first but warmed up as he showed off a few of his moves which earned him the nickname of pop n’ lock. Although receiving a nickname is not a life changing moment in a child’s life, it could be considered one for Duncan. More and more people begin to know Duncan and appreciate him for the awkward, kind hearted person he is. This scene was a breakthrough for Duncan’s self confidence and a key turning point that gives the audience a new sense of Duncan’s silly

Show More
Related

  • Film Analysis: The Benchwarmers

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anyone can teach others from leading by example. Showing others what you can accomplish establishes confidence in others to try out their own dreams, wishes, and goals. A great example of leading by example is Gus, Clark, and Richie in the movie The Benchwarmers. These men meet Nelson, a stereotypical nerd that is bullied by baseball jocks every day just because he wants to play with them. This little boy inspires the men to show others that everyone should have the same opportunity to play baseball, no matter the skill level.

    Read More

  • Acceleration by Graham McNamee

    1319 Words  | 3 Pages

    * Duncan, Vinny, and Wayne are all friends working - or wasting time - the summer before senior year in high school. Duncan is the soul, Vinny the brains, and Wayne the muscle. At the end of the previous summer, Duncan tried to save a drowning girl and failed. Not being a hero has really affected his life, particularly his relationship with his girlfriend Kim. Also, he is now terrified of swimming, especially when the nightmares come back. Duncan's summer job is with the public transit lost and found. While trying to make the hours go faster, Duncan looks through the items, especially the books and golf clubs. One day he discovers an unmarked journal with no name, which depicts sadistic animal torture experiments, boasts of arson fires, and the planning for the serial killings of three women. Duncan decides to make amends for his failure last summer by tracking down the owner of the journal by using clues left hidden in the diary. After talking with his friend Vinny, Duncan decides to turn the journal over to the police, but they do not take him seriously, so he decides to get help from Vinny, do some research at the local library, and find out where the killer works and lives so they can prove to the police the diary is for real. But in the process when Duncan finds the house of the serial killer, he decides to take a look in it but unfortunately at that very time the serial killer appears and chases Duncan to the subway station. They get into fight there and they both fell on the subway tracks in the station where they get hit by the train. Duncan luckily survives but the serial killer dies.

    Read More

  • Higher Learning - Film Analysis

    1334 Words  | 3 Pages

    Higher Learning - Film Analysis Exposition: The Establishing Shot of the film is a full screen American Flag, the camera zooms out and points down, revealing a large crowd of people in a rally, being very patriotic. As the camera zooms off the flag we come across a statue of Columbus- indicating it to be Columbus University. The speaker on the stage gives us another indication of the setting by Shouting'Columbus University'. They are in front of a stage with Band music playing and chants rising out. Whilst this continues in the background three characters are established:

    Read More

  • The Other Wes Moore Analysis

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    In youth and throughout life, children look to their parents for answers. Providing advice, tough love, and unconditional support is part of the job description for many parents. In The Other Wes Moore, the audience witnesses first-hand accounts of having a mother that takes on both “mother” and “father” roles. Wes’s mother is strong, courageous, and compassionate, while the Other Wes Moore’s mother is just as compassionate, but naive and in denial of her child’s faults. Wes’s mother, for instance, held high expectations for her son in school, considering the sacrifices she made to send him to the school she wished she could attend in her youth. When hearing of Wes’s grades she says, “Well your grades aren’t bad because you can’t pick this stuff up or because you are stupid, you are just not working hard enough” (76). From there, she proceeds to send Wes to military school, which

    Read More

  • breaking away

    751 Words  | 2 Pages

    The movie “Breaking Away” presents the story of a young man from working class origins who seeks to better himself by creating a persona through which he almost, but not quite, wins the girl. The rivalry between the townies and the college students sets the scene for the story of four friends who learn to accept themselves as they "break away" from childhood and from their underdog self-images.

    Read More

  • Fed Up Film Analysis

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Fed Up (Soechtig, 2014)." narrated by Katie Couric, focuses on the growing link between sugar consumption and the obesity epidemic. The film aggressively attacks the food industry, advertising, and the government who, it claims, all contribute to the U.S. sugar-dependent, obesity problem. The film sets out to prove the government, and food industry is knowingly causing an increase in the amount of obese children. It reserves its most critical comments for government advisory panels who make and enforce food and health policy, and its failure to properly regulate the food industry. They claim lobbyists for the sugar board have been instrumental in the removal of negative statistics from research papers worldwide. Instead

    Read More

  • Film Analysis: The Lives Of Others

    1151 Words  | 3 Pages

    Within the German Democratic Republic, there was a secret police force known as the Stasi, which was responsible for state surveillance, attempting to permeate every facet of life. Agents within and informants tied to the Stasi were both feared and hated, as there was no true semblance of privacy for most citizens. Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, the movie The Lives of Others follows one particular Stasi agent as he carries out his mission to spy on a well-known writer and his lover. As the film progresses, the audience is able to see the moral transformation of Stasi Captain Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler primarily through the director 's use of the script, colors and lighting, and music.

    Read More

  • Perspectives on Childhood in The Glass Castle and The Kite Runner

    1727 Words  | 4 Pages

    Firstly, one’s identity is largely influenced by the dynamics of one’s relationship with their father throughout their childhood. These dynamics are often established through the various experiences that one shares with a father while growing up. In The Glass Castle and The Kite Runner, Jeannette and Amir have very different relationships with their fathers as children. However the experiences they share with these men undou...

    Read More

  • The Loss of Innocence in Alberto Alvaro Rios’ “The Secret Lion”

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    The boy’s growing maturity, autonomy, and painful disillusionment are used by Rios to impart the loss of innocence theme. He discovers his carefree times are taken away by nature, his mother, or merely because he is growing up. His experiences equate to that of the lion’s roar, wondrous and unforgettable, much like the trials people are subjected to when they begin maturing and losing their innocence. In the end, the boy develops into a mature and self-sufficient individual who discovers a new way to enjoy life and all its intricacies.

    Read More

  • This Boy’s Life

    1586 Words  | 4 Pages

    In both the film and the book This Boy’s Life Tobias Wolff is surrounded by bad role models and terrible father figures. Wolff and his mother are constantly looking for the complete family life and find themselves in a series of bad situations on their quest. In the book Toby’s relationship with his mother Rosemary is illustrated in a clear and deeper manner but the movie just didn’t seem to focus on it enough. This paper will evaluate the portrayal of Toby’s relationship with his mother and the men in their lives as told in the memoir and the film.

    Read More

  • Film Analysis Paper

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    I chose to analyze Despicable Me, an animated film geared towards a younger audience, because I was interested in examining underlying theories and messages that this film would be relaying to its viewers. Often times, when watching animated films, children are not aware of these messages, as they are absorbed by the characters, special effects, and humor. But as we have learned throughout this semester, our brains are subconsciously primed by the various surroundings we are exposed to. Since we also studied the impacts of entertainment, such as television and video games, on children, I wanted to see how a popular children’s film might also affect them.

    Read More

  • Film Analysis: Hocus Pocus

    607 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hocus Pocus is a 1993 film directed by Kenny Ortega. It is a very enjoyable movie with a good cast. The movie genre is comedy, horror, and fantasy. The film is based on a story about Garris and David Kirchner. And it is starring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker. The story follows the villainous trio of witches, who are inadvertently resurrected by a teenage male virgin. It takes place in Salem, Massachusetts.

    Read More

  • Powder by Tobias Wolff

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    The boy appears to play the role of the responsible adult more so than the father does. The boy has typical signs of a child from today’s broken family relationships; he does not want to disappoint either parent. The boy s...

    Read More

  • Themes of Alienation and Control in James Joyce's Araby

    1851 Words  | 4 Pages

    The story provides many sources for the boy's animosity. Beginning with his home and overall environment, and reaching all the way to the adults that surround him. However, it is clear that all of these causes of the boy's isolation have something in common, he has control over none of these factors. While many of these circumstances no one can expect to have control over, it is the culmination of all these elements that lead to the boy’s undeniable feeling of lack of control.

    Read More

  • A.I. Film Analysis

    1587 Words  | 4 Pages

    A.I.: Artificial Intelligence is a Steven Spielberg science fiction drama film, which conveys the story of a younger generation robot, David, who yearns for his human mother’s love. David’s character stimulates the mind-body question. What is the connection between our “minds” and our bodies?

    Read More

More about Film Analysis: The Way Back

Open Document