What is the overall message of the film?

The overall message of the movie Wonder is that we should not judge people

based on their appearance. I have read this book multiple times before, but I had never

seen the movie until now. Being able to actually see how bad Auggie was treated by

Julian and some of the other kids made it a lot more real. It made me feel sad because

Auggie couldn’t control how he looked, and Julian couldn’t or wouldn’t understand that.

He treated him terribly just because he looked different from everyone else. The stage

that these kids are at is a very important one in their lives because it is them trying to

figure out who they are. Auggie continually deals with the abuse from Julian until

changes are made. If a stop hadn’t been made to Julian's behavior, then he would’ve

made Auggie feel even more insecure and it would’ve affected Auggie’s health forever.

This type of behavior isn’t good for Julian either because it teaches him that he can

bully whoever he wants just because they look different or aren’t as cool as him. It was

a good thing that changes were made because Julian would’ve kept making Auggie’s

life terrible and it would have affected both of them for the rest of their lives. I think the

heart of the problem is that Julian’s parents coddled him so he thought he was superior

to everyone else. He didn’t care who he hurt or how he treated people, he just wanted

to get his way. On the other hand, Auggie’s parents were very supportive and kind to

Auggie. They didn’t coddle him; they pushed him out of his comfort zone because they

knew that he couldn’t live underneath his astronaut helmet forever.

How does this film depict the human condition?

 This film shows Auggie being completely different from those around him. He

isn’t only the new kid at school, but his face is different from what everyone else is used

to. It is hard enough to go to a new school at that age, but when you look different it

makes it even harder. People would stare, say mean things, and make Auggie feel less

important than he actually was. He has to go through a lot with trying to fit in, making

friends, figuring out who he is, and dealing with all the punches Julian throws at him. It

really affects him when Jack and his relationship becomes strained. He feels a lot of

pain after what he overheard Jack telling Julian. He deals with a lot of pain in these few

months while trying to adjust and I think he eventually comes out better for it. I also think

going through these experiences helped Auggie’s relationship with his family. They had

always been close because Auggie never really had any great friends. But I think him

going through these trials and becoming more confident and independent, strengthened

his relationship with his family because he realized how much they did for him.

How do the characters in this film develop (physically, emotionally, cognitively,

socially, etc.) throughout the film? If possible, give examples of all 4 domains.

Auggie develops a lot throughout this movie. At the beginning you can see how

embarrassed he is of how his face looks when he goes to his new school. He keeps his

head down and won’t really look at anyone else. He is very emotional and doesn’t want

to go to school. He wears his astronaut helmet a lot and makes his mom bring it so he

can wear it as soon as school gets out. He is very antisocial outside of his own family.

He is scared of what people will say and do to him because he knows he’s different from

everybody else. As the movie continues we see Auggie get more confident. He

becomes friends with Jack and Summer and they accept him as he is. They help his
confidence and we see this when his mom brings his helmet to pick him up after school,

but he doesn’t take it because he’s busy chatting with his friends. I think his confidence

is one of the biggest things that changes throughout this movie. Halloween is his

favorite holiday because he can hide his face so no one can see it and he’s just like

everybody else. He is the definition of confidence, but only on Halloween. As he

continues to develop he becomes more socially involved with everything and everyone.

He isn’t scared to hide his face, and the only time I think he is still insecure is when he’s

around Julian. At the end of the movie, we see Auggie marching around the school with

his head held high, not caring who looks at him. He knows who he is and he has gone

through a lot to figure that out. I believe that having good friends like Jack and Summer

really helped him with his development and that they had a huge role in helping him

figure out who he was, and not care what anyone else thought about him.

How can you relate the film to your life and your knowledge of Human

Development?

This film can relate to my life by helping remember to not judge others. It can be

really hard, especially when other people are completely different from you. This movie

helped me to see that in a real life context. Everyone is going through completely

different things, and no two people look the same. We don’t have the right to judge

anyone unless we want to be judged even harder back. Seeing this movie through the

Human Development lens, has helped me notice that everyone is going through

different things, everyone is at a different stage in life, and no one has the same

experiences in life. We should treat everyone with kindness because we can’t see the

whole picture. We can only see what we choose to see and I hope we are kind like
Summer was to Auggie because it can honestly make all the difference in someone’s

life.