Every movie has one significant theme it emphasizes all through. This helps the viewers understand all that the movie is teaching. One such theme is “bildungsroman .”Bildungsroman refers to the coming of age (growing) of a particular character in a film. In most movies, this aspect is usually portrayed through the protagonists, who are naïve at specific points. This means that they demonstrate this through their actions while seeking answers to some questions. Usually, they hope that this will help them to gain a better understanding of the world. Therefore, on many occasions, it involves undertaking a journey fueled by an emotional loss or another challenge at the beginning. In this case, the objective is to gain some level of maturity, which, although the character achieves gradually, comes with many difficulties. Thus, Bildungsroman is one of the elements expressed in Stand by me (1986) and Little women (2019) films in which some notable characters’ experience growth and development. Thus as coming-of-age films, this essay argues that Stand By Me (1986) and Little Women (2019 show Bildungsroman through the action of going on a journey, going through harsh realities that help change for the better while young, and developing decision-making skills as they are essential aspects of moving from childhood to adulthood in most of the film characters.
Going on a journey is one aspect of coming-of-age shown in both films. This is because these films show the moral and intellectual growth of the movie’s characters since they can overcome the challenges that come their way, as they constantly engage in mature deeds despite their age. For instance, in Stand by Me, the aspect of going on a journey by the four kids, Gordie, Vern, Chris, and Teddy, is shown the moment Vern asks Gordie, “You want to be the lone ranger or the cisco kid?” (O0:10:50-00:10:55). This is meant to set him on a mental journey, that will help reveal his growth from a child to adulthood. This is associated with the fact that Gordie is experiencing problems at home and needs to participate in a different activity that will helps his self-esteem and morale. So he decides with his friends to get on an adventure to find the body of Ray Brower, who was missing. This is an aspect expected of an adult, but as children, they take this challenge, which starts to reveal their coming of age, according to Bordwell et al. (23). This journey to discover the dead body helps these children experience some growth and transition as it helps model them into heroes as they demonstrate intellect and morality, as they know they have the role in solving problems, which propels them throughout their journey, later showing the tremendous growth they had acquired from the trip.
Similarly, coming of age in Little Women is shown the moment Mammie and her daughters decide to get out of their house on various missions. Here, they constantly engage in moral and mature actions towards the people they interact with (00:29:27-00:31:04). Through this mission and journey, tremendous progress is observed. For instance, although before their mission journey Mammie and her daughters know that there is poverty, engaging in charitable actions such as giving breakfasts to the less privileged especially, in Christmas Day, helps them learn that there exist greater levels of poverty than they anticipated and they need to do more charity. This shows moral growth on their journey. Again, through their mission, they encounter Mrs. March, who advises them to travel to different places where they can hugely help people, get insights that better them, and make them grow morally and intellectually throughout the journey. Therefore, through the missionary journey, they learn new things, revealing the aspect of coming of age in them. Thus, in both movies, Just as Bordwell et al. (23-25) state, the journey the characters in both films engage in helps reveal the Bildungsroman aspect.
Moreover, the aspect of Bildungsroman in both films is shown through the harsh realities that help change the young characters’ lives. This is because, in both films, the movie characters change from being naïve to accepting and taking real-life challenges, which help model them, revealing the Bildungsroman aspect in the film. For instance, in Stand by Me, Gordie points out that “Teddy was the craziest guy we hang around…but his dad had a fit of rage”, which certainly controlled him from doing some things until they went on this journey (00:02:55-00:02:58). According to Bordwell et al. naivety shield experiencing reality (64). This is shown in the film, in that after the four boys realize their naivety, they engage in a challenging journey (mentally and physically- where they are almost hit by a train), ultimately changing their understanding of life. As per the above quote, the harsh life Teddy and his family go through after his father becomes mentally affected by the events of the Second World War opens his friend to realize they need to help him, which helps them understand where the father’s rage was from, and work on helping him. Through this action, they can unlock new potentials, a symbol of coming of age.
Correspondingly, in Little Women, Jo realizes that women only exist as dependent on men (00:24:25) when she states, “you are not my friend” (00:24:25) and wants to be independent of Laurie. This shows that this realization, though not pleasing, helps change for the better, depicting growth. Again, through the film, the women realize the various truths about womanhood, especially after experiencing marriage challenges (00:96:46- 00:98:11). These challenges help shape them to understand that women do not necessarily need to depend on men to survive. This realization helps them make independent sacrifices for their families as they have discovered their capability and understand that they do not need to be in marriages to prove their worth. Again, on the topic of marriage, Jo states that although “women have minds, souls, and they have talents and ambitions” (00:101:19-00:102:55). This helps her and Meg to seek advice from Marmie, helping them engage in activities that will help change their marriages and make life better. This requires using one’s capabilities, resulting better a better relationship between Meg and Joe. These harsh realities help the women in this film go through self-realizations, which result in romantic and self-bildungsroman in their heterosexual relationships, just as feminists focus (Sona 246). Therefore, the harsh realities in both films help the characters change for the better after a series of new realizations and discoveries, resulting in more growth throughout the film.
Lastly, the films show the aspect of Bildungsroman through the decision-making skill nurtured in the characters. This is because, in both movies, the characters show their ability to analyze the past and make better decisions as they look forward to a better future, an aspect of Bildungsroman emphasized by Bordwell et al. (131). For instance, in Stand by Me, Gordie and his friends decide to take the risky journey to find a dead body (00:07:03-00:07:05). This decision turns out to be the best they ever made as it makes them heroes at the end of the film. Again, through the film, Gordie no longer fears the bullies that threatened him, as he decides this is not a good choice for his life. The decision he had made was to avoid the friends he had made when he was 12, as they exposed him to bullies. He also decides to forget the death of his brother and save Chris from a similar threat from bullies. This shows that through the film, Bildungsroman is shown by one’s discovery and decision to act towards heroism and do away with things that threatened their past. These are entirely new decisions, depicting growth. Again, in the movie, Chris decides to stay in town and make his life better despite being from a “bad family” (00:03:25-00:03:31). This decision is nurtured in the movie as he becomes a hero too, and he decides that his criminal family will not hinder him from becoming the best person he can as he overcomes the poverty and the discriminatory conditions his family was subjected to. Thus, Bildungsroman is shown through the ability to inspire better character decision-making.
Similarly, in Little Women, decision-making is shown when Meg is involved in tutoring while Jo helps March, their wealthy great aunt, to provide support (00:33:50-00:35:05) and get their family out of the poor state. This shows that the ladies realize the poor conditions their family is exposed to and decide to engage in various activities to improve their lives and that of their mother. This helps them make better decisions, which not only make them better but also improve the lives of other individuals around them.
In conclusion, will Bildungsroman be a conspicuous aspect in both Little Women and Stand by Me, the films show it by engaging the characters in their journey. For instance, in Stand by Me, the characters are observed to grow while on their quest to discover Ray’s dead body. In Little Women, the characters take a missionary journey to engage in charity work, helping them grow. Again, the films show Bildungsroman by exposing the characters to harsh realities that change their lives. Lastly, the element is shown through the nurtured decision-making noticed among the characters through the various challenges and dimensions they go through in the film. Throughout the movie, the characters are observed to have come of age as the film concludes. Therefore, Bildungsroman is highly and well employed.
Works Cited
Bordwell, David. Kristin Thompson., and Jeff Smith. Film art: An introduction. Vol. 9. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010.
Gerwig, Greta. Little Women. Columbia Pictures, Pascal Pictures, and Regency Enterprises. 2019. https://elibrary.alexandercollege.ca:2432/audiocine/play/739219792B71EDB1
Reiner, Rob. Stand by me. Columbia Pictures and Act III Communications. 1986. https://elibrary.alexandercollege.ca:2432/audiocine/play/A38DEC228A86F5F6
Soňa, Šnircová. “Gender and Genre: From the Female Bildungsroman to the Postfeminist Coming-of-Age Novel.” Актуальные проблемы филологии и педагогической лингвистики 3 (2021): 243-253.
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