Text connections in Stand by Me. BM

Text- to- text and world

Maturity is an idea also tackled in Stephen King’s book “Holly”. The similarities between the way maturity is portrayed and the way it impacts the characters. Holly Gibney (main character of Holly), faces a lot of mature situations while still being young, leading her to coping in an adult way. The book, while set in 2020 and with Holly being about 21, still uses a similar way of showing maturity. Teddy and Chris also use the same way to cope with the issues in their lives. Cigarettes are used in both as a way of showing maturity, as the events that force the characters to grow up are incredibly difficult to deal with, they cope by smoking. Now considered wrong and not ideal, it is almost seen as a way that people who has grown up in harder times, (e.g. war, times of economic issues) and the older generation as their only way of coping.

 

Text- to- self

The maturity given to the main 4 boys on growing up is something similar, to how teenagers are expected to grow up. The boys are young, expected to be able to do and cope with adult things while also still being kids. This is similar to how I feel today. We are expected to go and get a job, choose subjects for our future, drive and be able to make decisions regarding health, but I still have to hand in my phone before bed, I have had to personally deal with a lot of adult situations while being treated like I have no experience in dealing with certain situations.

 

Text- to- World

The army in “Stand by me” is a symbol of maturity and growth. Teddy had an obsession with it. It is very similar in today’s world. The army is seen as a highly respected job. It typically starts at 18, just after you are an adult. Teddy sees the army as a way of being respected and mature without being realistic about the sacrifices. In the world little is cared for about how young these people are signing away life, putting themselves through terrible situations just when they are old enough. These people are forced to grow up incredibly quickly and deal with things. Teddy uses the army as a very toxic way of dealing with his lack of maturity, in society we use it for the same thing.

SBM Personal Response BM

Maturity, in many different forms, is a key idea explored in the 1986 film adaptation ‘Stand by Me’ based on the Stephen King novella, ‘The body’. The director Rob Reiner paints maturity as an important part of the journey and depth of the characters. Maturity is a core part of growing up, while also being affected by multiple different things. The camera shots and angles, the props and styling used, editing and conversations had between the characters add to the portrayal of maturity.

 

Teddy are smoking in the treehouse when we are first introduced to them. The cigarettes are now seen as a negative thing, though back at the time of 1959 when the journey is set, it was used as a way of coping by people and as a positive thing as seen below in a link for 1959 ad for cigarettes. The cigarettes indicate that Teddy and Chris are dealing with very adult like problems at the age of 12. Also typically seen as a long-term thing used as to show they problem has been going on for years and that they will be forever affected by these problems.

cigarette ad 1959 – Google Search

 

As the journey for the main 4 boys continues towards the body, after the junkyard scene and after Gordie goes to collect food for all of the group, as they are traversing the train tracks, Chris begins a conversation with Gordie. The conversation is shown in the clip below. In this conversation Chris’s character is impacted by maturity, the conversation paints Chris as more mature than Gordie, showing the difference in maturity levels shown between the boys. During the conversation, Chris is shown with upper body shots with the background of the forest, Gordie is shown through more headshots with a more constricting background. Using upper body shots with the background being open, portrays Chris as someone with vastness in understanding and that he has a deeper connection with emotions, with the use of the lighting in the shot, he is shown as the one with hope for Gordie in the future, while Gordie is shown with a darker background, indicating that he is lost in negativity with no room to understand the complexities of his emotions, something greatly attributed with maturity, emotional understanding. With the conversation cutting in with Vern and Teddy’s conversation which shows the impact of maturity in the boys. Teddy and Vern are having a light- hearted conversation that conveys how young they are compared to Chris and Gordie who are fighting over the future.

Rob R (director) (1986) Stand by me [motion picture], Columbia Pictures, accessed 5 September 2024. Stand by Me Video & Resources | ClickView

 

Teddy’s love, which is more an obsession, with the army is something mentioned a lot. The army is seen as mature, something that teaches discipline and honour. Teddy has a want to be part of the army like his Father who ‘stormed the beach in Normandy’. In the end we find out that Teddy, despite trying to, never got into the army after school, due to his ear and eye sight, and after not getting in had spent time in prison and now was working odd jobs. His ear injury was caused by his father and he was born with bad eyesight. Teddy not getting into the army shows that he was not mature enough for it. His behaviour after not getting in is also a huge show of immaturity. After not getting what he wants he does something illegal. The army also is a connection to his Dad, his obsession with it could also show that he never had his Dad as someone to look after him and show his how to be mature. The link below is ads for the army for 1959

1959 army ad – Google Search