ANDxtraordinary (Wonder, original title in English) is an American comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Chbosky and starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay, adapted from the best-selling youth novel Wonder.
The plot revolves around the life of Auggie Pullman, a 10-year-old boy with Treacher Collins syndrome. This syndrome consists of a rare congenital craniofacial malformation that affects 2 out of every 100,000 births, and occurs due to a genetic mutation on chromosome 5 (Treacle).
Auggie has undergone more than twenty operations to make his appearance look like that of an ordinary child, however, his differentiation is evident to others, which is why he hides his face all the time under an astronaut helmet gifted by the best friend of her older sister, Via.
Auggie is a boy with impressive skills and great qualities. He is not only a smart guy but also kind, kind, supportive and with a great sense of humor (something that eventually makes people stop judging him negatively because of his appearance). Now, after years receiving private lessons from his mother, the film introduces us to the change that Auggie’s life faces as a primary school student, with all the crises and learning that this entails for both him and his parents. he.
If you value articles like this, consider supporting us by becoming a Pro subscriber. Subscribers enjoy access to members-only articles, materials, and webinars.
Extraordinary: an undramatic drama
Far from being a typical story of victimization and a call for awareness about bullying, we enjoyed Extraordinary for the assertiveness with which it shows parents of children in vulnerable conditions (whether due to belonging to minority groups or due to some physical characteristic) to teach your children to combat aggression with kindness, wisdom and dignity.
Julia Roberts, who plays the role of mother splendidly, does her part by bringing to the screen values such as the importance of honesty, loyalty and self-love, all this without departing from a realistic discourse that does not motivate children to flee from problems or take refuge in dysfunctional behaviors but rather confront difficult situations based on dialogue and sincerity.
Additionally, something that I really liked about the film was seeing the panoramic way in which the story of the Pullmans and Auggie’s closest circle was approached. The micro-universe of the other characters was not excluded, but rather it was possible to see beyond the obvious and reach a point of understanding about how Auggie’s existence had affected the life of his sister Via or that of his best friend, JackWill.
The effects of bullying in the school environment, peer pressure, rejection, exclusion… Few topics were left off the agenda of Extraordinaryand although they are all mentioned in the film, it is interesting to see how the story did not fall into the tragic, but rather showed Auggie as an ordinary boy who dreams of going to the moon and who likes video games.
Auggie managed to adapt to his new life at school and function like any child his age makes the film truly motivating.
That it was possible to take a look at Via’s experience, for example, allowed us to see the impact that the presence of a member with some type of special characteristic can have on family relationships and the consequences of poor communication on the maternal relationship. filial, and I like it because all this was developed in an environment, albeit dramatic, sensitive and non-controversial, which undoubtedly always makes it easier for a general audience without prior knowledge to assimilate a message much better.
For parents, having a child with a syndrome can mean a significant increase in stress, mental and physical health conditions, difficulty in providing adequate child care, implications for employment decisions, education, relationships or support for other children, support government… Behind Auggie’s story is the case of millions of people who may currently be experiencing symptoms of depression, guilt or self-esteem problems, all leading to problems in family functioning.
While this describes the statistical starkness of the case, I like that Extraordinary was not so gloomy and pessimistic in illustrating the way things can happen. I like that it did not revolve around out-of-pocket costs for medical care and other health services, because all of these potential effects, which although they could have repercussions on people’s quality of life, are less of a priority than the quality of family relationships and the health of the family structure.
Having a child with special characteristics can both affect parents’ allocation of time and financial resources to their healthy children, encourage them to develop better parenting practices, raise the expectations and maturity of healthy siblings in terms of achievement, responsibility and contributions, and Teach your children that being “extraordinary” is also a gift.
The fact that Auggie managed to adapt to his new life at school and function like any other child his age makes the film truly motivating for children who are bullied and their families, as well as anyone else with a disability or characteristic. special.
The lesson that Auggie transmits to us and with which we decide to stay is that, when you accept yourself regardless of the current stereotypes, rumors and opinions of others about your physical appearance, what happens next is that the rest of you People start to accept you too and feel comfortable with the person you are.
Taking off your astronaut helmet can be difficult and painful, but like caterpillars, a much better version may emerge later.