Stand by Me: a Precious Memory that Grown Adults Used to Have

The film “Stand by me,” directed by Rob Reiner, is a legendary film based on the novella “The body” by Stephen King. The film starts with Gordy’s narration, the writer and narrator of the film. It is a story of him and his three best friends, finding a missing body of a dead boy by hiking in the Castle Rock in Oregon State when he and his friend were 12 years old. Gordy wrote this story based on their adventure after many years later from the adventure. As they progress through their adventures, they learn about the meaning of friendship with themselves. There are interest elements in 'Stand by Me' for the important elements that it explained of friendship between the group of boys and in particular two of them, Gordy and Chris, the idea of loss of innocence and the difference between the world of children and the world of adults. Also, the adventure was very significant point for Gordy’s life, it is an interest thing that as the effective technique of using Gordy as a narrator for 'Stand by Me'.

The most significant elements of “Stand by Me” is about strong friendship for boys, the friendship between the group of 12-year-old boys. They were problem children who were isolated or abused from their families, towns and schools. Because they were very similar, they relied and comforted on each other and created the place for their proper place. In this film, the four main characters, the four boys live in an unstable family environment and relationships, and they have been lived without knowing the true love of their families and parents. Gordy’s parents, especially his father, love brother who good with American football more than Gordy. Gordy’s parents were unable to accept his brother's sudden death, and after that Gordy was never given their attention. His best friend, Chris, is a sincere and wise boy, but the bad rumor of his brother makes him live as a “Bad Boy” in the town. Also, he lives in a poor living environment with domestic violence from his father. Teddy Duchamp's father is a returning war soldier and is probably struggling with PTSD. Teddy Duchamp receives as much violence from his father as Chris, but unlike Chris, he respects his father who is a war hero. Vern is a fat and clumsy boy, he is repressed by his bad older brother. The four boys have in common situation that they are not loved by their parents and families. For that reason, they had to relied on each other for support. As same as a real family, they help each other and accept each other without asking for rewards.

There are multiple relationships in the film, the relationship between Gory and Chris is the most important and meaningful, and that relationship has influenced Gordy's future life. As told by the narrator in the film, Chris will grow up to be a lawyer with a sense of justice in the future. He is also like Gordy in the movie, the adventure must have greatly influenced his future. Chris and Gordy are different types of boys, but they have very strong bonds. Gordy older brother, the family favorite, he is the only family member who understanding Gordy in the family, and unlike his parents, he enjoys Gordy’s books. Gordy's father was not happy that Gordy usually hung out with Chris. Because of that Gordy was disappointed his father who did not try to see the essence of human beings. Chris is considered to be a milk thief from adults in the town, but real Chris is smart and caring. Chris is earnest and independent unlike other boys because his family environment is unstable, and he is a hard worker. Chris has the highest leadership and tolerance of the four. Chris is a significant person for “The invisible boy”, Gordy as a friend, brother and parent. Also, Chris is a person who leading the future of Gordy. Chris who was the leader is also inspired by Gordy and will be a lawyer in the future.

This film depicts youth's curiosity and loss. They went on a long hike in the woods and mountains to search for the corpse and walked over 20 miles. This is an unrealistic goal for children. The purpose of their adventure is to find the corpse in the forest, but during this adventure the boys grow up to adults rapidly and at the same time they lose important things in the growth process. Their smoking scene is not expressing their growth, it is a metaphor of rebellion against adults. The viewer may seem them as “the grown-up boys” because they were smoking. However, smoking is a metaphor of rebellion, and they are definitely in the process of growing. The boys had pleasant and dangerous experiences that ordinary children and even adults have never experienced while traveling. The end of the story, the boys are chased by the ace gang who plans to rob the achievement of corpse searching. This incident accelerates the growth of Gordy. The four boys discover the corpse as planned, and the corpse was for the first time seen by them “I was twelve going on thirteen the first time I saw a dead human being.”. Also, it was not actual fun as they expected. After that the four boys face Ace Gang. Gordy makes the courageous move to point a gun towards Ace to protects his friends and family members. This is Gordy’s first rebellion against adults, implying his growth.

The voice of the film narrator Gordy is a very important element for the viewer to understand the reason and meaning of the “travel” that is the main content of this film. From the beginning to the end of the film, Gordy tells the story of his adventure with his close friend at the age of twelve, which tells how important that adventure has been an event important to Gordy and his life. During the journey, Gordy’s best friend, Chris supports and encourages Goody’s writing on behalf of Gordy’s parents “You're gonna be a great writer someday, Gordy.”. As Gordy, the protagonist, acts as a narrator for the film, it can be seen that “Stand by Me” is not a story of the journey of four boys, this film is a reminiscence of the young Gordy’s precious memories. In another words, by having this point of view, the viewers are not traveling on a four boys’ journey, seeing important memories in Gordy’s heart. By following Gordy's memories, viewers can see how he grows and loses important things along the way.

Their journey came about because they were children rather than adults with knowledge and common sense. For children, the rules and knowledge of the world are irrelevant to them, and they have limitless choices that are comparable to adults. To become an adult means to lose the sensibility and freedom that you had in your childhood. They are children, they were different from adults and they were able to plan and carry out the journey. Because of they do not have a driver's license and a car, they walked to the destination along the train track. Because of they were not working, they had little money and could only eat sausages and bread during the trip. Because of they are children, they were able to travel unplanned and thrilled unlike adults. Many viewers would not have had a trip like Gordy have experienced when they were children, but while watching their trip on the screen the viewers identify and compare with main characters.

In conclusion, this film depicts the purest, most innocent true friendship that people lose as they grow up, the fun and vivid memories of their early days when all humans were present. Also, Gordy’s adventure has full of elements of child being, everybody can remember the pure feelings they had as a child and escape from living as an adult. The boys in this film are the only people they should rely on, and they have found ways to believe in others and trust and cooperate with others, even at a young age.

Sources

• EDN, et al. “Booksearch: Films and Videotapes Recommended for Classroom Study.”The English Journal, vol. 83, no. 2, 1994, pp. 82–84. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/821164.
• “EXHIBITS.” USU Digital Exhibits, exhibits.usu.edu/exhibits/show/standbyme/inspiration.
• “Stephen King (Creator).”TV Tropes, tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/StephenKing.