Essay Questions

Why did Charlie feel guilty over his aunt's death?

At first, Charlie feels guilty over his aunt's death because she was driving to his house with a birthday gift for him when she was killed, so he feels that if it hadn't been for him wanting to see his birthday present, she wouldn't have been in the car, and the accident would never have happened.

After his worst flashback when he finally remembers the abuse Charlie is then frightened that he in some way willed her to die; he remembers wishing her dead on all of the occasions she was abusing him and now feels overwhelming guilt that his wishes in some way came true, and that he was the cause of her accident.

The movie was criticized for it's light-hearted perspective on teen drug use. Was this fair?

Many critics were scathing about the way in which the movie dealt with teen drug use, even though it dealt with subjects such as mental health and homosexuality in a far more serious way. When Charlie accidentally eats a pot brownie, the result is very amusing; he becomes very knowledgeable and his new found opinions on everything are entertaining to his friends and also to the audience. His LSD experience is not amusing in any way but it is seen more as the catalyst for his finally unlocking his repressed memories rather than a dangerous and negative experience. In terms of the themes of the movie, teen drug use is more of an outlier than a serious theme introduced to engender debate, therefore in many ways, the criticism of the way it was dealt with is quite fair.

What is the purpose of the use of the David Bowie song "Heroes" in the movie?

The song is played twice; the first time none of the kids know the song, but they like it, and in Sam's case it fills her with inspiration and a connection to her own life and potential. The second time it is played, Sam has researched it and identified it and is playing it with the express purpose of filling Charlie with the same kind of inspiration that it filled her with. The lyrics are "we can be heroes, just for one day" and this is implicit in the way Sam now feels about her life. She has navigated high school and is leaving her childhood behind her, which feels heroic to her. The song is also something of a metaphor for the way in which teens tend to feel at this stage in their lives; that they can go out, change the world, and be a hero. Sam feels that she and her group are heroes because they have not conformed to the stereotype of the popular high school kids, but have succeeded nonetheless.