STAND BY ME Directed by Rob Reiner

How is self-discovery represented in this film? The most dominant example of self-discovery in the film, Stand By Me, is that of the protagonist, Gordy.

How is self-discovery represented in this film? The film opens with a wide shot of a car on a deserted country road.

The camera shots progressively get closer until they show a mid shot of an adult man looking wistfully out of his car window. His car dates the movie in the mid 1980s, when the film was made.

The eventual close up shot on his face establishes him as the protagonist and narrator of the story.

The film is edited to include flashbacks to particular events and ideas as the protagonist remembers his story, allowing the audience to recognise that we are going to experience his story.

The use of flashback continues as the protagonist takes the audience to the beginning of the journey. We realise this is flashback because the historical context has changed.

Features of the film’s style convey the historical context. The character is costumed in late 1950s clothing. The vehicles on the street represent those that were in fashion during this era. There is a quaintness and quietness conveyed in the streetscape. The use of a long shot gives a sense of space and captures a vista of the main street against the backdrop of open space. The audience are transported into a country town. The journey of self-discovery for Gordy has begun.

The journey to self-discovery is further enhanced by the use of the railway motif. It represents movement: a journey forward This is what self-discovery is.

In addition, the audience realises that this is a journey taken by the protagonist with his friends. In this long shot, the four boys are pictured together, in one frame. This use of framing tells us that they are friends, equal to one another. They are facing the journey together.