The weekend after reading Martin
Luther King Junior’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in class, I watched a movie
that happened to have a few connections to it. It was my first time watching
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and I absolutely loved it. Ostensibly this
film is about a boy who is just starting high school with no friends, and
portrays his journey of getting through the year. But as the movie plays on,
you keep uncovering pieces of information that really give the story a
different meaning.
In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,”
Martin Luther King Jr. talks about breaking the status quo. One of the points
my group discussed in class was that breaking the status quo is unconditionally
seen as extreme from the point of view of those who tend to conform. He goes on
to say that although it MAY be extreme, there are many people in history who
have been extremists for good causes and for spreading strong beliefs. In the
film, the main character Charlie becomes friends with a group of “misfits.”
They break the status quo in the way they live—whether it is listening to old
music or obsessing over vampires, they don’t care what others—the ones who
follow the status quo—think. For the sake of Hollywood, each misfit was
definitely portrayed as a stereotype, which is an “extreme” version of reality.This
connection shows me that Martin Luther King Junior’s letter is not a one hit
wonder. Whether it is applied to racism or even the high school hierarchy of
today, it still applies.
