The Black Balloon Essay

The Black Balloon was a film which explored themes of belonging and prejudice through the life of Charlie Mollision and his family. His underlying characteristics and interest are depicted in ‘Full or empty?’, questioning the audience; is the glass half full or half empty?
The ‘glass’ is made of a plastic material, man-made, as was the barrier between Charlie and the world. Like prejudice, it warps the appearance of an image, portraying Charlie and other Autistic children to be stereotypically dangerous. This was seen in the film through their frequent portrayal in red (which was the predominant clothing colour on his school bus and was used to foreshadow ‘social danger’ faced by Thomas as a result of his brother). The eyes - positioned above the glass condescendingly – are illustrative of the contributors who judge his life based on appearances. They appear in a metaphorically black cloud, representative of their constant, diminishing presence. Such was viewed at the supermarket outburst and at the hospital where the producer included consecutive shots of Charlie participating in a despised activity and close
Throughout the movie, he wore monkey ears when being mischievous and at progressive moments. They denoted his conceptual development, beginning with his impersonation of Maggie in an attempt to understand normalities (which failed) and concluding with his union with Thomas (which succeeded), a key milestone for an autistic character. The green tick reminisced Charlie’s desire for reward. This reliance on praise was outlined in the scene when his star chart was ripped: What would ordinarily be replaceable, Charlie fought over. Thomas new he would get a reaction, “Look Charlie, no stars! … Dad, he’s got to learn” (The Black Balloon 2008). Such leverage determined the importance of incentive to Charlie’s emotional security (reasoning the use of the tranquil green colour) and lifestyle