With Honors directed by Alek Keshishian - Movie Review Example

With Honors With Honors presents to the viewers a dramatic and clear depiction of the realities of the world. A movie serves to demonstrate vital lessons which are indispensable and fresh in the contemporary times. It dismisses the conventional notion regarding the lives and knowledge of people on the streets. As it clearly appears throughout the movie, street life is seen to be a school in its own right, a place that nurtures minds and inculcates the important components that are necessary in such environment. Such is the knowledge that is evident in Simon; he has certainly gathered as a function of his substantially long stay on the streets. In a way, it must be understood that, if properly harnessed, such kind of knowledge can be quite beneficial and can serve as a great source of information to researchers and other learners in the study of society and human nature. Our world requires more than common requisites in life. A mere Harvard education is not a guarantee a better life at all. Important as it is, it is still not a panacea to all the limitations that characterize life. We require more knowledge about the world and ourselves. Unfortunately, much of that information is never found in the libraries at Harvard or anywhere else in the world. It is found through experience in life shared through mutual relationships. It is found through the experiences in the streets, just as Simon seems to have gathered. It is found through relationships with idiots and intellectuals. In the movie, Monty learns a great deal from his predicament and relationship with Simon. He gets to underscore the importance of tolerance in life, which becomes integral economically to him. He changes the topic of his thesis because of his association with Simon and the subsequent transformation of his general world perception. It is imperative to realize that, as it appears in the movie that it is not only socially correct, but economically beneficial as well, to prepare efficiently for adulthood life by learning the basics. Graduating with honors alone by submitting a thesis in time is not a sufficient milestone in the course of life. It demands the knowledge that Simon is unknowingly propagating. The essence of life from a moral perspective is to live with honor and not to merely graduate with honors. Economically, a life with honor creates a sense of respect and enables one to climb very high social ladders in the society. For instance, people who live with honor access leadership positions, which come with money and fame. Therefore, as a recurrent theme in the movie, such an orientation in life can effectively make one realize the very essence of their lives, which can bring economic success and prosperity (Strasburger 54). In the movie, the four students learn new ideas in life and gather integral lessons in life. They learn not to ignore the street people like Simon. Assuming everybody in the world was to learn about these realities, it would translate to a very economically prosperous world that cares for the less fortunate in the society and recognizes that everybody in the world is important in their own right. Indeed, nothing is better than such a realization. It is rather funny in the manner Simon exchanges a page of the thesis with Monty for his daily necessities. That is of very great economic importance. It shows that there is nothing in the world that is given for free at least not even for a Harvard senior like Monty. The moral of the episode lies in inundating the students with the idea that they should expect circumstances in life where despite their holding Harvard degrees, they have to strive and work hard for the necessities in life. In a way, it seems that the world can be a much better place if the likes of Simon were given the opportunity to display the wide experience they have gathered in their experiences in the world. The Harvard students in the movie appear as students of Simon despite his apparent lack of academic knowledge. Economically, this can positively affect the general welfare of the masses if such a mindset was to be absorbed. The immature and sex-obsessed radio host Courtney learns very pertinent lessons in life and totally transforms her outlook toward life. This goes to economically empower the radio host and automatically helps her in the future life. In sense, an education at an Ivy League institution like Harvard is very expensive. It demands many resources to pay for such a commitment. These are the very costs that the likes of Monty and Courtney have to endure in order to gain that vital education. Unfortunately, it pains that they do not get an all round education that can effectively and totally guide them in their future lives. It demands an additional knowledge from the likes of Simon to get such an education. Therefore, in sum it must be emphasized that With Honors is a movie that economically affects the viewer. Psychological evaluation From his general conduct throughout the movie, Monty appears as a self-absorbed and very determined graduate student who is very much concerned with finishing his thesis statement more than anything else in life. In a way, he appears much obsessed with the need to satisfy the requirement of his too demanding lecturer, Professor Pitkannan. Monty is psychologically depicted as very attached with his education. Nothing can deter him from achieving his yearning. Monty however ascribes to this mindset prior to his meeting Simon who radically transforms his way of thinking and perception. It is also imperative to realize that Monty readily changes his perception and mindset because of his encounter with Simon. He even goes ahead to change the title of his senior thesis as a show of his psychological transformation. Despite his Harvard education, it is quite interesting to realize that Monty is much willing to listen and learn something from Simon who, strangely, does not possess any recognizable formal education. This speaks volumes about his outright down-to-earth nature. It also confirms his willingness to socially interact with all people around him. This view is further underpinned by his readiness to accept the offer Simon gives to exchange a page of the thesis for provisions. On personal grounds, Monty appears a very shy and sincere character. This is depicted from the manner he is in love with Courtney but does not let it to be known. As central themes in the movie, love and friendship are concepts that are greatly developed by casual and interpersonal character of Monty. His ease and ability to make friends easily is a clear indication that he possesses an open heart that is certainly imperative in a modern age. Although it can be argued that Harvard has played a role in shaping Monty’s academic mindset, it can be seen that he is overly academic and has developed a heart for his studies. He so much wishes to submit a thesis that will give him top grades for his senior education. It is sad to realize that Monty has a regrettable kind of paranoia that can only cause danger if not inconvenience. When his computer crashes in the middle of the night and he loses all his data, he is left with a single hard copy of the thesis document. The manner in which he rushes to make copies of that document is a clear demonstration of his innate fear. Sure enough, it makes no justification for the way he acts after the hard drive crashes. At the point Monty loses his thesis, the objective of Simon who acquires the document is to teach him the values of humanity and humility. When Simon develops that need to impart such knowledge on the student, it is out of his evaluation that Monty actually lacks or has not yet developed those critical virtues of life. Simon further exemplifies this from the manner in which Monty and his friends conduct their lives prior to the transformation. Simon accuses Monty for bailing him out of jail by paying the fine. Monty however feels that this was necessitated by the need to get the opportunity of receiving his thesis back. As a central antagonist in the movie, Simon appears a hero in his own way. His interaction with the students and the Professor is a clear demonstration that life is much more than a Harvard degree. He is a citadel of hope, wisdom, and social education propagated by acquired authority and practical audacity. He is a clear demonstration that education is acquired through life’s experiences and that with a clear and progressive mind; anything becomes a matter conceptual comprehension. Simon’s decision to return a page of the thesis each day for certain favors is a clear way of demonstrating and showing his deep knowledge even to a Harvard senior like Monty. If Simon intends to teach the students some aspects of life not yet known to them, he does it so perfectly despite playing the part of a conventional homeless street person. He demonstrates some antipathy to Harvard from the manner he refers to Monty as ‘Harvard’. He strongly feels that Harvard does not sufficiently equip the boys with all the relevant knowledge and attitude they require for life. If in any case With Honors is a comedy, then it goes without doubt that Simon is a psychological comedian. Simon is certainly living a painful life. The life in the streets is not comparable to anything. However, as a Zen Buddhist, he appears very much detached from his pain and agony. He leads a modest life despite his limitations and prioritizes the advancement of knowledge and wisdom as core agendas in life despite the challenges that might crop up in the course of such an undertaking. The manner Simon argues with the Professor is a show of his advanced knowledge and wide perception. Courtney on the other hand, is reflected as a sex-obsessed woman who is psychologically keen with all that Monty does. She subsequently intimately engages with him. The psychological character of Everest on the other hand is mostly shaped by the fact that he hails from a stable financial background and thereby lives a lavish lifestyle that reflects his situation. Professor Pitkannan is initially an antagonist in the movie but is later transformed into a protagonist. Psychologically, he appears a pessimist, a virtue depicted from his argument with Simon on the Constitution .The last character, Jeffrey, who is studying gynecology is very much opposed to the idea of Simon staying in the apartment. He probably feels a total antipathy toward Simon and his general self. Personal association The concept of association is well exemplified and widely seen in the movie through the central themes that run through the whole episode. In most cases, the association appears to be quite positive and very instrumental to the social growth and personal development of entirely all the characters in the movie. The association here is seen is diverse perspectives as can be noted between Simon and the students, Simon and the professor and amongst the students themselves. Most central of all is the manner in which Simon interactively associates with the students despite their seemingly different present situations. Simon’s association with Monty assumes a father and son affair that yields much benefit to the son. Monty is saddened by the fact that his paternal father actually abandoned him at a tender age. The fatherly figure of Simon through his strange encounter with him is a rather blessing in disguise. Even though it is a somewhat a one-way affection that exists between Simon and Monty, it nevertheless impresses Monty in the manner he gains from that relationship. It is further imperative to realize the manner the other students actually benefited from the whole affair. They are taught very vital elements of life that were hitherto unknown to them. If Simon is to become the fatherly figure he is certainly made to appear, then the transformation in the students is a clear reference to underscore this argument. The seemingly business like relationship between Simon and Monty takes a different turn when the true picture of Simon gradually unfolds. On their part, the students have maintained a very normal and casual friendship that is pegged on their academic commonalities. They live the lives of typical university students grappling with the challenges that confront students. The platonic relationship between Monty and Courtney is just an indication of this conventionalism. However, with the support of Simon, Monty eventually graduates his relationship with the woman from platonic to romantic. Contrary to expectations, the association that develops between Professor Pitkannan and Simon appears to be slightly sour given the manner in which the professor reprimands and humiliates Simon as a homeless man. However, considering that Simon is not taken aback by that reaction from the professor it helps to underpin the fact that their association is not much antagonistic. Simon’s eloquence and emotional maturity is also a factor that adds to this association. The general association that transpires throughout the movie can be casually apportioned into two divisions. The association of the students prior to their transformation upon meeting Simon is very different to the later part after a change of their perception. Monty initially led an inwardly desolate life because his father had abandoned him at a tender age. On the contrary, he develops a very different association with the people around him as Simon assumes a fatherly gesture toward him. The manner Courtney appreciates the transformation evidenced in Monty is a clear indication of their new association. Indeed, Monty even changes his association with his professor as he changes the topic of the thesis he writes. In the end, he fails to graduate with the honors he had over the years aspired. The major moral in the whole movie is the fact that the students learn important lessons about love and human life. In this case, they realize the importance of living with honor rather than graduating with honors. A new association that they subsequently assume only facilitates such a life. The personal association between all the characters in the movie depicts a very unique precinct that effectively connotes and reflects a typical lifestyle. Each character in the movie is made to play their part very honestly and professionally in a manner that provokes the viewer. What we see is in the movie does a lot in shaping our minds toward developing a positive relationship that effectively breeds friendship and cooperation. As bad students turn into good ones, the general relationship between themselves and other people is inevitably improved. The cynicism previously evident is gradually transmogrified into a sense of altruism as new lessons and realizations unfold. It is important to note that in the general aspect, a new form of association is developed in the movie with ends with a very sincere and honest gratification and a sense of openness. This lovable association is further underpinned by fact that nobody appears much a loser from the whole episode. Everybody seems to have leant and shared the glory and the growth of wisdom that comes from the relationship and association. Monty is even better to have gathered a basketful of benefits despite not graduating with honors. On economic grounds, much is indeed realized from such a positive association as the behavior of people is transformed toward the positive. In conclusion, it must be emphasized that with honors is a very live and stimulating experience that is more informative than interesting. The lessons it attempts to relay are clearly very relevant across all the areas of life. The move cuts across entirely all the sector of life as it dissects the economical, social, and political dimensions through a psychological demonstration. Work Cited Strasburger, Victor C. Adolescents and the Media: Medical and Psychological Impact. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1995. Print. Read More