el⛈️

My favorite genre of characters is the trope of two sides of the same coin. (Pt.1 Charlie and Cameron)

Charlie and Cameron:

Charlie is the delinquent of the story. He is the rebel and he is admired for that by classmates and even the fan base. He searches for validation in Mr.Keating because he needs that. Charlie as a character search’s for validation and attention through lashing out and breaking rules. And from the way the movie is set up and his conversation with Neil we can assume that Charlie doesn’t get that by his parents. This is more shown when he threatens to get expelled by Mr Nolan and Mr keating shares his displeasure with that. Charlie’s response is “I’d thought you’d like that”. This shows such a new part of Charlie’s character. Charlie inadvertently through this line is telling us that he seeks validation in higher authority he looks up too. Charlie has no conception of his consequences even after being beaten. He wants so deeply to be noticed and treated as what he preserves himself to be and through that he hurts himself. He is “choking on the bone” as Mr. Keating says which directly contrasts with Cameron.

Cameron is the tattle of the story. He is not the scapegoat but the butt of the joke. He is the up-tight “fink” who sucks up to teachers. Like Charlie he craves attention but not from Keating but from Nolan. Cameron wants attention and he does that through Mr Nolan by getting good grades and being the model student. But to no avail. He goes unnoticed and pushed in the background despite being Mr Nolans model student. Cameron works to be liked upon higher authority which is shown when he is the only one writing down the J. Evan’s Pritchard scale and how Keating describes his walk as trying to fit in. Cause that’s what Cameron wants to do. He wants to fit in and conceptualized himself to be better perceived by others of higher authority and intelligence. He never acts out of line and even when he does with the secret meetings he does it to insure the best interest in his friend group. Cameron notices the consequences of his actions and acts upon making them better.

Cameron and Charlie are two separable people who share such similar angsts. Charlie is defiant while Cameron is obedient. Charlie is a rule breaker while Cameron is a rule follower. In an outside perspective they are polar opposites but that is so far from the truth. They both share a major commonality that is the true message of the movie. They both are victims of conformity.

Charlie conforms himself in fitting outside the box (acting out for action do higher powers) unlike cameron who conforms himself to fit in. They both went to Mr. Keating class and they both learned the same thing. But why did Charlie end in a more favorable position at the end? It’s because Charlie had support. He will always be seen as a defined system of seizing the day while cameron will always be defined as a subject of conformity. Cameron every time he speaks or expresses his way of seizing the day he gets out down cause that’s unconventional. But Charlie expresses his way of seizing the day and he is loved. That’s why Charlie ends on a better note than cameron because he has SUPPORT!!!!

Charlie can sieze the day because he is what’s expected but Cameron can’t cause he is what everyone else is striving away from being.

Yes cameron did learn and hear what Mr keating was saying just like Charlie . But he saw the bad, he saw the reality of choking on the bone while Charlie is blind to it till told by his role model. Charlie doesn’t see the consequences of his actions when Neil passed but Cameron did. He saw Neil’s death as a direct consequence of him expressing himself outside of social norms. That’s why he got defensive.

Charlie is the tail of the coin. The sees the world blindly from behind while Cameron the head of the coin sees the world as it truly is.

Put your 4 favorite characters from 4 different pieces of media and let your tumblr pals decide which one most suits your vibe then tag 4 people