Sylwia Rutkowska – Charlie (1st part)

Patryk Drozdowski – Frank (2nd part)

Introduction

 1992 American drama

 directed by Martin Brest

 the story of a school student – Charlie who takes a job as an assistant to a blind,

retired Army officer – Frank Slade over Thanksgiving weekend.

Charlie

 born in a poor family

 attends high school thanks to a scholarship.

 He witnesses a prank that puts him in a dilemma.

 The headmaster later pushes Charlie to reveal the names

 Charlie accepts a temporary job and takes care of Frank Slade

1st communication concept

Impostor syndrome

 psychological pattern in which the individual doubts his achievements and has

a fear of revealing himself as a "scam".

 Charlie is poor but wants to go to Harvard, so he needs a scholarship.

 He doesn’t believe he belongs there and deserves to be there.

 He knows that he is not like other students and he doesn’t match to this

environment.

Example
  Charlie describes his inner conflict: to reveal his friends or not to reveal them?

 Frank tells him the truth: “They are rich and you are poor. You want to be

someone. And do you want to finish school and be rich like them?” Charlie

responds: “No, I don't want to be like them.”

 Charlie is afraid all the time about his future and he is not convinced about his

abilities.

 He is always thinking about what his friends can think about his actions

 he is afraid of their judgements.

2nd communication concept

Enculturation.

 people learn the surrounding culture and acquire its values and norms

 Before being a student among rich people, he used to be an exemplary student.

Knowing Charlie's poor background, Trask plans to bribe Charlie with a

reference letter to Harvard for his information, but Charlie is reluctant to rat out

his classmates. He faces enculturation from his peers who expect him to

always cover his friends no matter what’s going to happen next.

Charlie was struggling with himself. It can be noticed by analyzing his behavior.

He ended up among rich people where their rules exist. Therefore, he had

some problems to assimilate with the group and it turned out to be really difficult to

make the right decisions among them.

II part

Transition:
  Charlie is from a poor family.

 he accepts a temporary job looking after retired Army Colonel Frank

 During their first meeting, Frank presents himself as a rude alcoholic.

 This later influences Charlie and makes him afraid of any new Frank’s decisions.

Plot:

 Frank turns out to be an unpredictable person who organizes an unexpected

trip to New York.

 Journey includes the Astoria hotel, expensive restaurants, Frank’s bed

meetings with a beautiful woman and finally his planned suicide shot from the

service pistol.

 Both men help each other change the planned ending of their stories.

 Charlie tells Frank about his complications at school.

 Frank tells him to reveal his classmates and go to Harvard.

 Probably George will reveal his friends – he has influential father

Frank

 sophisticated and charming person.

 At first appears to be an argumentative old man.

 When he first meets Charlie, he doesn’t treat him in a kind way.

 Charlie perceives him in a bad way later

1st communication concept

Horn effect

 excessive effect of a single negative trait on the perception of the other.

  Each Frank’s new decision is perceived as a threat by Charlie and makes him

feel afraid of what might happen next.

 He doesn’t fully trust Frank because of the first impression he made on him.

In one of the scenes at the hotel in New York Frank points a gun on Charlie and says:

“You break my heart, son. All my life I stood up to everyone and everything because it

made me feel important. You do it because you mean it. You got integrity, Charlie. I

don't know whether to shoot you, or adopt you.”. This situation when he points a gun

on Charlie and mentions that he would like to adopt him shows that Frank is

unpredictable and it scares Charlie. Slade surrounded himself with an outer shell of

rudeness and arrogance. However, thanks to staying with Charlie, his other face is

revealed. In fact, he is a sensitive person who has a baggage of life experiences, even

those unpleasant, which made him suffer for a long time.

What is more, Frank’s personality represents characteristics of masculine

culture. He was a former Colonel in the U.S. Army. It taught him strength, toughness

and resistance to difficult and stressful situations. Unfortunately, his career was cut

short after an accident with his famous grenade-juggling act. Though long retired,

Frank still retains the rigid formality of a lifelong military man. Frank shows his

masculine culture in the scene while he was in the school court and tried to help Charlie

get out of trouble. He said: “If I were the man I was five years ago I'd take a FLAME-

THROWER to this place! There was a time when I could see. And I have seen boys

like these, younger than these, their arms torn out, their legs ripped off. But there isn't

nothing like the sight of an amputated spirit. There is no prosthetic for that”. He

presents his masculine culture with his strength, power, and dominance. He even says

that he would take a flame-thrower and kill all the people in the court so he presents
his courage, independence, violence, and assertiveness to the headmaster’s decision

about Charlie. These are all characteristics of a masculine culture.

The film titled “Scent of a Woman” tells a great story of Frank and Charlie who

have totally different points of view on life. Charlie shows signs of having an impostor

syndrome and he encounters enculturation from his rich friends’ environment. When it

comes to Frank, he suffers from horns effect and shows the features which are typical

for a masculine culture. Blind Frank goes to New York to "make life a holiday", while

Charlie accompanies him to earn some money. During the trip, they become friends

and in the end, they manage to help each other solve their problems.