Ben X - 1/3

November 9^th, 2012

[Ben X] part.1 – Reflection

Mr. Garrioch / English Composition

11b4 111150 Ho InHee

The word ‘original’ has two meanings; one is ‘novel’ and the other is ‘primary’. A novel idea at first becomes worn out as it is used repeatedly over time. Through this process, only the very first, or ‘primary’, usage of idea appears ‘novel’- other subsequent usages easily become a hackneyed, redundant application of a novel forerunner. If an idea has a similar precedent, the idea is likely to become an insignificant

After all, the first one-third of the Belgium film [Ben X] was not an original forerunner. The film first features a teenage boy, Ben, as a protagonist. He is game-addicted, and enjoys his own world in the game. For Ben, school is a horrifying place where he has to endure all his classmates bullying him. But school is not the only place he is estranged. Ben constantly has hard time associating with every person in every place at every time. He cannot even look in his own parents’ eyes. And yes, Ben is suffering from autism. Ben has been deeply damaged while living with other people, understanding, and interacting. He views his surroundings in his own very peculiar (yet typical in some sense) narrative perspective. He fails to assimilate into his peer group, and finds comfort in a virtual world of online game.

So far, the film has conveyed one of the most widely depicted themes nowadays-socializing problem of mentally challenged ones. [Ben X] tried to present a particular way of thinking of an autistic child and portray Ben as a very peculiar character. But for the first one-third of the film, it had merely drawn out a rather trite protagonist and the general setting. I hope this unoriginal setting and characters lead to something more original and astounding ending, and look forward to see the rest very soon.