‘Boy’ Initial Response

Write your response to the film using the following points:

1. Write a brief plot overview.
2. Discuss a character that you found interesting and describe why they stood out to you.
3. Write about a scene that stood out to you. Why was it of interest?
4. What message do you think the director, Taika Waititi was conveying in the text. Use an example to support your explanation.
5. Write about a cinematography technique that was of interest to you. Why was it effective/surprising/distracting…..
6. Give your reflections on the setting. Why do you think it was set in Waihua Bay in 1984? Write about how the director showcases the setting.

1. Brief Plot Overview:

Boy, Alamien. But he goes by Boy. The movie ‘Boy’ is about a young boy with a dream of going to the city with his Father and seeing Michael Jackson perform live. He soon comes to find that his father is not as epic as he thought. With his father gone for so long boy began to make a name for his father as awesome and heroic.

2. Discuss a character that you found interesting and describe why they stood out to you:

A character that I found interesting in the movie Boy was Boys Father, Alamien. Alamien stood out in the movie boy to me because of the way he handled things. But also that he thought after being away from home for over 7 years he could just show up out of no were and suddenly be there for his kids, even though he wasn’t. I think that this stood out to me because if that was my dad I certainly wouldn’t be happy to see after leaving gone for over 7 years, without a single call or anything. His decisions just didn’t sit well with me. Coming home for money, the drugs and alcohol around young kids but just in total treating it like he had been there in their lives when he hadn’t. I feel bad for Boy and Rocky, for them not getting a well treated dad as they deserved.

3. Write about a scene that stood out to you. Why was it of interest?

One scene that stood out to me was when Boy’s Father ran over Leaf, their goat. Boy wanted to go and see him and he was going to go against what his father was telling him to do but he still listened to his Father. I think this scene was of interest to me because of how it looked from a watchers point of view. Alamein drunk and beaten up with bruises and blood all over his face. Him standing over boy telling him to get back in the car. Rocky silent not saying a word and his two drunk and beaten up friends rowdy. To me this looked bad in Boy’s situation and he knew not to go against his father because of what he was acting like.

4. What message do you think the director, Taika Waititi was conveying in the text. Use an example to support your explanation:

I think that Taika Waititi was trying to get across that most family’s don’t have it easy and that sometimes it’s tough. In this movie boy had so much more responsibility than any average kid would have know days.

5. Write about a cinematography technique that was of interest to you. Why was it effective/surprising/distracting…..

One cinematography technique that I found was different and distracting for me was when Rocky would be imagining something and it would come up with drawings of what he was imagining it to be like. I found this interesting because Rocky thought he had superpowers. This technique would come up when he was trying to perform them on someone changing what they do or happen. This was surprising to me because I could then see into Rocky’s imagination and how he would deal with things. It helped me to get a better understanding of Rocky.

6. Give your reflections on the setting. Why do you think it was set in Waihau Bay in 1984? Write about how the director showcases the setting.

I think that Taika Waititi used the setting really effectively as it is set in Waihau Bay. I think that it being set in 1984 had an effect of how the characters were acting and how the whole movie was set out to be. If it was in another time frame I think that it would have a completely different feel to it.