I had heard a lot about this movie and was fortunate to go see it this afternoon with some of my family, through my sister’s work. Find out more about Wonder on Wikipedia.
The basic premise of the movie is that a young boy named Auggie goes to school with other kids for the first time in middle school (he had been homeschooled up to that point). Auggie was born with a rare genetic condition that has required him to get multiple surgeries on his face to fix his breathing, hearing, and vision. And because of those surgeries, Auggie’s face has been left with many scars and he looks different than the other kids.
The movie shares the perspective of a few characters to illustrate that there’s always more than meets the eye. For example, Auggie’s sister’s best friend, Miranda, is dealing with a home life that causes her to distance herself. I am very aware of this in schools, as I work with many kids who I know are dealing with some really terrible situations at home and they are doing their best to hide it and be as “normal” as possible at school and trying to not let it affect them. Kids are truly incredible and so often they take on the negativity from their parents so I think this movie does a wonderful job showing that bit.
But the core message is all about kindness and what that means when it comes to treating other people. It’s easy to talk about kindness but it’s a whole other thing to actually be kind to others.
“Kinder than is necessary. Because it’s not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed.”
I really loved this movie as it demonstrates multiple times what it means to be kind and supportive of others. It’s not easy and we will make mistakes but it’s important that we treat each other with kindness, get to know each other, don’t judge from the surface because so often there is much more going on than meets the eye.
I highly recommend watching this movie! And please, let me know what you think!