Film Report: 'The Fault in Our Stars' and Self-Development Analysis

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the film 'The Fault in Our Stars,' focusing on its narrative structure, key themes, and underlying concepts, particularly in relation to self-development. The analysis explores the romantic tragedy of Hazel and Augustus, both cancer patients, and how their experiences contribute to their personal growth and understanding of life and death. The report delves into the film's coming-of-age elements, the characters' confrontations with mortality, and the impact of cancer on family dynamics. It highlights how the film portrays the importance of self-awareness, resilience, and finding meaning in life, even in the face of adversity. The report also examines the film's inspiration for adults with disabilities, encouraging them to find happiness within their own lives, and how the film can be used to understand life and its challenges. The report concludes that the film underscores the significance of self-development as a means of overcoming life's challenges and fostering a positive outlook.

FILM REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Analysis of narratives, themes and concepts to the understandings of self-development......1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
The report is based on a film 'The Fault in Our Stars' which is romantic and based on a
dramatic love story of two people named Hazel and Augustus, both were suffering from cancer.
The report will cover analysis of narratives, themes and concepts in order to understand
importance of self-development in an individual life.
MAIN BODY
Analysis of narratives, themes and concepts to the understandings of self-development
This film 'The Fault in Our Stars' is an American romantic tragedy, based on the novel of
John Green published in 2012. The film star cast was Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, and Nat
Wolff with Laura Dern, Sam Trammell and Willem Dafoe in supporting roles.
In this film, Hazel Grace Lancaster was a teenager and had terminal thyroid cancer that
got spread to her lungs. Her mother Frannie believed that she is depressed and urged her to
attend a cancer patient support group that might help her to make friends who were going in the
same phase. Hazel met Augustus Waters who was a charming teenager and lost his leg to bone
cancer. Hazel and Augustus became good friends and they bonded over their hobbies (Harter,
2015). They promised themselves to keep in touch via texts and they grew closer. They agreed to
read each other's favourite books in which Hazel recommended an Imperial Affliction which was
a novel about cancer stricken girl named Anna which was parallel to her own situation.
With this regard, Augustus gave Counter Insurgence. After finishing the book, Augustus
expressed frustration with its ending. The author of the book, Peter Van Houten retreated to
Amsterdam following the novel publications and has not heard since then. After some time,
Augustus told Hazel that he had found assistant of Van Houten. Hazel and wrote to him to find
about this novel ending. Van replied that he was willing to answer all questions in person. Hazel
wanted to go to Amsterdam to meet him but her mother refused this idea due to her medical
conditions and financial issues. Hazel and Augustus went on a picnic date and began to fell in
love. Augustus also surprised Hazel with tickets to Amsterdam.
In Amsterdam, during a meal Augustus confessed his love towards Hazel. They went to
Van house and shocked to find that he was an alcoholic person. They spent the night together
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and had their first sex. After that, Augustus told Hazel about his critical situation of cancer which
was returned and spread throughout his body. They were talking to each other about life
unfairness.
When they returned, Augustus health was very serious and he was close to death. He
invited Hazel and his bling best friend Isaac to deliver eulogies. Hazel told him about her short
time period with Augustus and thanked to give her some beautiful memories. Augustus died after
eight days and Hazel was willing to find Van as she wanted to know about the ending of novel
which they attended as a spoiled trip. Van finally, told her that the novel was based on her
daughter Anna who died at young age due to leukaemia (Gabriel, 2014). Van gave a piece of
paper to Hazel which she crumpled and asked him to leave. Augustus had asked Van to write a
eulogy for Hazel which she realised after talking with Isaac. The paper was about his acceptance
of death and love for her. She lied on her back in her lawn and smiled while looking up the stars
as she remembered Augustus and says: 'Okay'.
Coming of Age: The film, 'The Fault in Our Stars' contains all the traditional element of a
coming of an age narrative. The experience of two teenagers Augustus and Hazel suffering from
cancer in which they both fall in love with each other and try to live happily as normal people.
The novel follows their passage from childhood to adulthood (Kirkman, Hartsock and Torke,
2018).
They discovered the adult world and experienced both the experiences, with sexualities
and bodies in new and different ways effectively. They rebel against terms that came to them in
terms of family, society, religions and rules. However, they are dying from cancer but it changes
the way in which the film approaches their passage into childhood. They both live their life with
happiness and also approaches towards how to live a happy life with such kind of disease.
However, they are not able to overcome but at least they can live a happy life together.
Life and death: Hazel and Augustus both in the film confronted the issue of dying on daily
basis. The life they were living was supported by a group mantra “living our best lives today”,
every relationship, action or experience is a shadow of moralities. The theme unfolds with the
relationship of Hazel with Augustus which is life and death. They make their first bond through a
dialogue about death and oblivion. They both are sensitive when it comes to their own
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moralities. They were facing a lot of questions which most of the people do not have to face in
their lives but it was a chance for them to define what is life and what is death. For an example,
how can you find meaning of death and life? How does death of one affects others? How can you
leave behind legacy? Is there something really exists in life? A normal people is not able to
experience answers of these questions but in this film, they both have answered for such
questions. Augustus is afraid of his meaningless life that nobody will remember him after his
death.
Family: It can be said that from the film 'The Fault in Our Stars' that cancer not only affects the
person who is suffering but also creates an impact on his or her family members and friends. The
parents of patient suffer from various stages of fear. In the film, reaction of Hazel's parents
shows how difficult it is to live with their child in such manner as they attempt everything to
save their child (Esarey and Wu, 2014). They live normal in front of their children and try to
pretend everything will be okay. Sometimes, they become protective and overbearing. In that
case, Hazel and Augustus both find their parents annoying but realise that they just love them
and care too much. Hazel also feels guilty the way her condition affects her parents, especially
her mother. She also feels guilty about her parent's financial situation that she can nothing do
about it.
These concepts, themes and narrative of 'The Fault in Our Stars' stated that understanding
self-development is a key from which a person can easily overcome with different issues which
he or she is facing in life. The cancer patient support group helps both Augustus and Hazel to
understand how beautiful life is. In addition to this, self-development is a very important thing
that helps an individual to become self-independent towards daily life events. This will help to
bring confidence in an individual to live life better and in positive manner. One of the most
important things in an individual life is to understand ways from which he or she can make life
better to live it positively and with happiness (Pfeiffer, 2015). It helps to increase self-awareness
to identify strengths and weaknesses and to understand own behaviour to relate it with others
effectively.
When we are born, we have biological traits and genetic make-up. However, in order to
understand who, we are as humans, and it is necessary to make social interactions. The film
helps us to bring confidence in our lives that if a person with disability can live his or her life in
such kind of manner then why don't us. One of the most dramatic and romantic films tells a true
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story of person with various kinds of disability. Everyone has a life and it is depended on him to
make it better or worse, no matter what situation is. Every situation has its own solution, it is up
to an individual on how to deal with it (Hollingsworth, Ye and Avouac, 2017). The film is an
inspiration for adults who have some kind of disease, which troubles them in their daily life
routine that it will help them find happiness within their own lives, no matter where it comes
from.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above report that 'The Fault in Our Stars' is an American
romantic tragedy film in which Hazel Grace Lancaster who is a teenager has terminal thyroid
cancer and Augustus Waters who lost his leg to bone cancer. The film contains all the traditional
element of coming of an age narrative. In addition to this, the experience of two teenagers
suffering from cancer in which they both fall in love with each other and try to live happy as
normal people. These concepts, themes and narrative of 'The Fault in Our Stars' described that
understanding of self-development is a key from which a person can easily overcome with
different issues which he or she is facing in life.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Harter, S., 2015. Self‐processes and developmental psychopathology. Developmental
Psychopathology: Volume One: Theory and Method, pp.370-418.
Gabriel, F., 2014. Sexting, selfies and self-harm: Young people, social media and the
performance of self-development. Media International Australia 151(1) pp.104-112.
Kirkman, A.O., Hartsock, J.A. and Torke, A.M., 2018. How The Fault in Our Stars illuminates
four themes of the Adolescent End of Life Narrative? Medical humanities, pp. medhum-
2017.
Esarey, J. and Wu, A., 2014. The fault in our stars: Measuring and correcting significance bias
in Political Science. Working paper. Copy at jee3. web. rice. edu/significancebias. pdf.
Pfeiffer, L., 2015. Reading Log of" The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green.
Hollingsworth, J., Ye, L. and Avouac, J.P., 2017. Dynamically triggered slip on a splay fault in
the Mw 7.8, 2016 Kaikoura (New Zealand) earthquake. Geophysical Research
Letters 44(8) pp.3517-3525.
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