Question:
Describe at least one challenge faced by a character or individual in the text.
Explain how this challenge helped you to understand the character or individual, supporting your points with visual and / or oral language features.
Essay:
Understanding an individual is easy once you know the challenge they have faced. This is displayed through the 2002 film ‘Catch Me if You Can’ by Steven Spielburg. The character that is put through the challenge of trying to overcome his parents divorce is Frank Abagnale Jr. Frank is the protagonist in this film by which he is faced by the challenge where he has to overcome his parents divorce. Which led him to run away, forge checks in exchange for huge bodies of money, all for the reason to make his family the happy family he once had before everything was taken from them. This links to a wider understanding that society is too quick to judge and how challenges people face contributes to how they act. The film itself uses an abundant variety of film techniques that includes camera angles/shots/movement, sound, focus and lighting.
The challenge that Frank Abagnale had to face was his parents divorce. Early on in the film, the IRS debt that Frank Abagnale Sr. had, caused his entire family to move which ultimately led to the divorce between the parents. When the situation was being explained to Frank Jr., his face was easily read. This was shown through a close up and zooming into Frank’s face. The close up of Frank’s face allows us to focus on his expression and reaction to the news about his parents divorce. His expression shows how scared he is and clueless upon the situation. The use of zoom into Frank’s face shows how his reaction to his parents divorce is a significant moment. Allowing us to really think about how the situation is badly affecting him. This challenge that Frank has faced in this scene has led him to independently go out into the world at a young age. Striving to survive by himself.
Frank’s parents having a divorce led to his worldwide known scandal. After he fled from his home due to the surprise of his parents divorce, it was up to Frank to survive alone in the real world at only 16. Frank started to forge checks in exchange for huge bodies of money. This was his main source of income and also how he started gaining thousands and thousands of money. Frank was able to afford the keys to a Cadillac by which he gifted it to his dad while they were in a restaurant. However Frank’s dad refused to take the gift as it would have been too suspicious to drive around while also still having his IRS debt. By the use of the over the shoulder shot, we could see Frank’s reaction to his dad’s answer. Frank’s expression showed the disappointment he had about how he had bought something too big for his dad without ever thinking about the consequences his dad may face if ever seen driving around in an expensive car.
Frank’s reason for being a worldwide con artist was just so he can mend back his family that was broken. This was shown through the scene where Frank met his dad in a bar to give him an invitation to his engagement party. Which then follows Frank’s ultimate plan of having his happy ideal family back again. Frank explained to his dad that “Everything they took from us, I’m gonna get it back”. This dialogue that Frank has said to his dad shows how his reason for forging cheques in exchange for money was just to “get it all back”. Which means that all his life of being a con artist was not just to earn piles of money but to gain back his family that he lost. This challenge contributed to his actions because the divorce led him to go out into the real world alone and get it all back starting at only 16. This links how wider society judges too early. In this case, society was only seeing the fact that Frank was committing a crime and not going deeper and trying to understand his situation.
Once you have seen Frank’s challenge, it is easier to understand his actions. This summarizes how the challenge of overcoming the divorce of Frank’s parents and the obstacles Frank went through, can help understand the reason for his actions of forging cheques and exchanging it all for money just for the reason to mend his family together again. All together, Steven Spielburg has given us a film that we are able to relate to. A film that captures the essence of how without the understanding of people’s actions, society gets too quick to judge.
