Benny And Joon Character Analysis

Mobina Shams

“Benjamin, don’t underestimate the mentally ill”: The perceptions caused by others in Joon’s life. Self-perception is an element of behavior, and can be described as imperfect self-knowledge. Our self-image is created by society, its expectations, and the influence of others around us. Through the years, society has created conjectures that we need to meet in order to be accepted by others. In the movie Benny and Joon, Joon is a mentally ill woman who struggles to fit in. Society has not only ruined the way people look at each other, but it has ruined the way we look at ourselves. It has created a world where Joon feels like an accessory in her brother’s life. She feels as if she is unlike anyone else and doesn’t belong in this

Benny and Joon are the only constants in each other’s lives. After the death of their parents, they were left alone to build a life for themselves. Benny has worked day and night to stabilize their small family of two, “I’m her brother and her only family. And we’ve done fine the two of us for 12 years.” Joon was very young when they lost their parents. Benny has been a fatherly figure to her ever since, but he seems to still treat her as an adolescent. Joon is in no condition to be making life altering choices; although, she should be allowed to make small choices in order to feel normal. Benny doesn’t even trust Joon enough to leave her alone at home, “She is going to be alone every day … I’m not leaving her alone at night too.” The lack of trust that Benny has in Joon causes her to not trust herself either. She views herself as an unwanted human being that everyone seems to run away from. The only people Joon has known in her life are her brother and all the housekeepers he has hired to take care of her. The housekeepers too are driven away from her “unmanageable” behavior. Through all the ups and downs in Benny and Joon’s lives, they love each other tremendously. They can’t live their lives without each other. Ironically, Benny is much more dependent on Joon than the other way around, “You need me to be sick.” This proves that Joon is very much aware of her surroundings and is smarter than she leads on. Soon, someone steps into Benny and Joon’s life and changes their lives, for the