An
Analysis of a Film
“Gifted Hands”
By
Thomas Carter
- Setting
Setting
of Place : The John Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, Detroit,
Psychiatric Hospital,
Aristotele Epicteus Library,
Yale University
Setting of Time :
1961-1987
A Socio-cultural Setting : A modern life. The film tells the
story of a
successful neurosurgeon. Modern techniques of
operation are applied by using modern health
equipment and tools.
- Character and
Characterization
Main Character :
Dr.
Ben Carson: He is a well-known neurosurgeon who
has been successful in conducting operation to his patents. He likes classical music. He is smart. He is
an orphan. However, did not have good achievement when he was in the elementary
school. He was high-tempered boy. Yet he showed a high achievement when he was
in the Senior High School and in the University. He is the main character as
the whole film tells the life of Ben Carson. It tells his story when he was a
boy up to he becomes a well-known doctor.
Supporting Character :
Sonya
Carson: She is Ben’s mother. She is a tough mother. She
struggles for her two sons. She is good in religion and she teaches her sons to
be faith to God.
Candy
Carson: She is Ben’s girl friend and later on becomes
Ben’s wife. She is smart. She helps Ben when they were in Yale University.
Curtis:
He is Ben’s older brother.
Peter
and Augusta Rausch: They are German parents of babies
of
twins
conjoined at the head who asked Ben to have their babies
operated
safely.
There
are still many others supporting characters in this film, such as
the director and the doctors the nurses of the
John Hopkins
Hospital,
the journalists, as well as Ben’s school mates etc.
- Plot
Exposition :The story began in 1987 when Dr. Ben
Carson had
to
operate babies of twins conjoined at the head.
Complication:
The problem started when Ben Carson is in an anxiety whether he
has to conduct the operation to the twins with
all the risks or not.
The he searches for the references to
convince himself of what he
is going to do.
Crisis :The crisis happened when Ben conducts his operation to
the twins
of
conjoined head. The operation which took place for hours by
stopping the work of the babies’ hearts makes
Ben and the parents
of the twins are in a very hopeless
condition, in much anxiety.
Falling Action:
The operation finally succeeds. The twins can be separated and
both are safe.
Resolusion : Ben are congratulated by the director
of the hospital and his
colleagues. His mother and wife see and
welcome as well as
congratulate him. Then many journalists are
waiting for Ben to
have press conference.
This film applies the close plot in which the story finally closes at
the success of the main character. Everything
finally lasts in a
happy ending.
However, the film also applies the flashback where after the
exposition it tells the past life of the
main character. Finally it goes
back to the main story.
The middle of the film tells:
Ø Ben
when he was in his elementary school. He was not good at the subjects.
Ø Then
it is told about Ben’s teen life and when he is in high school. Next, we know Ben when he was in Yale University.
Ø After
that the film tells about Ben when he applies for the job as a doctor at John
Hopkins Hospital. It is continued by Ben’s experience as a surgeon which is not
always interesting and exciting.
Ø Finally,
the film goes back to the early story on Ben’s duty to
operate
the babies of twins conjoined at the head. It is finally
known
that Ben’s operation is successful. Both of the babies are saved. Everyone is happy.
- Point of View:
The film applies the Omniscient
Point of View in which the
narrator/story teller
is outside of the work.
- Symbol : Love, sadness, struggle, hopelessness,
the trust in God, happiness
Ben’s family live in the love of each other,
even he loves his
girlfriend then (becomes) his wife much.
Ben’s mother is in deep sadness thinking
about him, so she
consults the psychiatric.
Ben struggled for his success to be a good
doctor/surgeon. He
undergoes many bad experiences in his
struggle.
Hopeless is undergone by the characters in
this film because of the
challenging works done by Ben.
As
his mother always teaches, Ben always trusts God. He has a
principle that there must be a miracle because
of God. Even, in a
very sad situation because he lost his babies
in his wife
pregnancy.
Finally, what Ben does makes everything ends
in very exciting
results. He succeeds as a neurosurgeon.
- Tone : Touching and deep trust in
God
What Ben underwent when he was in an
elementary school makes
us feel touch because Ben always felt
ashamed because of his
friends action. In addition, Ben’ success
when he was in the Senior
High School and in the university also make
us touched because
No one thinks that Ben can be as successful
as that.
7.
Theme : Family Life
This film specifically tells about the life
of a small
family
of Ben. It tells Ben’s life when he was a child up to he is a
very popular neurosurgeon. There are Ben’s
mother and brother as
well as Ben’s wife.
8.
Message : We should do better than others and
the best to achieve our goals
and we should
be in the best trust to God for He will gives his
miracle
to us.
- Comment : This story is written based on the
life story of Dr. Benjamin
“Bennie” Carson. This
is such a film that may inspire us to pursue
our ideal, our goal in the life. It also
teaches us to be in high trust
to God. God does not sleep or even die. We
have to do our best,
however, we have to realize that the final
decision is God’
privilege. It is a very good film to watch
so that we can realize that
we are nothing compares to God.
“Gifted
Hands” is used for the title of this film in order that
indicates the one (Carson), the owner of the
hands has a privilege
given naturally that whatever he does is
always done successfully,
of course because of God. God gives
something special to him.
- Summary/Synopsis
The
story tells us about the life a well-known neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson. The
film begins in 1987. Dr. Ben Carson is going to have a very risky operation.
He has patients of a couple, Peter and Augusta Rausch who
have twins conjoined at
the head. Ben realizes that operating such babies is at a
high risk because both will
be at risk. Usually one baby always dies in situations
like that. Ben agrees to do the
the operation. Yet, he needs to wait for four months so
he can have a plan to save
them both.
While Ben is looking into some of his books,
the film flashes back to the
year 1961 where an 11 old Ben Carsen starts his life as
an African American child
of a single parent home. He failed in his grades at
school. Ben has an older brother,
Curtis. At the same time Ben’s mother has to check
herself to a psychiatrist to
solve her mental problem. Ben’s mother sees that her
son’s success is hindered by
television, so she decides to schedule Ben’s time of
watching TV. Ben and his
brother shows great interest in watching quiz show. Ben’s
mother also asks them to
read books from the library.
Ben wants to be a doctor in the future. His
mother tells him that it can come
true if Ben does his best. It turns out that
Ben shows much development in his study. However, he begins to show bad temper.
Ben almost hits his mom with a hammer and almost kills his best friend as a
teenager. His friend was saved because the knife Ben used hit the buckle of his
belt. Having done foolish things, Ben realizes that he cannot do anything on
it. He hastens to his room and cries for begging God’s forgiveness.
Ben became the top student in the
eighth grade. Then he got the third rank in his high school, and he got
scholarship to a college. In his medical school, he meets his girlfriend,
Candy. One day when he was in a hard struggle for his study, she helps him and
finally Ben passes of A.
In 1976, Ben Carson starts his work
at John Hopkins Hospital after having test and interview. Here he experienced
an operation not under permission and supervision which may risk his medical
carrier to save man’s life. In 1985 he saves a girl’s life of an operation to
cure her seizures. It is then showed in the film that finally Candy get her
pregnancy of twins. Yet, she losses the babies from blooding. It is known when
they get up in the morning in bed. Ben’s mother then moves in with Ben’s
family.
The film, then, goes back to the
time when it began, in 1987. Finally Ben is sure about what to do in operating
the twins conjoined at the head. He can manage to do the operation
successfully. Then, God blesses the
babies and Ben. Both the babies are saved. Ben is successful.
