Analysis of Big Throughout the film Big (1988), director Penny Marshall uses different manners of characterization, film and story structure, and symbolism to convey the movies themes and ideas. The film opens up in the everyday life of a 13-year-old boy, Josh Baskin (David Moscow, Tom Hanks), who’s going through the typical motions and struggles that a 13-year-old would be expected to go through. He still acts like a child but doesn’t want to be treated like one by his parents, he can’t catch the attention of the girl he likes, and he’s just not “big” enough to go on rides or be taken seriously. Feeling too small and insignificant, Josh makes a wish through a fortunetelling machine and wakes up the next day as a fully grown man. Now, he must figure out how to act grown enough to make his way through the scary, unfamiliar world of adulthood if he wants to be able to be a child again, …show more content…
He desperately wants to be “big” and treated like an adult, but when his wish gives him more than he bargained for he is pummeled with one issue after another, which all begin to take their toll on him, especially at first. Probably one of the most significant and powerful scenes in the movie is when Josh has to spend his first night in the city by himself, curled up and crying as the sound of gunshots and raised voices are making their ways through the walls. Not only is he now faced with the task of making it through this terrifying experience and finding a way to reverse the wish and go back to being a kid, but internally Josh must go through all these struggles as well as determining whether it’s worth staying an adult or better to return to his old life. And this scene reminds the viewers that he is still, in fact, a child, and that this is a truly terrifying experience for a kid to have to go through.