The Wrong Student is an excellent lesson on the consequences of plagiarism.
One of the best things a film can do is teach us a lesson. Lessons about family, love, or honesty. In particular, Academic Honesty. Being a student, sometimes a lesson is the last thing I want, but in film, the lessons we learn can often be much more entertaining and therefore sometimes more valuable because we are more willing to listen.
The short film “The Wrong Student” by Danny, Ishaan and John is an excellent example of a film with a lesson built in. The film covers many valuable lessons or themes: Plagiarism is wrong; Revenge is not the answer; and your record can follow you and make life difficult for you later on.
“The Wrong Student” is set in a high school. Under pressure, teenage Jimmy (Danny) plagiarises his English essay from a friend. He was caught, and he thought his troubles with plagiarism were over; he’d sworn to himself never to plagiarise again. A year later, however, it is discovered that his essay and another student’s essay have significant similarities, and his record comes back to haunt him when he is accused by the principal (Ishaan) of repeating his actions.
Confused and not knowing what to do, Jimmy discusses his punishment with his friend, Liam (John), and discovers that Liam knows a suspicious amount about the plagiarised essay. After some pressure from Jimmy, Liam admits that he was the one who plagiarised. Upon discovering this, Jimmy pounces on Liam wanting revenge. The principal pulled them apart and took them to his office. In the end, both boys get expelled. Liam for plagiarising his essay, and Jimmy for attacking another student.
The choice of the directors to exaggerate the actions of Jimmy and the principal was, in my opinion, critical to getting the message across to the audience. The way the principal yelled at Jimmy and shoved the desk across the room and Jimmy attacking Liam were shocking and serious, but also not without humor. The over-exaggeration of these scenes made them nearly unbelievable, but still possible, making the audience laugh in disbelief as a way to relieve tension in the film. Speaking of disbelief, casting Ishaan as the principal was, in my opinion, a stroke of genius on the part of the group. Ishaan, as most of us in the school know him, is generally a pretty quiet person, so seeing him shouting at Jimmy made the scene especially shocking to the audience.
The use of camera angles was very well done in this film. A scene where this really sticks out in my mind is when Jimmy is sitting in the principal’s office and the camera looks down on his nervous face from above. This shot, looking down on Jimmy, makes Jimmy seem small and weak, reflecting the way he likely feels on the inside as he faces the principal. They use a montage, different actions of Jimmy’s showing his nervousness while waiting for the principal to see him.
At the beginning of the film, the tone is upbeat and as the camera pans around the classroom… until the focus comes to rest on the essay, revealing the plagiarism that occurred. In this scene, the use of sound effects and music comes into importance. The upbeat music stops as we see the essay, and in comes a suspenseful sound, immediately changing the tone of the film and making us feel nervous.
All in all, I’m glad to have seen this film. All of the films made by the ninth grade covered how plagiarism is wrong, but this is the only one that showed the consequences of plagiarising: It makes you seem like a less trustworthy person in the future.
Check out Danny, Ishaan and John’s blogs and watch their film here!
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