‘Stand By Me’: A Collective Memory

How Gordie’s childhood journey, echoes through the ages

Credit: Sony

Warning: Contains spoilers

When I first watched Stand By Me at age 9, I quickly found myself completely immersed in this wonderful journey of childhood camaraderie. After receiving the DVD as a birthday present from my parents, we sat down that evening to watch it. I immediately noticed, each character in one way or another, resembled all the friends that surrounded me.

When I rewatched it ten years later, I felt nostalgic about all of those treasured memories, those strange and beautiful moments we all shared. After having just dropped out of university, in a very vulnerable place, one evening I happened across Stand By Me on a random movie channel. Naturally, I kept it on and before I knew it, had reach the ending. Looking back, it was the innocent days of simplicity that I missed the most, where even the smallest task, was the greatest adventure.

As I sit here now, at the age of 27, I feel like I finally understand it. Similar to Gordie, those childhood adventures now long behind me, each friend in their own place, with their own commitments and new relationships. By now very familiar with the real world grind, and the long road of self acceptance. This was the viewing that had such a profound impact on me.

The story at its core is very simple, and you likely know it all already. Four friends go on an adventure to find the corpse of a local boy, rumoured to be out in the nearby woodland. In their innocence, they believe that this discovery will grant them fortune and fame. A simple two-day trek being portrayed as some epic journey spanning across the continent.

Along the way, we are given information about each of the kids; Gordie, Chris, Vern and Teddy. It becomes increasingly clear to us that they have all incurred some form of trauma that they are trying to process. Even our central character Gordie, is trying to comprehend the death of his older brother Denny, whilst also trying to accept that his father resents him for it.

It’s therefore surprising in a way, that as an adult, Gordie looks back on his early years with such fondness, but then again, that’s the power of nostalgia. What he is so reminiscent of, is the adventure he and his friends took together. The little moments where they chat around a bonfire, or speculate about their future and tell dirty jokes whilst insulting each other. These are the moments Gordie remembers so fondly, and knows he will never experience again.

Personally, the movie transforms every single time I watch it. Primarily because you’re watching it from a different place and under completely different circumstances, which makes it endlessly watchable, and forever changing.

The wildly varying fates of the characters can be related to by any viewer of any age; Gordie, in the end is happy and achieves his dream of becoming a writer, Vern does local mechanic work, Teddy is rejected from joining the army and is not heard from again and Chris achieves his dream of becoming a lawyer before his untimely death. Their fates highlight the unpredictability that adult life can bring, and the immense value of early friendships.

These aren’t just memories that belong to the main characters, they belong to us all. They are our own cherished memories, a reminder of who we were and what we have become. This is why Stand By Me is still so powerful and has stood the test of time. It demonstrates the fleeting nature of childhood friendships, whilst also highlighting the true beauty of them, and how they shape us into who we are today. For the boys, the discovery of the body is the end of their innocence, and the end of their journey is the end of their friendship group.

The affinity that I have for this film and the memories it conjures up, cannot be fully explained with words. Many that I have spoken to regarding Stand By Me have provided a similar response. It is in the best possible terms, a movie that appeals to anyone and everyone, because the experiences that it demonstrates, are so universal and integral to anyone who was once a child. Perhaps this is why my parents bought the 9 year old me this DVD, as it tapped into their own experiences of being a kid, and accurately represented the adventures they once had many years ago.

The end of the movie leaves us feeling flawed beyond words, moved and somewhat empty, as Gordie cannot go back in time, and neither can we. We are simply left with the memories of what once was, as the next generation takes our place, as they embark on their own journey.

I often wonder whether in 20 years time, I would have another vastly different perspective on this movie. Whether it would force me to look back on my early years with a great fondness, or make me reevaluate how I had lived my life after those formative years. I hope to reach that day regardless.

Deep down, I feel we all want to be sat around that bonfire again.

“I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?” — Stand by Me (1986), screenplay by Raynold Gideon and Bruce A Evans, adapted from ‘The Body’ by Stephen King.