'Perks of Being a Wallflower' Trailer: That Rare Moment When Awkward is 'Cool'

At the 2012 MTV Movie Awards, cast members Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller presented the trailer of Perks of Being A Wallflower, the latest awkward teenage romantic comedy. 

The movie is a film adaptation of a novel of the same name, directed by the author, Stephen Chbosky. The touching, epistolary novel follows the life of protagonist Charlie and his freshman year in high school. 

While the book deals with themes of drugs, sexual abuse, and sexuality, the trailer suggests that the movie will be lighter, yet still rich with the amusing awkwardness and introversion of teenage years.

But how much is too much awkwardness? Is this that awkward moment when you realize the media is trying to make awkwardness the new “cool”? Or are they simply poking fun at social ineptitude?

With the trend of awkward humor in the past few years, it’s difficult to know. Napoleon Dynamite was relatable and made audiences chuckle in a wow-this-is-awkward-I’m-embarrassed-for-you way. But, eight years later, shows like Awkward and New Girl  have entered the gray area between adorable-awkward and cliché-awkward. 

Yes, everyone has those moments of social ineptitude, and they can be funny. But are we overdoing it? Will “Perks of Being a Wallflower” be the straw that awkwardly broke the camel’s back?

Maybe this is all a plan to turn modern day teenagers into cripplingly awkward human beings who can only communicate through instant messaging, Facebook, and texting. Maybe awkward is becoming the norm. Or are movie and television producers actually trying to make us empathize with humanity?

We’ve seen awkward humor fail and succeed. The unrequited love, shyness, and discomfort in “Perks of Being a Wallflower” might be sweet and amusing, or an awkward debacle.