Elissa Down's film, “The Black Balloon”, shows that judgment and prejudice due to preconceived circumstances can have a negative and harmful effect on normal family life. Throughout the film, Down portrays the impact that prejudice can have on a family. This is evidenced by the hostile neighborhood in which the Mullisons live. Furthermore, the negative implications that come with judging one's family are highlighted, which are predominantly shown by Thomas' fight with his brother Charlie. Down's film highlights the fragility of acceptance. Jackie is the guidance Thomas needs to accept his brother. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Thomas suffers from social exclusion and prejudice, due to his family dynamics. This has a large effect on Thomas's social acceptance and happiness in his new community. When they enter their new community, the Mullisons are confronted with the prejudices of their neighbors. They begin to have a biased view of the Mullisons, when they refer to Charlie as a "spastic". The neighbors constantly keep their distance and show their lack of acceptance towards the Mullisons due to their differences. Thomas experiences cruelty from his peers at his school. Down uses center shots to show Thomas' alienation. This is shown when there is a central shot of his schoolmates and Thomas is standing alone and wearing a different uniform. This highlights the harshness that his peers do not accept. The Black Balloon depicts the challenge Thomas continually faces due to rejection based on preconceived family dynamics due to his brother's autism. Throughout “The Black Balloon” Down highlights the negative implications that come with judging your family. Thomas constantly has to struggle due to the lack of hugging Charlie. It is prevalent in the film that Thomas wants “nothing” to do with Charlie and for most of the film wishes he was “not (his) brother”. Because of Thomas' negative attitude towards Charlie, this leads him to be unhappy and bring his problems upon himself. These issues are the pooping and birthday fight scenes. Thomas tries to hide the fact that Charlie is his brother. Which represents the outside world, Thomas' social life and the struggle to keep Charlie out of it. The Mullisons agree that "it was difficult at first," but once they accepted Charlie they were happier and it was easier to deal with Charlie. But Thomas' father tells him "if you don't take care of your own, you're weak." This has a strong impact on the audience, where Down shows Thomas' understanding and awareness that it is unfair not to want Charlie. Down also portrays the positive effects that come from accepting one's family. This is shown when Thomas shares a bathroom with Charlie and they smile and laugh. However, the struggle to accept Charlie was dangerous and required the help of people close to Thomas. In "The Black Balloon", Down shows that the path to acceptance is difficult and unfair, but sometimes the ability to accept your flaws and that those around you need the help of others. This theme is predominantly shown when Thomas begins to hug Charlie with Jackie's help. At first, Thomas attempts to hide Charlie away from his schoolmates, pushing him into his room hoping they can't see Thomas' real home life. However, his peers inevitably discover that Thomas has an “autistic” brother. Down uses Jackie's character as a guide to teach Thomas that Charlie “not.