“IF YOU WANT SOMETHING IN LIFE REACH OUT AND GRAB IT.”
After having read Kerouac’s On the Road I think the best way to conclude our study is by watching a great movie by the director Sean Penn.( Mystic River 2003, Milk 2008, Dead Man Walking 1995). It took him 10 years to make this movie since he had read the novel & was fascinated by it.
The movie won the première film prize at Rome Cinema Festival in 2007 and it was plurinominated at the Golden Globe Awards where Eddie Vedder with the song” Guaranteed” won the Best Original Song – Motion Picture. The soundtrack is really unforgettable. I never get tired of listening to it!
The movie is based on the BOOK Into the Wild (1996), the biography of Christopher McCandless, (an American wanderer who adopted the name Alexander Supertramp and hiked into the Alaskan wilderness with little food and equipment, hoping to live a period of solitude. Almost four months later, he died of starvation near Denali National Park and Preserve) written by the American writer and mountaineer Jon Krakauer. The book is an expansion of “Death of an Innocent”, an article also by Jon Krakauer that appeared in the January 1993 issue of Outside.
PLOT: Chris McCandless (Emile Hirsh) is a smart college graduate but one with altruistic dreams. Chris decides instead of following the routine, he’d rather give his life savings to charity (in beneficenza), burn all of his identification, and hitchhike (fare l’autostop) across America trying to get to Alaska desiring to escape society and get back to nature & wilderness. He hitchhikes, hops trains, and hangs out with hippies. He also works briefly with a farmer and is befriended by a widowed leather worker. He enjoys his liberating freedom, but his parents worry that they don’t know where he is and are crushed (heartbroken) by his disappearance. Chris makes it to Alaska, where he delves further into nature. He hikes out to a far and remote campsite and discovers an abandoned bus. He decides to set up life there and manages to survive there for a few months living off the land- living his version of the American Dream. But as his supplies dwindle (decrease) he becomes trapped by the land he so valiantly sought out leading to tragedy.
Download & print the PDF INTO THE WILD
Here’s the video of the song Society by Eddie Vedder.
Here’s the trailer of the movie:
I hope this last movie will make you “think” rather than “judge”, ‘cause it’s a story about men’s endless SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS and I’d like to end with a quotation that contains the very essence of this quest: “I’m going to paraphrase Thoreau here… rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness… GIVE ME THE TRUTH”. • HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED ( La felicità esiste solo se condivisa)
Recensione in Italiano particolarmente significativa di Massimo Rota dalla rivista di cinema I Duellanti
La storia – La vera storia di Chris McCandless il quale, dopo la laurea, abbandona auto, soldi e famiglia per mettersi in viaggio e raggiungere in solitaria l’Alaska. Perché nell’aprile del 1992 Chris McCandless, un ragazzo di buona famiglia della costa orientale degli Stati Uniti, raggiunse l’Alaska in autostop e affrontò a piedi e da solo le terre selvagge a nord del monte McKinley, finendo malissimo sedici settimane dopo? A questa domanda ha cercato di dare una risposta Jon Krakauer, prima con un articolo di novemila parole per la rivista Outside, poi con il libro Nelle terre estreme. Che ha fatto del ragazzo e della sua decisione di mollare identità, famiglia e civiltà per “entrare” nella natura, una leggenda per camminatori, un argomento di discussione fra alpinisti, un punto di riferimento per ecologisti arrabbiati… L’aura che si è creata intorno alla sua figura è dovuta soprattutto al fatto che lui dalla foresta non è più uscito e che vicino al suo corpo è stato ritrovato un diario. Commovente e lucida testimonianza della vita di un ventiquattrenne appassionato lettore di Thoreau, London e Tolstoj (del quale sottolineava passi come questo: «Volevo il movimento non un’esistenza quieta. Volevo l’emozione, il pericolo, la possibilità di sacrificare qualcosa al mio amore»). Su questa storia che pone in primo piano l’eterno fascino che suscita il selvaggio, l’inesplorato nell’immaginario americano, il rifiuto del sistema di vita che impone una società capitalistica, il desiderio della contemplazione e della purezza, Sean Penn ha girato Into the Wild dove risuona inesorabile e limpida la voce della natura, il canto viscerale del primitivo che è identico a quello che risucchiava il cane Buck in Il richiamo della foresta (in originale The Call of the Wild). Trentasei location per portare in scena un clamoroso rifiuto della psicologia sostituita dal ricorso al primordiale, perciò tutti i personaggi che si affannano a cercare le motivazioni del ragazzo non ottengono risposte. Qui c’è solo un urlo contro l’omologazione della società di massa che si fa istinto, per questo il tempo umano non ha più senso e Chris può permettersi due anni di vagabondaggi alla ricerca di un’esperienza pura e trascendentale, non vivendo mai lo strazio di un distacco. (…) Penn disegna un personaggio inafferrabile, prigioniero di un sogno impossibile: «Datemi la verità, invece che amore, denaro e fama» scriveva Thoreau in Walden, ovvero La vita nei boschi (uno dei libri ritrovati vicino alla sua salma). Imbizzarrito come il suo personaggio il regista, per tenere a bada l’incandescente materia, si serve di uno sguardo morbido e preciso: movimenti di macchina plastici sotto un cielo e in uno spazio incombenti contribuiscono all’intento mimetico e filosofico del racconto. A rendere chiaro il processo di Chris verso uno stato naturale e primitivo, in una sorta di palingenetico e indimenticabile congiungimento alla madre Terra.
ASSIGNMENT (after watching the movie): How would you relate this movie and book to Kerouak’s On the Road and the Beat Generation? Do they share any values or ideals, do they have anything in common and if yes what? Do you think this kind of attitude and social criticism may be applied also to our Italian contemporary society? Choose on of Mc Candless’s quotes you particularly like to discuss in class. (final oral testing 😉
See you
Yesterday I finally watched the film, and I think that it was a great and deep film. Obviously it has a lot of references to Kerouac and the beat generation. The protagonist, Alex/Chris wants to break up with all the rules of the society, and fed up also with his family, he wants to disappear going into the wild. So we have in common the desire of liberty, that is obtained with the method of travel. Another point in common, in my opinion, is the death in youth, caused by life lived at full speed (but it is different Alex from the beat generation because he had a wild life, not an out of control life).
Finally, I really liked two quotation: the first is “The fragility of crystal is not a weakness but a fineness”, and “That poor girl is about ready to vault herself onto a fence post” (it was awsome that these words were related to the person that is, for everybody, “Bella” of Twilight, I laughed a lot XD)
PS: I’m sorry if this comment has errors but I feel sick and so I’m not at 100%
I really enjoy watching the movie “into the wild”, because it makes me feel the thoughts and feeling of the protagonist, his happiness in meeting new people, but also his solitude and the message of rebellion against society and modern life.
It’s fascinating the experience that he did: living alone in the silence and peaceful atmosphere of nature, without money, without preconcieved ideas, finding something to eat and living with his own thoughts.
But I’m a bit irritated for the way he treated the people that he knew before going into the wild, including his parents. He changed his life in a day, without giving any kind of advise: he shocked the life of his family and maybe (in the movie aren’t mentioned) of his closest friend.
The story of Chris has a lot in common with the beat generation: of course the theme of the travel take part both of the movie and kerouac’s “on the road”; also living into the wild, far away from society and far away from the modern lifestyle.
At the moment in Italy our democracy and our laws aren’t respected in the parlament, by the same people who must manage our nation, by the same people who must control if we pay taxes or not. In this contest the reaction of Chris would be much more signiicant. How can we be proud of being italian ?
In my opinion there are few things the protagonist of “Into the Wild” and the writers of the Beat Generation, in particular Kerouac, share. In fact in both of them we can find a strong criticism against the American society because of its insincerity and its false values, linked to consumerism.
Like Kerouac, Christopher needs then to escape from such a hated society, but not through alcohol and drugs but thanks to a journey he, before arriving in Alaska, had the opportunity to visit a lot of natural landscapes of his country.
The last thing in common between the Beet Generation and the protagonist of “Into the wild” is my idea about their behaviour: I found that their way to react to social problems, that is to escape from society, is pure selfishness. How can they make the situation better isolating themselves? They probably just think to themselves…!
In conclusion, I really liked the film, not because of its message, but because of the magnificent use of immages, showing beautiful landscapes I’d never seen before, and music, always adequate.
Into the Wild is one of the films that, beyond the fact that it may be a film that you can enjoy it or not, is a film that can’t leave you indifferent, but makes you want (even just for a moment) to drop everything and go!
In fact Kerouac and Christopher McCandless (Alex Supertrump) don’t want to conform to society, but they try to escape from it. The way they do it may be different because Christopher tries to find in nature what really makes man happy and free, so his rebellion wasn’t just an act against society, but it was also a way to know deeply himself.
On the other side Kerouac tried to escape from the rules imposed by society, but, unfortunately, by abusing drugs and alcohol. Certainly both are united by the fact that the journey was a key component in their lives, but if the Beat Generation hadn’t a precise destination, Christopher wanted to reach Alaska that for him symbolized the union with nature.
Unfortunately they both died very young, certainly for different reasons, but despite their young age, maybe they have achieved what represented for them freedom and happiness, while today there are many people in the world who are so far from that.
The quote “Happiness is only real when shared” impressed me a lot as it represents solidarity, brotherhood, but above all LOVE for everything and everyone. After all, nothing belongs to us because as we arrived in the world so we will go away from it, so we have to share everything, including happiness! 🙂
In my opinion the film was great, the imagines leave the breath, America offer some magic scene. In particular the Alaska landscape are amazing, “Into the Wild” can’t be more appropriate like title.
I think that the adventure that Chris made and the will to travel around America is a great experience but the way that he chosen to do this was a little bit selfish. I saw for the film the second time and the first I was concentrate only the Chris’s story and how much this had changed him in all his aspect, I was so sad at the end, he was ready to come back and I found so unjust that a guy like him, that by the film his portrait like a very kind and smart that also change the life of a lot of people, died in this way. But this time I think at the family, that isn’t the best ever, but the feeling who they felt these two years, I think that is like die. Lost in this way people who we love is terrible, if I’m in this situation I don’t know how I react.
The story was so sad and beautiful in same time, it’s difficult to say what is the feelings that this film gives to me, positive and negative in the same time. For the photo is obviously to see, I want go in all these place 😀
Personally I think “into the wild” has numerous references to the lifestyle of the Beat Generation. First of all the theme of travel, predominant topic of the whole movie and also in the famous book “on the road” by Kerouac, which is the only plausible solution, according to the beat generatione and “Supertram”, to the monotony of every day, the longing to put on a mask to deal with the society, all the falsehoods and lies behind which the people of our time live.
When it starts to undertake this journey, “Supertramp” abandons almost every material stuff (with exception of his backpack) and starts living in full contact with nature, giving up all the dogmas that society imposed, the same dogmas that even the beat generation refused.
I really enjoyed the movie, even though it was the third time that I saw it, because it is able to open your mind about how materialistic and superficial the mass is (mass interpreted as crowd). The individual taken separately has a whole story behind it, but if you put he in the context of mass will be lost in the multitude of people conformed, every man conformed with the other. Because of this there is the longing to escape, to be able to live without all this materiality and to realize that there’s more then it. Only the bravest people in the most desperate or fail to take this step.
Since I saw the trailer on the blog, I was curious of watching ‘Into the Wild’, especially because it’s based on a true story.
The protagonist, Chris McCandless, is not the typical rebellious young guy.
He really wants to escape from the oppression of his parents and from the conformism of the society and so he starts a travel all around America with an only objective, reach Alaska.
I was impressed from the fact that Chris was always ready to learn something new from the people who he met, but at the same time he wasn’t able to stop with them, even if he was become affectionate to them. His dream, every time, pushed him to reach his goal.
The thing that struck me most was the joy of Chris, when he looked at the astonishing landscapes: these are all around us, but we are so busy with our own life, that sometimes we even don’t notice them.
One of my big dreams, is to travel from cost to cost across the USA, because I always loved adventures and it can be also an occasion of knowing better myself. It’s difficult, in my opinion, staying alone if you don’t have a good relationship with yourself, but maybe I will discover what is real happiness, like Chris does when he says that:’Happiness only real when shared’, and he learns that only at the end of his story.
‘Into the Wilde’ has lots in common with Kerouac and the Beat Generation.
Behind their stories, there is a criticism of their contemporary society.
Both were tired of being forced from the rules and the rigid values of the society, so they decided to escape from reality in different ways.
Chris, by traveling alone, wants to discover a new way of life, admiring beautiful and different landscapes.
Kerouac, by traveling with his friend and without a destination, wants to escape from society and conformism, also by using drugs and alcohol.
The movie “Into the Wild” shows the tipical aspects of the Beat Generation: as the novel “On the road” by Jack Kerouac, the protagonist travel all over the country without money, far from the contemporary society, in order to see the true aspects of nature.
In both the movie and the novel, there is the same criticism against the contemporary society, which is chaotic and senseless, dominated by consumerism and fake ideals.
In the modern society things has not changed, also here in Italy: television and cinema are invaded by publicity and mass medias are promoting a horrific model of society based on a savage consumerism. People criticize this phenomenon but the reactions are quite different from the ’50 and nobody leave anything behind in order to go travelling around the country.
Nevertheless I really appreciated this movie especially because I found all the elements of the Beat Generation we studied in class. Personally I find fascinating the idea of travelling around my country in order to discover wonderful pieces of nature I could never see staying in the city. I would like to do this kind of trip in the future (maybe not so undercovered as McCandless) with a camera and a handful of money! XD
I felt really moved when Chris met Mr Franz and convinced him to climb the hill in order to see the wonderful view. My first thought after the end of the movie went to the old man: “What about Mr. Franz!? How will he take the new about Chris’ story?! Poor man, he wanted to adopt him…” 🙁
Anyway I really liked this movie and the Beat Generation in general and I hope I will have the opportunity to watch other movies about the same topic! 🙂
This film really absorbed me. I thought “This is my new favourite film”, above all for the first part. My legs, my back and my eyes were hurting but I kept still.
Chris did what most of us wuold like to try to do, but we haven’t got the courage.
Why should we leave our daily comforts and our affectionates? Well I think an experience like that can change you very deeply, can make you appreciate every single aspect of our life and our Earth, can make you really discover yourself. It’s something I surely have to do (in a more moderate way obviuosly).
But I try to put in Chris’ shoes. He wasn’t alone, he was persecuted by himself and he had to deal with that. I sometimes feel this scission, it’s rather scary.
Maybe this is the only way to learn how to cope with yourself, to accept yourself and make a strong point of it. If you want to survive psychologically in a similar context, you have to.
The reason why my favourite film is still ‘Ti va di ballare?’, instead of ‘Into the Wild’, is the aim of Chris’ experience that disappointed me. If I was him I wuold have lived that experience in view of a return, to share my enthusiasm with everyone.
But maybe this is what Chris means with his last words “Happiness is only real when shared”. We can try to dig inside of ourself for all the time we want, this could reveal us the truth, but we can recognize that it’s happiness only when there’s someone to share with (We’re ‘zoon politikon’, cit. Aristotele 😉 ).
P.S.: Very sad the thought that it’s the last comment… we’re getting adults and the school is ending forever (I always thought I would have never reached this point!)
I had never seen “Into the wild” before and I don’t even know the plot, so it was a novelty for me! While I was watching the movie I was fascinated specially from the plot, that it describes the great adventure of a young man and in my opinion it’s very captivating.
I think that the connection with “On the road” of Kerouak is immediate if you think that both Kerouak and Chris travelled around America but the bond would be deeper if you analyse the reasons that led Chris to leave his identity, his money and his family to live in a different way, away from the society; and Kerouak to write the novel that it reflects his journey. Both feel the need to do new experiences, and I think it’s great their bravery to change completely their life because they had the strength to create a life out of a corrupt society .
Also in our contemporary society, there is corruption, expecially in our country and sincerely I can’t see a real way out, so the solution to escape from our world, as Chris did, in my opinion isn’t negative but rather an act of rebellion; it’s an action that it doesn’t change the way of thinking of the society but it seems to me that also facing to the high number of suicides, that happen today, our society do nothing.
There are many things in common between the Beat Generation and Into the Wild, indeed the protagonist, Christopher McCandless, who took the name of Alexander Supertramp in the film, it is the perfect representation.
The young man left the family, money and well-being to find the truth of life, away from the society that is a source of established schemes and unhappiness.
The status of solitude allows him to know new worlds, new people and especially the wild nature, is emblematic the meeting of two wild in untouched nature: Chris and brown bear that look at each other and respect each other, and I have very impressed.
The beat generation, a consequence of a period of dissatisfaction of the American people is this: the rejection of the schemes and standards imposed by society to go searching of freedom.
Because only when you are free you can experiment certain experiences, the phrase “how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong, to measure yourself at least once, to find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions, facing the blind, deaf stone alone with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head.”, plays well this thought.
The attitude of the Beat Generation and the generation of hippies, can be compared in some way to the dissatisfaction of the Italian people for the particular situation of crisis, the Italian people looking for his “truth” as meaning that wants more transparency and more honesty by all the citizens until you get to those who hold power. The way to express this discontent is not going to live in the wild, but protest against the old system through voting or through the abstention of the vote.
I liked very much the movie “Into the wild”. Sometimes, when I feel sad and I want to escape from the reality, I would do what the protagonist do in the movie. Get away from the ordinary life, live without the rules of the society. I appreciate the attitude of Christopher, his courage of react to a world that makes him feels like a prisoner. This kind of reaction is in common to the writers of the Beat Generation. In particular, we can find some similarity with Jack Kerouac’s book “On the road”: the theme of the journey and the need to escape from the contemporary society, typical features of the Beat Generation. I also totally agree with the statement “IF YOU WANT SOMETHING IN LIFE REACH OUT AND GRAB IT”: we have to fight to reach the goal of our life, and to reach it we have to want it. Another thing I really liked of the movie was the amazing landscapes. I love nature, especially mountains, and the views in the movie was spectacular. I hope to go in US in a near future.
I’ve really appreciated the natural views of “Into the wild” but the film made me reflect on the painful life that the family of Christopher lived while he was travelling: I found his “adventure” as an egoistic choice and a not-respectful action towards the parents and the sister.
In a way I can be on the same wavelength with Chris, because the thrill of living alone, out of the rules that society imposed and trying to catch Peace, Happiness and Truth, is really exciting but how can I conciliate it with my family? I think that we can follow Chris’s lifestyle only if our close relatives accept our projects and ideas or if we are alone in the world, so nobody would cry on our coffin, otherwise we can’t live as Chris lived because it isn’t respectful towards the people that gave us Life.
With this criticism I’m referring also to the Beatniks: I’ll accept their voyages and experiences only if they have talked with their families, otherwise I won’t appreciate them. In fact Kerouac and his friends decided to live their life as Chris did: without any contacts to the capitalistic world, finding the deep sense of their existence and travelling through the US for the only pleasure of adventure.
In my opinion it’s really difficult to apply this lifestyle, now in Italy, because it’s rather impossible to live without a house and without money, now nobody will put up stranger people in his home as in the ‘60s or ‘70s and because the majority of the Italians are focusing their energies trying to resolve the deep economic problems of their country. So, who follows Kerouac lifestyle must be open-minded and in a good economic situation, otherwise he’ll think on his own problems, with his family, avoiding spending time travelling and researching the Truth: we are a pragmatic society.
I appreciate the second quotation: “I read somewhere … how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong … but to feel strong”. It’s a great statement because it’s true, at work and in relationships: you win only if you feel strong, in this way you’ll work hard, with more energy, and you’ll be more satisfied of your life.
I really appreciated “Into the wild”, it’s one of the best movie that I’ve ever seen. It’s a mixture of different and opposite feelings like joy, happiness, nostalgia, melancholy but also sadness and scary. I really love the character of the protagonist, Christopher. He’s a young guy who have decide to leaving all, his family, his city for living free without any influence of the society; I admire him for his particular bravery and tenacity. His project is in order with the criticism to the modern world, dominated by consumerism. Through capitalistic system people tend to buy and surround themselves with material goods, that in reality they don’t need them.
We can find a similarity with the book of Jack Kerouac, “On the road”, which talks about a journey, without a destination, of some guys of the beat generation. It symbolize an evasion from society and a way to trying to find an alternative life, characterised by an absolutely freeness.
In “Into the wild” the protagonist would like find himself, escaping in the nature, admiring and discovering the richness of the natural world.
The end of the movie evokes in me some reflections. Certainly the death of Christopher is the demonstration of the dangers and risks of the nature, in particular for human. Furthermore I see the death of him as the impossibility of a return and a reintegration in the society. I think about the contemporary situation, where people tend to be homologated and to follow some models that consumerist system offers to us, through for example the television and mass media. People who are different and don’t follow this conventions, are seen in a negative way by the rest of society and a lot of time they are discriminated by it.
The quote “Happiness is only real when shared” have hit me; it expresses the solitude that Christopher feels at the of his life. He realizes that cooperation and sharing with others are essential for human.
Both Jack Kerouac and Christopher McCandless expressed their criticism of the American society they were surrounded by in the ‘50s and in the ‘80s respectively. Kerouac decided to overcome all the limits imposed by society and thus lived in dirty flats, became an alcoholic and got addicted to drugs. McCandless decided instead to reject conventions seeking loneliness in a far and unpopulated area in Alaska. Both of them died too young because of these conditions they considered indispensable in their quest for joy.
I believe that criticism is fruitful and sometimes necessary especially in countries like ours in which the major part of a people is unsatisfied with governments and decisions taken by authorities in general. Nonetheless, it is worth being critical only if you can listen to other points of view which differ from yours and only if this attitude can lead to a positive effect. The tragic stories of men who become addicted to alcohol and drugs or die of starvation alone, far from society, undoubtedly make people think about the reasons why everyone is guilty for spoiling society or depriving its engine of some powerful potential fuel.
These are extreme reactions which can’t but make other people emotionally involved but, in their protest, Kerouac and McCandless made their decisions, which I obviously disapprove of, as though society couldn’t be changed but just run away from. I don’t believe in such a pessimistic interpretation of the world and thus hope that everybody will, one day, commit himself to playing an active role in society in order to turn it into a more tolerant society, maybe a utopian one.
After having studied the movement of the Beat Generation, I can say that it has a lot in common with this great movie, which I had already seen when I was in class prima. It was very interesting to re-watch it now that I am another age, so that I can make some different reflections, that depend also on my changed sensitivity. I think that the great sense of freedom and of escaping from rigid social impositions that the movie evokes, very well represent the condition that the beatniks were looking for. Another aspect that the two have in common is the rebellious attitude of their protagonists: both Chris and the beatniks want to break the rules and follow a transgressive path, which lead them even to excesses. We can consider as example the abuse of drugs and alcohol for writers of the Beat Generation and, on the other hand, the obsession that Chris has towards Alaska, which in the end will come home to roost against him.
We can also notice that both the cases show a very deep relationship with arts: the beatniks light up their works with the passionate sound of jazz music, instead Chris is fascinated by great authors as Tolstoj, London or Thoreau. Finally the most important element that the two tendencies share is the adventurous travel on the road across America, which make them come in touch with new people, new experiences and new landscapes.
Every time I watch this movie, the first reaction I have is wondering to let everything and leave to an unknown land as Chris did, in order to feel free from all the influences I am immerse in and to discover my real soul. But then I always wake up from this dream and my fearful attitude brings me back to the earth again! 🙂
I finally believe that this feeling of annoyance and unsuitableness is very common between young people, not depending on the country. That’s why I think this attitude could be applied even in our Italian society, especially during this period of crisis, lack of values and corruption.
Although I had already seen “Into the wild”once while I was in Australia, I really liked it even this time. The story is very significant given that the protagonist is a boy who was about my age, and so in a sense I can reflect myself with his ideas and dreams. At this age it is normal to have some problems, but frankly I would never have such courage to leave everything and escape from my family and friends. The images in the film are stunning and the story is very moving . Moreover it is very sorrowful the fact that at the end Christopher has failed to reach his ultimate goal marking in a sense a kind of defeat. His attitude is very similar to that of the poets of the Beat Generation in many areas. Both were fed up with the society in which they lived and most important, were eager for new and more exciting adventures. They were constantly looking for something that would take them to be truly happy. They rejected all forms of materialism and capitalism; Christopher connected with this aspect infact before leaving for his long journey devolved everything to charity. Another point in common between them is that they both loved move from one place to another by hitchhiking. Christopher had a great willingness of mind in what he did and his gesture is hard to understand straight away without reactions but, without a doubt deserves respect. In the nature he entered in contact with animals finally felt free and step by step he found his inner balance that had led him to rediscover himself as well. We young people in recent years we have everything, we do not lack anything, but many times, even though we possess everything we not feel perfectly happy and fulfilled, and there is always something missing in us. The attitude of Christopher then in my personal opinion can also be extended to our contemporary society. His, was a form of complaint against a society which did not share its values anymore. We young people have the right to rebel, not necessarily in this way, only raising our voice we can be truly heard. The problem of young people is also this one, we are constantly filled by gifts and things of every kind and type, but sometimes what we really need is the fact of being heard by others. Christopher run away from his family because with them was no longer able to have any type of dialogue and relationship, he felt as he was living in a sort of prison. This movie is really well done and the most amazing and powerful sentence that I carry with me is the following: happiness only real when shared. This phrase sums up some aspects that I have already discussed earlier. The happiness has to be shared with others at any time, part of our happiness in certain circumstances is able to help those who feel worse than us. Only staying and living in harmony with others we are finally able to manage and capture the beauty of life and to be fully happy.
The movie “Into the wild” may have elements in common with the Italian company present. The restlessness among young people is one of the issues is still present in our society, and often the kids do not feel understood and react in different ways. The relationship that Alex has with his parents is due to the present day; often hear on television of some guy who ran away from home after an argument or to draw attention to itself since it is overlooked. This film has some points in common with Kerouac and the Beat Generation. Both the work of Kerouac and in the film, there is the theme of the journey that leads to the discovery of new things. With the Beat Generation have in common the fact that they are both the protagonist and the film, react to something you do not agree and believe wrong. The Beat Generation reacts against the capitalist system of the period, Alex however does not accept what he offers his family and decides to go in search of happiness according to his hearing.
The film I liked it, very beautiful are the places and landscapes in which it was shot.
“Into the wild” is vary instructive and engaging film: a sort of documentary about a possible, perhaps viable, alternative lifestyle.
With J. Kerouac’s book “ On the road” it presents some aspects in common, one for all is the theme of travel(trip). Another and, in my opinion, more fundamental aspect, even if equally closely connect with the first, is the theme of escape, the desire to break with daily, chaotic and modern society, to live freedom in an own secluded world. But the feeling of evasion, of break with the standardizes and selfish contemporary society, leads the protagonist of “Into the wild” and that of “On the road” to two different solutions: In “On the road” the feeling of evasion is reflects in resorting to the use of drugs and alcohol substances that, remaining in the urban context, allow to escape with the mind, zoning out the rest of the modern world. While in “Into the wild” the protagonist manifests his need to escape, to break with moral conventions, going out the urban framework, taking refuge in a wild and isolated world, symbol of purity and freedom.
I think we can find a link between the movie “Into the wild” and the book by Jack Kerouac “On the Road”. First of all, they both speak about a trip to get away from everyday life and from certain behaviors. As the poets and novelists of the Beat Generation made use of psycho-active substances in order to free their minds from prejudice rational, so Christopher McCandless dives into the irrational nature searching for the truth, where there are mechanical laws but nature is also a insidious and dangerous machine that does not warrant a second chance. In nature, however, it is possible to find yourself, an almost stoic attitude of introspection. “Vindica te tibi,” Seneca said: turn away from material goods and vices and pursue the path of “negotium.”
“Negotium” we are losing even to this day. Many people try to cheat in order to live better, sacrificing less. We must learn to be more humble and learn to judge ourself before judge someone else.