The reactions this movie generates are funny
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alaninho — 9 years ago(May 20, 2016 03:17 AM)
Negative Heismean. The only part that feels foreign to me is his selfishness and abandonment of all others. Is he a hero because he rejects the constraints of society? No. Anybody can do that. I think Americans are more shocked by his actions than any other nationality because of how constraining their society is.
In some ways it is a good film. I don't see the main character as anything but self-centred though. -
jhill804 — 9 years ago(May 21, 2016 07:38 PM)
I think Americans are more shocked by his actions than any other nationality because of how constraining their society is
And I think you need to think harder.
This is an American movie, made by Americans about America.
The U.S. alone is made up of over 300 million people. It is by far the most diverse nation in the world. How you can so grossly stereotype/misrepresent people in this way is rather pathetic, yet quite common among those who know nothing of which they speak. I don't know why I'm still surprised.
Sure, more Americans dislike this movie than any other country. But more Americans like this movie than any other country as well.
I didn't care for this film because I didn't care for the main character. He was a tiresome meatsack. It had nothing to do with my supposedly "constraining society." I've traveled to seventeen countries, I've lived for over a year in five of them, I've spent much time camping, fishing, growing/preserving fruits/vegetables, raising/hunting/butchering/preserving animals for food, etc, etc.
This guy merely gyrates around for two hours to the humdrum sounds of an Eddie Vedder soundtrack. Chris had a passion. He didn't know what it was. He wanted to do something. He didn't know how. He ventured out "into the wild." And it was remarkably tame. He wasn't an inspiration. He was a bum. Nothing more.
Personally, the only thing I was "shocked" by was how high the IMDB score was. -
KennethWasHere — 9 years ago(July 25, 2016 02:07 PM)
But its ideas of purposeful isolation, the abandonment of society, of rejecting career, family, etc. really offend people in a huge way.
But that's it - it's less that these ideas are offensive on their own terms (except for maybe the callousness towards ones own family, which might be perfectly dickish on its own merits), than that it's offensive to hear this philosophy delivered with such monumental smugness by a naive, privileged little twerp. It's that he thought his alienation made him special in some way. It's that he dealt with his disillusionment like an idiot and inflicted grief on his family in the process.
The final offense, much more importantly, is the cult following that St. Chris McCandless has inspired, those who won't hear any criticism of the martyr and Savior, who are probably going to harm their families and themselves (not to mention the disturbance that their naivety will probably inflict on wildlife and ecosystems) when they seek to emulate St. Chris.
That son of a bitch! Don't get me wrong, he's a fine writer. -
Ichawiduma — 9 years ago(January 29, 2017 09:26 AM)
it's offensive to hear this philosophy delivered with such monumental smugness by a naive, privileged little twerp. It's that he thought his alienation made him special in some way.
This pretty much hits the nail on the head. He's not the first or only person who has experienced a sense of alienation, and it's incredibly annoying to see him portrayed as some sort of revolutionary free-spirit whose stupidity was noble because he it was in pursuit of being a non-conformist. Until he set out to Alaska and got himself killed, I don't have a problem with what he did (except for not informing his parents, that was a horrible thing to do) because it was his life and he was free to do what he pleased with it as long as he was willing to accept the consequences of his actions. But if you separate yourself from society, it means that you are on own and that help isn't likely to come if you need it, so you better make sure you have the knowledge and the means to take care of yourself before you set out. He did not, and he died because of it. He wasn't an idiot because he died; he was an idiot because he set out without the proper means to survive and he died a needless death. It's not necessarily what he did that annoys people, it's seeing him idolized for his actions that ultimately led to his completely unnecessary and avoidable death that annoys people. -
chell-glados — 9 years ago(October 02, 2016 01:42 PM)
I can "vaguely" understand his alienation. But at the same time it's daft.
I mean the vast majority of people are unhappy in their jobs and only live for the weekend. We don't all go sprinting off into a forest to hide. It's just childish.
I feel sad for him but I will never truly understand how or why he would do something like that, especially to his family. -
Metatron_Fallen — 9 years ago(November 17, 2016 01:57 PM)
One thing that has always struck me about this story is imagine: he just barely survives his experience but retains all the wisdom he gained from realizing he needed to share his life with others.
The whole story would be different and I believe people's reactions to his actions would be different.
Imagine he comes back from that experience in Alaska, almost having starved to death, and is able to pass on some of his wisdom to someone who is on the verge of disconnecting from life and helps them. Imagine he is able to put his experiences to positive use somehow.
I understand why he did the things he did. My only gripe with him is for not being better prepared for his big adventure. But people do stupid stuff quite often that results in them dying. Better, perhaps, he died like this than driving a car off a road while drunk. -
fede_4488 — 9 years ago(January 23, 2017 05:48 AM)
There's nothing childish about
not
wanting the daily routine in a big city and live an unhappy life.
So, according to you, everyone is now in the woods hiding from the world?
No, because not everyone wants to do what Chris did even if they are miserable in their office jobs. It actually takes guts
Dude I think they might just be avoiding you xD
Speaking of being childish -
TwoThousandOneMark — 9 years ago(January 29, 2017 11:43 AM)
His family life seemed near imprisonment, enough that he finally literally walked away from it.
He wasn't going to stay in Alaska past the summer, as he didn't trek up north until summer either. Though he probably would've settled into a minimalist life somewhere on the Pacific coast, probably a small town or something. Maybe even living like Holbrook's character, except enjoying it- making stuff for ppl & for revenue to live off.
my essential 50
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls056413299/