For the film portion of my Aesthetics Project, I chose to feature Into the Wild. Into the Wild was originally a book written by Jon Krakauer, but turned into a film by Sean Penn in 2007. Into the Wild is a true story about a man named Christopher McCandless who was born into a wealthy suburban family. He graduates from Emory University as a top student and athlete, but feels empty. He feels as though he is being formed by societal norms and shallow people, and therefore decides to head to Denali National Park in Alaska to spend a few months there. His body was found several months later in an abandoned bus, along with a journal he kept and some of his belongings. Into the Wild recreates the experiences he had written about before he died, and tries to answer the question his family had been asking long before he left: why did he want to do this? Why did he burn his money, give away his possessions, and choose to live in a freezing wilderness all alone? I believe Into The Wild touches upon the relationship between man and nature in a sad, but accurate way. I was originally going to pick out a specific scene from the movie, but I think the motif of the movie as a whole more accurately describes why I find it so beautiful in a strange, heart-breaking, yet realistic way.
I could write pages about what Krakauer and Penn were attempting to communicate. Although this blog is supposed to talk to about the aesthetics of the film, the book is also a key aspect to me (because it’s based off of the book obviously) therefore I will be mentioning a little of both. McCandless didn’t belong in the world he was living in—everybody around him knew that. He didn’t wear shoes to work, hardly showered, and couldn’t seem to make himself happy. McCandless looked up to Jack London in the highest sense, referring to him as “king.” Although slightly bias and unfair, I feel as though it is important to note that Krakauer mentions in his book “McCandless conveniently overlooked the fact that London himself had spent just a single winter in the North and that he’d died by his own hand in his California estate at the age of forty, a fatuous drunk…” (Krakauer 44). The man that Mccandleuss looked to be was not even who he thought. When he killed a moose, he doesn’t know what to do with the meat and it soils. This, along with many other scenes in the film and novel, tell me that McCandless was not ready for Alaska, the most unforgiving and wild place in the United States. McCandless was unprepared for what he stepped into, and although his heart was in the right place, the ignorance and ill-preparation he walked in with cost him his life. I do not mean to discredit McCandless at all, because I believe the way he chose to live his life was heroic. However, I believe his story was documented because it speaks to the relationship between man and nature. McCandless thought he could survive off of what animals do, live the way a wolf does, and walk out a few months later unharmed. As sad as it is, I believe it is important for people to respect nature, but not overstep the boundary to try and become it.
I believe the way that Krakauer and Penn told McCandless’ story is beautiful. Although it’s sad, I always think about what McCandless would think after seeing it. The movie portrays McCandless slightly differently than the movie, but I wish I could ask him if it offends him, or if he feels like it captures the mistakes he made. I wonder if McCandless would shake his head at the way he went by his trip, or stick by it. I find this work beautiful because I think it holds a deeper meaning than many people see on the first time. It’s important for people to remember what ‘wild’ really means before stepping into it. I have added a beautiful scene that speaks to the way McCandless felt before his trip, and before Alaska began to consume him. Pure bliss.
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