Into The Wild

[AUMM]

just saw this last night....thought it was great....

anyone else enjoy it?

 

[Anubis]

ive not heard of it

 

[Special K]

Yeah, I thought it was good. I'm not sure whether to admire McCandless for what he did or consider him an idiot.

 

[buck]

I liked it.:thumbsup:

 

[Codewiz]

He was a moron. I was pissed I wasted my time watching it after seeing what he did.

 

[Arkaign]

I loved that film. Had a thread on it, thought you resurrected it somehow lol.

 

[darkxshade]

I enjoyed it.

 

[Gooberlx2]

I loved the movie. Sure, after doing research, McCandless does turn out to be something of an idiot...but the message is still there. It's a very romantic notion to kinda get back to a more primitive self-sustainable lifestyle.

 

[ThePresence]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
I loved the movie. Sure, after doing research, McCandless does turn out to be something of an idiot...but the message is still there. It's a very romantic notion to kinda get back to a more primitive self-sustainable lifestyle.

Yes, it's romantic until you realize that you're not really as primitive as you think you are.

 

[ThePresence]

From Wiki:

Alaskan Park Ranger Peter Christian wrote: ?I am exposed continually to what I will call the ?McCandless Phenomenon.? People, nearly always young men, come to Alaska to challenge themselves against an unforgiving wilderness landscape where convenience of access and possibility of rescue are practically nonexistent [?] When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn?t even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate. First off, he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he [had] had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament. Essentially, Chris McCandless committed suicide.?

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: ThePresence

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
I loved the movie. Sure, after doing research, McCandless does turn out to be something of an idiot...but the message is still there. It's a very romantic notion to kinda get back to a more primitive self-sustainable lifestyle.

Yes, it's romantic until you realize that you're not really as primitive as you think you are.

Yeah.

I look more to Dick Proenneke for inspiration when it comes to living in the wild...and even then he had some help.

That's what makes McCandless a foolhardy idiot. He didn't research or properly prepare for what he was trying to do. IIRC, there was a bridge something like a few miles down the river where he could have crossed...

 

[ThePresence]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2

Originally posted by: ThePresence

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
I loved the movie. Sure, after doing research, McCandless does turn out to be something of an idiot...but the message is still there. It's a very romantic notion to kinda get back to a more primitive self-sustainable lifestyle.

Yes, it's romantic until you realize that you're not really as primitive as you think you are.

Yeah.

I look more to Rick Proenecke (sp?) for inspiration when it comes to living in the wild...and even then he had some help.

That's what makes McCandless a foolhardy idiot. He didn't research or properly prepare for what he was trying to do. IIRC, there was a bridge something like a few miles down the river where he could have crossed...

1/4 of a mile away.

 

[irishScott]

I had to read the book back in High School. Haven't seen the movie. The guy is an absolute moron.

Hey! I want to get close to nature! So I'll walk into the Alaskan wilderness during the winter with a light coat and a .22 rifle with some snack food!

Quite honestly he deserved a Darwin.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

i enjoyed the movie

loses most of its luster after applying the real true story though

guy went to same HS as my GF, tho not at the same time

 

[buck]

Originally posted by: ThePresence
From Wiki:

Alaskan Park Ranger Peter Christian wrote: ?I am exposed continually to what I will call the ?McCandless Phenomenon.? People, nearly always young men, come to Alaska to challenge themselves against an unforgiving wilderness landscape where convenience of access and possibility of rescue are practically nonexistent [?] When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn?t even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate. First off, he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he [had] had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament. Essentially, Chris McCandless committed suicide.?

Interesting.

 

[IGBT]

Originally posted by: buck

Originally posted by: ThePresence
From Wiki:

Alaskan Park Ranger Peter Christian wrote: ?I am exposed continually to what I will call the ?McCandless Phenomenon.? People, nearly always young men, come to Alaska to challenge themselves against an unforgiving wilderness landscape where convenience of access and possibility of rescue are practically nonexistent [?] When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn?t even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate. First off, he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he [had] had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament. Essentially, Chris McCandless committed suicide.?

Interesting.

..sounds like Grizzly Man.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: IGBT

Originally posted by: buck

Originally posted by: ThePresence
From Wiki:

Alaskan Park Ranger Peter Christian wrote: ?I am exposed continually to what I will call the ?McCandless Phenomenon.? People, nearly always young men, come to Alaska to challenge themselves against an unforgiving wilderness landscape where convenience of access and possibility of rescue are practically nonexistent [?] When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn?t even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate. First off, he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he [had] had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament. Essentially, Chris McCandless committed suicide.?

Interesting.

..sounds like Grizzly Man.

grizzly man was much better and much more honest.

into the wild was approved by his family... so its basically a sanitized version of that guys life.

 

[jjones]

He was an idiot. All the movie did was romanticize his colossal stupidity.

 

[edro]

I am a Pearl Jam fan, so of course, when Eddie Vedder's soundtrack album came out, I had to get the movie on Netflix.

I loved it too.

(He should have hooked up with the chick in the trailer park though...)

 

[Journer]

i admire the kid for having balls to do what he did, but he was fucking stupid. he could have done more to save him self had he prepared

 

[Feneant2]

I thought it was retarded. The guy was unhappy with mommy and daddy so ran from all his problems. Great motivator for all the youngsters out there- Don't face your problems, just run away as far as you can.

 

[soulcougher73]

I enjoyed the movie. Makes you think.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Feneant2
I thought it was retarded. The guy was unhappy with mommy and daddy so ran from all his problems. Great motivator for all the youngsters out there- Don't face your problems, just run away as far as you can.

Wow, way to simultaneously miss all nuance and detail, while also making wildly terrible interpretations of supposed morals (motivator?).

My take : Chris McCandless was a gifted student, very bright, but socially awkward. He almost certainly had some mental health issues that seemed to fuel his general dissatisfaction with his life. He had issues with his childhood, but that didn't seem to be the motivator for him to leave. He had larger issues with society in general, and being tossed into a mold where everyone is basically the same as everyone else (in his eyes), as well as attachment to property/wealth (the things you own, end up owning you).

His character also grew over the course of the film, and if you'll notice, at the beginning he was very much into getting far away from everything, later in the film he had actually decided that 'happiness is only real when shared' (possibly paraphrasing there). So in a sense, that realization somewhat invalidated the origins of his journey, and simultaneously serves as a cautionary tale towards anyone who would carelessly follow in his footsteps.

In terms of our modern society values, Chris McCandless was a stubborn, tragic figure who lacked (or willfully ignored) basic common sense when making decisions. As an experiment in personal philosophy and adventure, he is something else entirely. He was pretty universally liked by the people who met him on his journey, and seemed to bear no ill will towards anyone.

If any kid watches this, and takes a simplistic message out of it that it's cool to run away into the wilderness to die, then they deserve to be that stupid. This film was anything but simplistic.

 

[skulkingghost]

I loved the movie, and have a lot of respect for the Chris. He did something different, everyone saying he was retarded forgets that he lived for 2 years off the land before this, backpacking across the country and fending for himself. It's not like he went straight to Alaska and died.

I hiked 28 miles in Alaska 3 weeks ago. It can be real tough out there, and a simple rain storm can turn deadly. What happened to him was sad, but he certainly wasn't stupid, Alaskan life outdoors is though, I am surprised he made it that long.

 

[KeithTalent]

I liked this movie. I was a little irritated with the protagonist at times, but I think that may have been the actors fault.

KT