Into the wild

[prisbatty]

I just watched the film
sharing the title of this post.

I don’t think any film has ever left me feeling
quite so
raw.

(Synopsis below…)

I am angry.
I am sad.

Was this kid a fierce individualist who was truly living a higher and esoteric existence?
or
Was he a spoiled arrogant brat who didn’t know to cherish what he had around him (even though some of it was pretty fucked up) playing the worst game of passive aggression possible?

Those of you who REALLY know me may be sort of aware of why this film hits so deeply home.

I find myself at the end of it wanting to cut the straps off my boys booster seat… just the containing ones… the ones I now newly view as a symbol of hypocrisy.   Yes, I could remove them easily and neatly as they were designed to be for laundering sake… but the cut straps might make the point.

ANYWAY,

Wikipedia the story here if you so choose
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_McCandless
 

That entry ends with the note “Others have speculated that McCandless' risk-taking and overconfident behavior which led to his death stemmed from an untreated mental illness, such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.”

I will NOT spend tonight surfing the web.  I will clean up the house and prepare to face the dentists’ chair tomorrow  (for the first time in over five years)

FILM SYNOPSIS

A young man leaves his middle class existence in pursuit of freedom from relationships and obligation. Giving up his home, family, all possessions but the few he carried on his back and donating all his savings to charity Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) embarks on a journey throughout America. His eventual aim is to travel into Alaska, into the wild, to spend time with nature, with 'real' existence, away from the trappings of the modern world. In the 20 months leading up to his Great Alaskan Adventure his travels lead him on a path of self-discovery, to examine and appreciate the world around him and to reflect on and heal from his troubled childhood and parents' sordid and abusive relationship. When he reaches Alaska he finds he has been insufficiently prepared for the hardships to come. Despite making it through the winter his plan is ill-judged and prepares to return home in spring, only to find the stream he crossed in the snow has become an impassable raging torrent and that he is trapped. With no means of sustaining himself adequately he eventually starves to death in his so sought after isolation. Throughout his epic journey the people he meets both influence and are influenced by the person he is and bring him to the eventual and tragic realization that "Happiness is only real when shared".

 

"Happiness is only real when shared".

"Happiness is only real when shared".

"Happiness is only real when shared".

Is it?

I guess it depends who one is sharing it with.