Brothers,
In a well-crafted essay of at least three paragraphs, please give your reaction to Into the Wild, basing your essay off of the following three questions:
1. First of all, what was your overall reaction to the film? Explain in detail. Also, feel free to interpret various images or themes as presented in the film.
2. What are three lessons you learned by watching the film? Explain in detail.
3. To what biblical theme that we've discussed in class does the film relate? How is Alexander Supertramp's journey a spiritual one? Be detailed in your response. If a specific Old Testament biblical passage comes to mind, please reference the passage by indicating the book, the chapter, and the verse numbers.
This assignment is Due: Tuesday, May 6 by class time. It must be typed or submitted to the blog. If you type, please use 12 pt. Georgia font.
Your heading should be as follows:
Your Name
Bro. Rob Peach FSC
REL 011.Section Number (2, 3, or 9)
6 May 2008
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9 comments:
R. Scott
Bro. Rob Peach FSC
REL 011.9
6 May 2008
To me, Into The Wild was enjoyable but at sometimes it was confusing. Overall, I think it is a good movie.
An important theme I recognized is that happiness is only real when it's shared. This theme is important to the effect of the movie because it is realized towards the ending.
A few lessons I learned from this film are to share happiness, don't do somthing you will regret, and that possesions and not the most important thing in life. Sharing happiness means to involve others in good things. To not do things you will regret is to think before acting. In the movie, not forgiving others was later regretted. Remembering that worldly possessions are not the most important things in life means to see the beauty in nature. In the movie, the scene with the sun moving out from behind the clouds is a great example of natures beauty.
This movie relates to the biblical theme of suffering for spiritual enlightenment. The journey taken in the movie is spiritul because it involves times of hardship and then times of happiness. These times always lead to a better understanding of oneself and others.
Trey Cole
Bro. Rob Peach FSC
REL 011.Section Number (9)
6 May 2008
1.My overall reaction to the movie in to the wild was that it was interesting and somewhat hard to understand. The most important theme of the movie is forgiveness. He finally realized the key to happiness was forgiveness at the end of the movie.
2.The three lesson that I have learned from the movie are forgiveness- to forgive other even thou they did wrong. Listing to what others have to say. And not runaways from my problems just confront them.
3.It involves in finding themselves even thou there going thru hard times. That’s what Alexander did he took the time to find himself even thou he could have handled it in a different way. It’s a lesson learned for people going thru struggles in there lives.
To me into the wild is a kind of movie that you had to pay attention to through out the movie because of how it changes scenes, and you had to watch it from the beginning to know where his destination was, but over all it was a good movie. Two important themes that I recognized where love and happiness. At the end of the movie i noticed both of those themes when Alexander Supertramp was about to die and when he was having flash backs, when he thought of what would of happened if he would of returned home.
Three lessons that i learned by watch this movie was 1.don't do something that you will regret meaning always think before you do 2.listen to what people have to tel you which means you don't have to do what they tell you but don't be ignorant and the 3rd is to forgive which means even if they don't ask for forgiveness try to forgive them.
The movie relates to a biblical theme of knowing who you are and what is happening around you. When ever you seem you are lost or you don't know what you are doing just stop and think and tell your self what you should be doing.
Pat Ebbert
Bro. Rob Peach FSC
REL 011.9
6 May 2008
I enjoyed this film, as it addressed some very meaningful questions about life and our relationships with the people around us. Alexander's story is one that we all sometimes wish we could experience, simply escaping the pressures of society and learning something greater about ourselves. The movie had a well constructed plot, the story really leading us to identify with Alexander and his struggles.
This film taught many lessons throughout its length. The first one that stands out in my mind is that happiness is only real when shared, as this was written in Alexander's final moments, when he experienced his most in-depth periods of insight. We cannot truly appreciate life unless we have other people there to appreciate it with us. By trying to enjoy everything ourselves, this by definition makes us selfish, which no one should strive to be. The next lesson I think was important is that things should be called by their right names. Language is a major part of the advancement of humans over the millennia, and names give a meaning to the thing it is describing. Removing or changing a name is changing its identity, something that could lead to disaster. The final lesson I took from this film wasn't a specific quote from the movie, but it still stuck with me. It is that there is always time for forgiveness and change. Just as Alexander convinces Ron to return to society and get his life back in order before it is too late, Alexander also has a sense of forgiveness at the last moment of his life. He finally understands the importance of family and can only pray that they realize this too.
This is a biblical theme in that it relates to going off on a retreat for some period of time, realizing a great truth, and then returning to society. Alexander's journey is spiritual because he is searching for a deeper meaning in life that will show him how to better understand people's reasoning for doing things. Many biblical passages tell the story of a man leaving for a while and then returning, as wisdom from experience is a central theme found in the Bible. Countless prophets and Biblical leaders discovered God's great message in their own minds by going off into exile for a length of time and returning to discuss their findings. Alexander attempts to do the very same thing, the only difference is, tragically, he is not able to return to his family in the end. Despite this, he does touch many people along the way, leaving them with important memories and teaching that hopefully, they too will be able to continue to pass on through the generations.
Brandon Perrotte
Bro. Rob Peach FSC
REL 011.Section Number (9)
6 May 2008
1. I felt that the film gave an illustrative description of the difficulties of life and the disagreements that we have to come to reality with and deal with. Watching the movie in flashback gave better detail to the pain that Alexander Supertramp was going through. It also showed the struggle for knowledge and understanding. A common theme that I saw throughout the movie was the realization that not all of his assumptions about society are true just because they destroyed his parents realtionship.
2. In the film I learned that Happiness is only real when shared. I also learned that happiness can only be achieved through forgiveness and understanding. The final lesson that i took from the film is that we should not judge anything or anyone with preconcieved notions or stereotypes. In this way we only distance ourselves from knowledge and the truth instead of exploring it. I also believe that another theme is that we get the most happiness out of relationships with others.
3. I feel that the biblical theme that we have discussed in class has been that of suffering and humility. Alexander Supertramp embarks on his journey alone. He is wrestling with his inner self. He is trying to find truth in lies. He suffers the dangers and thrills of nature and the loss of relationships and therefore happiness. He grapples with his inner self like Jacob does with the angel in the book of Genesis. He is like the suffering servant who never waivers in helping others yet still suffers because he is unable to realize truth and help himself.
Ryan Meder
Bro. Robert Peach, FSC
Rel 011.9
5/6/08
I thought Into the Wild was a pretty good movie. I thought it was amazing how McCandless could travel cross-country after losing his car and burning his money and make it all the way to Alaska, where he survived off the harsh land for over six months. I think his determination and spirit are to be admired. One of the themes of the movie was finding one’s self-identity. McCandless does this through his experiences of suffering and independence on his journey.
Some of the lessons I learned from the film are that happiness is only real when it is shared, facing problems in life, and the importance of forgiveness. McCandless realizes through his empty loneliness and helplessness that he need to share his life experiences with others in order to be happy. Also, if he had tried to fix what he believed was wrong with society instead of blaming it on others and running away from it, he never would have meet his painful demise Alaska. The importance of forgiveness is shown when Christopher’s only regret is not being able to forgive and be forgiven by his parents before he dies.
There are two major biblical themes presented in Into the Wild. The first is that one must suffer to learn and experience truth. The other is the act of leaving from one’s home and returning with a new sense of spirit. Both of these themes are present in the Babylonian exile. The Jews are taken away from Jerusalem, and while exiled, reconcile with God and prepare for their return to Jerusalem. The Jews are transformed through learning about themselves and God, as Christopher is in the movie. If he would have survived, he would have returned to society with a heightened sense of truth and spirituality, similar to how the Jews returned to Jerusalem.
Matthew Kizior
Bro. Rob Peach, FSC
Rel 011.9
May 6, 2008
Overall, I felt the film was very well directed, and also put together well. The deep meaning that it conveyed about who we all are and where we truly belong was both heart-wrenching and helped us all examine our own souls. It helped us really question if we are who we think we are and if we cannot become something greater than we are at the moment. One of the symbols that was the most important was the symbol of the journey. The journey represented transition from boy to man, closed to open, and from semi-faith to enlightenment.
Three lessons I learned from the movie are:
1. We our own person, our identity is not shaped by others
2. That to know who we are , we have to rid ourselves of all the things that cloud our mind
3. To truly to be able to love we must forgive
The first lesson comes from Alexander Supertramp giving himself a new identity to try to separate himself from his family and the mistakes his parents had made. He does this to try to get past all that troubled him and all that he thought was wrong with the world. In the end, he finds that what he saw was not the world, but a realtionship gone wrong. He finds that all that he thought was wrong was really not him.
The second lesson came from Alex leaving behind all that he thought stopped him from becoming who he was, a.k.a Taking out the trash. In the end, this does help him, finding that what people attach to really does make them forget who they are and their true potential, and that helps him with his inner problems.
The third lesson comes before Alex dies, after he finds out who he really is, and what the world really is. He learns of forgiveness. He sees that his parents were people clouded by wrong judgment who never meant to hurt him. he learns to love again.
One biblical theme that comes up is really the theme of the movie that I mentioned before: the journey. The journey helps Alex find who he is, just how the journey helped Moses and the jews find God, and how Jesus took a journey to find what he needed most. All of these journeys, even the journey of Supertramp, are spirituals ones, finding out the innermost workings of our souls and the supernatural and natural beyond ourselves. It is a journey into the mystic, the foreboding, and the enlightening.
1 Kings Chapter 19
I felt that the film was a success but at sometimes confusing to understand. It was so interesting, I told other kids about it who you would never expect to watch it. A theme that i noticed through out the film was that finding out who you are comes from transformation. This was shown by the Alexander Supertramp when he went from civilization to the wild then back to civilization.
The three lessons i learned from this film is happiness is only real when shared, always forgive others even if they may have upset you or done something you didn't like, and always trust in God when going through trails/problems. Who knows, God may have put you in these situations to test your faith. How can God know that you are faithful when you run from every situation.
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