So what is Into the Wild's impact?

musicismylife78 · December 2007

Besides being a hell of a movie and one of the best if not the best film of the year, what has been its impact?

I posted a few months ago asking if the movie would inspire people to drop out and start traveling and doing what chris did. Other books have had that impact "On the Road" influenced an entire generation. And certainly krakauers book is powerful

but lets face it, our generation is visual. And if anything, more people saw the movie than read the book.

that said, has anyone head anything about people attempting to follow in chris's footsteps?

has it inspired people in the way Penn, Vedder and Krakauer had hoped?

Indian Summer · December 2007

I don't know anyone personally that has seen it....I haven't even seen it. Honestly if it hadn't been for Ed doing the soundtrack....I wouldn't want to see it. I think the overall impact is minimal to non-existent.

SoonForgotten2 · December 2007

Indian Summer wrote:

I don't know anyone personally that has seen it....I haven't even seen it. Honestly if it hadn't been for Ed doing the soundtrack....I wouldn't want to see it. I think the overall impact is minimal to non-existent.

Seconded.

IAmMyself · December 2007

I have seen the movie, and impact isn't a big enough word to encompass how I feel. Maybe it's my age, but the whole event movie + soundtrack has given meaning to a part of my life, that I felt I conflicted about.
To answer your question, I don't feel inspired to walk in his footsteps. That would almost be too much for me. What it has inspired me to do, is appreciate what I did, and that I'm alive-I lived through all the stupid crazy shit that I did. I got to see the world, I got to feel death, I got to regret almost losing life and now I get to do whatever the hell I want to! After living with the music for over a month and then seeing the movie, I thought that was it. I didn't think I could learn another thing about myself through their art and then I saw the Penn/Krakauer interview; when Sean speaks of how age makes you more cautious, which is a good and bad thing for a million reasons why. Well, that's it, that is it. That is why I follow Pearl Jam.
I was in my 1st year of college when Chris took his trip, I will never fault him, and I will never forget him. He has given me even more appreciation for life, and given me even more courage to make the changes I want to see in the world!

pjoasisrule · December 2007

Indian Summer wrote:

I don't know anyone personally that has seen it....I haven't even seen it. Honestly if it hadn't been for Ed doing the soundtrack....I wouldn't want to see it. I think the overall impact is minimal to non-existent.

You dont know what you are missing out on, best movie I have seen all year and one of the best movies I have seen in my life.

Indian Summer · December 2007

pjoasisrule wrote:

You dont know what you are missing out on, best movie I have seen all year and one of the best movies I have seen in my life.

I want to see it, but I'm not driving cross-country to watch a movie. DVD comes out in February I think.

2-feign-reluctance · August 2015

Travel, but do it smart and actually plan things out. McCandless is idolized, sometimes I think too much.

PJ_Soul · August 2015

I'm not a big fan of the movie itself - it's only okay IMO (besides the soundtrack, which is amazing).
I completely relate to the idea of going off the grid though. So I admire that the guy went for it. If you want to do something, do it. But as an avid camper (or I used to be, anyway), I don't admire that he went off the grid so ill-prepared. I think that was stupid. I am literally better prepared than he was for only 1 week in the wilderness. But oh well. I don't get why he's so idolized either - it's not like he's the first person to go off into the bush.... Most are actually more successful. I don't actually find it that strange or unusual for a person to do what he did, so my amazement for what he did isn't nearly as big as it seems to be for some others.

My biggest take away from it is what HE seemed to take-away from his doomed and lonely adventure: that happiness is best shared. Sometimes I do feel like I'd like to be away from society for an extended length of time just like he decided.... It is enlightening to know that he - someone who was much more interested in this prospect than I would ever be - ended up realizing that wasn't such a great idea after all.

Cliffy6745 · August 2015

I think the kid is a dipshit and an awful person for what he put his family through, especially his sister. I don't think he took away anything aside from the fact that his dumbass basically committed suicide and was completely alone with no one to help.

This line of thinking typically starts massive fights around here given a certain musician wrote the soundtrack and anything he likes, everyone else has to like.

WhatYouTaughtMe · August 2015

I spent most of an entire summer about 15 years ago at a remote lake living off the land. I was prepared and didn't have to deal with extreme weather. I also had a friend who came up every couple of weeks and would spend the weekend fishing and hiking the endless mountain trails. It wasn't exactly the same as someone always knew where I was, but it really was a life changing experience and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I boiled water to drink and ate a lot of fish (which I dislike), but it was a really liberating experience.

I agree with Cliffy on this one. It was a really shitty thing to put his family through.

Last-12-Exit · August 2015

So 2 feigns thing is to drum up old threads? Interesting shtick.

Cliffy6745 · August 2015

WhatYouTaughtMe said:
I spent most of an entire summer about 15 years ago at a remote lake living off the land. I was prepared and didn't have to deal with extreme weather. I also had a friend who came up every couple of weeks and would spend the weekend fishing and hiking the endless mountain trails. It wasn't exactly the same as someone always knew where I was, but it really was a life changing experience and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I boiled water to drink and ate a lot of fish (which I dislike), but it was a really liberating experience.

I agree with Cliffy on this one. It was a really shitty thing to put his family through.

That sounds like an awesome experience. Would love to do that. At this point though, don't think the wife would be down. As you said, very different than this numbskull.

hedonist · August 2015

IAmMyself said:
I have seen the movie, and impact isn't a big enough word to encompass how I feel. Maybe it's my age, but the whole event movie + soundtrack has given meaning to a part of my life, that I felt I conflicted about.

To answer your question, I don't feel inspired to walk in his footsteps. That would almost be too much for me. What it has inspired me to do, is appreciate what I did, and that I'm alive-I lived through all the stupid crazy shit that I did. I got to see the world, I got to feel death, I got to regret almost losing life and now I get to do whatever the hell I want to! After living with the music for over a month and then seeing the movie, I thought that was it. I didn't think I could learn another thing about myself through their art and then I saw the Penn/Krakauer interview; when Sean speaks of how age makes you more cautious, which is a good and bad thing for a million reasons why. Well, that's it, that is it. That is why I follow Pearl Jam.

I was in my 1st year of college when Chris took his trip, I will never fault him, and I will never forget him. He has given me even more appreciation for life, and given me even more courage to make the changes I want to see in the world!

Beautiful post, your perspective.

I haven't seen the film beyond the first 10 to 15 minutes; just couldn't get into it (find the concept interesting to ponder, but the bit I saw struck me as too..."something").

PJ_Soul · August 2015

Cliffy6745 said:
I think the kid is a dipshit and an awful person for what he put his family through, especially his sister. I don't think he took away anything aside from the fact that his dumbass basically committed suicide and was completely alone with no one to help.

This line of thinking typically starts massive fights around here given a certain musician wrote the soundtrack and anything he likes, everyone else has to like.

I was tempted to feel like this too.... I probably did at first, actually. So I understand where you're coming from (and never understood why this opinion pisses so many people off - it's not like any of them knew the guy). Though I don't think he was an "awful person". I think he was a lot more lost than most people seem to think though, which left him really open to making mistakes and being a bit selfish. But he did seem to kind of hate his parents, so I guess when a person hates someone you can't really blame him for having no contact with them. I agree he was at least a fool, considering how unprepared he was to live where he was going, but not because he went. It sounds like his parents were dipshits too, so I don't feel too bad about that, though do still have some sympathy for his parents, having lost their son. His sister seems to really defend what he did (she also seems like a dipshit, btw), so I don't really feel negative about that. He didn't do it TO her, and she seems to understand why he did what he did.

Cliffy6745 · August 2015

PJ_Soul said:

Cliffy6745 said:
I think the kid is a dipshit and an awful person for what he put his family through, especially his sister. I don't think he took away anything aside from the fact that his dumbass basically committed suicide and was completely alone with no one to help.

This line of thinking typically starts massive fights around here given a certain musician wrote the soundtrack and anything he likes, everyone else has to like.

I was tempted to feel like this too.... I probably did at first, actually. So I understand where you're coming from (and never understood why this opinion pisses so many people off - it's not like any of them knew the guy). And I agree he was at least a fool, considering how unprepared he was to live where he was going. But it sounds like his parents were dipshits too, so I don't feel too bad about that, though do still have some sympathy for his parents, having lost their son. His sister seems to really defend what he did, so I don't really feel negative about that. He didn't do it TO her, and she seems to understand why he did what he did.

His parents were awful, there is no denying that. But it took his sister a very very long time to understand what he did. He showed absolutely zero compassion for her and put her through hell. Listen, I get it. This world can suck and his parents were terrible, I just don't see how that justifies his actions or overall arrogance

PJ_Soul · August 2015

Cliffy6745 said:

PJ_Soul said:

Cliffy6745 said:
I think the kid is a dipshit and an awful person for what he put his family through, especially his sister. I don't think he took away anything aside from the fact that his dumbass basically committed suicide and was completely alone with no one to help.

This line of thinking typically starts massive fights around here given a certain musician wrote the soundtrack and anything he likes, everyone else has to like.

I was tempted to feel like this too.... I probably did at first, actually. So I understand where you're coming from (and never understood why this opinion pisses so many people off - it's not like any of them knew the guy). And I agree he was at least a fool, considering how unprepared he was to live where he was going. But it sounds like his parents were dipshits too, so I don't feel too bad about that, though do still have some sympathy for his parents, having lost their son. His sister seems to really defend what he did, so I don't really feel negative about that. He didn't do it TO her, and she seems to understand why he did what he did.
His parents were awful, there is no denying that. But it took his sister a very very long time to understand what he did. He showed absolutely zero compassion for her and put her through hell. Listen, I get it. This world can suck and his parents were terrible, I just don't see how that justifies his actions or overall arrogance

Well, maybe. So the specific action that bothers you is that he cut off contact, right? Yeah, I think that was a shitty thing to do as well. I know I wouldn't be able to do that to anyone who might worry about me, even if I did resent them. I think he was kind of messed up in the head though, so that kind of changes things. You can't expect people who are thinking funny to act in the exact proper way.

Cliffy6745 · August 2015

PJ_Soul said:

Cliffy6745 said:

PJ_Soul said:

Cliffy6745 said:
I think the kid is a dipshit and an awful person for what he put his family through, especially his sister. I don't think he took away anything aside from the fact that his dumbass basically committed suicide and was completely alone with no one to help.

This line of thinking typically starts massive fights around here given a certain musician wrote the soundtrack and anything he likes, everyone else has to like.

I was tempted to feel like this too.... I probably did at first, actually. So I understand where you're coming from (and never understood why this opinion pisses so many people off - it's not like any of them knew the guy). And I agree he was at least a fool, considering how unprepared he was to live where he was going. But it sounds like his parents were dipshits too, so I don't feel too bad about that, though do still have some sympathy for his parents, having lost their son. His sister seems to really defend what he did, so I don't really feel negative about that. He didn't do it TO her, and she seems to understand why he did what he did.
His parents were awful, there is no denying that. But it took his sister a very very long time to understand what he did. He showed absolutely zero compassion for her and put her through hell. Listen, I get it. This world can suck and his parents were terrible, I just don't see how that justifies his actions or overall arrogance
Well, maybe. So the specific action that bothers you is that he cut off contact, right? Yeah, I think that was a shitty thing to do as well. I know I wouldn't be able to do that to anyone who might worry about me, even if I did resent them. I think he was kind of messed up in the head though, so that kind of changes things. You can't expect people who are thinking funny to act in the exact proper way.

Honestly, yeah, for the most part. I said his parents were terrible but it was mostly his father. I don't have a ton of sympathy for him but his mom and sister, I can't imagine. His sister was not understanding when it happened and I can't imagine what his mom went through. Wondering where in the hell her son was sleeping every night. If he was even alive. Gut wrenching.

His arrogance in going so unprepared is also a reason not to idolize him.

Between what he did to his mom and sister and being so arrogant, I don't see what the infatuation was. I really enjoyed the book though, as I do everything Krakuaer writes.

Well that is fair, but I don't think that is a common thought about what he did or why he did it.

HesCalledDyer · August 2015

While I really like the movie, I kinda agree with Cliffy about McCandless himself.

So what is Into the Wild's impact?

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