Some thoughts on Into the Wild (film)

I cried while watching this movie!


Happiness is only real when shared.

When Christopher did not find happiness and truth in his parents, the very people he grew up with, he chose to seek out his own adventure- to find truth and happiness in nature and in the simple things in life.

He believed that joy is not principally found in human relationships, that God’s place can be found in anything. While preferring the wild to ‘society,’ his heart involuntarily seeks out these relationships in the people he meets along the way. This is once again, proof that the core of human being is not only to be, but to be WITH. So many times he was given the opportunity to share happiness with other people- and he did- but eventually turned his back on each of these opportunities. It was only in the end that he realized that true happiness is only real when it is shared.

It could also be that because he found meaning in new experiences, he was never pinned down to one constant thing in his life. He might have chosen to share this happiness and appreciation of life in every new person he met. One thing is for sure- he had a goal, he had a dream, and he pursued it. He searched for truth and happiness, and however late, he found it. He found it in the beauty of nature, in the relationships he shared with those he crossed paths with, and in his dying moments, realized what all these meant for him.

D i s t o r t i o n s

The world is always more interesting with a bit of distortion. Photographs of usually mundane objects or events come alive in Polaroid prints or in lomo because of their blurriness, and changes in color or form. The more distorted the picture becomes, the more artistic it seems. Subjects like feet on the sand, disheveled faces in worn out clothes, a plate with half-eaten food suddenly look more appealing as they would in real life. Not following rules and techniques in photography are more forgivable because the imperfections created add more effect to the uniqueness of its distortion.

In the same way, distortions in writing and story telling often add more drama. We tend to exaggerate when telling stories to our friends. I can always say, that a lizard leaped out to attack me from nowhere, when in fact what really happened was the lizard just crept out of its hiding place.

In my opinion, another mild form of distortion can be found in sunglasses. It is the perfect accessory to make any outfit look effortlessly interesting. It hides any expression of the eyes that may give way to any sign of emotion, and it shades your eyes for that perfect time to people watch (whether it is to admire or criticize).

Somehow though, I can never get used to wearing my sunglasses. I can’t get myself to see through the tinted lenses without wondering what the world actually looks like. In viewing scenic places I find myself always taking them off for fear that the memory stored in my brain won’t be accurate. I want to see and enjoy the world as it really is, free from created distortions.

In taking photographs, I am occasionally tempted to buy my own lomographic camera and of course, the ever-awesome/timeless Polaroid, but nothing beats holding a plain camera and capturing a moment as it truly is. While I admire amazing photographs enhanced with a bit of distortion (such as vignetting through Polaroid or enhancement through Lightroom/Photoshop), I am truly awed by amazing pictures taken with just a camera, making use of its different settings, and the lighting that is available. For my purposes, since I have yet to master my SLR, the more important thing for me now, is to capture something as close to how it is in real life.

So while literally seeing the world through rose-tinted lenses is an attractive option, I find that there is nothing more beautiful than seeing the world through our own natural lenses, with nothing added, and nothing taken away.