Essay Example on Into the Wild: A True Adventure Story of Christopher McCandless

Into the Wild is an American biographical film co-produced and directed in 2007 by Sean Penn. The film entails the adaptation story of Jon Krakauer's 1996 nonfictional book based on the same title. The film is based on the story of Christopher McCandless as he adventures across North America. In this regard, the film recounts the experiences McCandless went through in the Alaskan wilderness in the early 90s. considering it is a non-fictional film, the movie portrays the real adventures though acted to portray and explore the issues of spirituality, morale, and intense civilization of issues that were prevalent during this period. It can be considered that the movie seeks to appeal to the viewers with the explorations that were decisive although ambiguous like "truth." To achieve this, various characters take different roles who include Emile Hirsch who stars in the film as McCandless alongside William Hurt, Gay Harden, and Jena Malone among others. Based on the choice of cinematic depictions in the film, it can be established that Sean Penn is able to achieve the representation of the real-life issues that transpired.

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As illustrated in the film, the movie Into the Wild represents the real-life events that were taking place during the early 1990s in America especially regarding the life of Christopher McCandless. It should be noted that during this time, Christopher McCandless had just graduated from Emory University in Georgia (Krakauer 10). After the graduation, McCandless contemplated going for an adventure after which he informs his parents about the same. He decided to move to Alaska in his explorations through the Denali National Park. It should also be noted that McCandless also made several travels in the 1990 summer especially through Arizona, South Dakota, and California. In this regard, the issue of exploration had developed with time. After the summer, there were rains which would be strong enough in the country hence causing flooding. During the period, many people would abandon their vehicles due to the risk of being swept away by the floods. The air travels had also developed during this period and companies were even offering subsidized fees for cheaper travels. However, McCandless did not even buy the idea of using flights as he even sold and donated his property for the exploration. Later in 1992, McCandless was found dead in Alaska by the hikers and hunters.

The film Into the Wild represents McCandless as a person who is enthusiastic with the new development of issues in life and seeks to explore contemporary issues in society. The film depicts how McCandless aspired to depart from the materialistic world as well as the society fundamentally. Although the representations are evident of the real-life events during this period, the cinematic techniques are used to change the scenes and illustrate the themes as desired by the director. For example, the theme of leaving the materialistic world is shown with McCandless burning his money. However, although in essence he did not but shared his resources, the scene of burning his money creates an enthusiastic appeal to the audience who can figure out the societal issues that were taking place. Also, the interactions of McCandless with new friends in Alaska is different from the real account. The film uses the characters to depict how life changed for McCandless after taking a different path in life. Through these changes, the film director is able to show the departure from civilization which was an important aspect in the film.

The performances of Emile Hirsch to depict McCandless as an idealist and romantic character is also perfectly acted. The film is able to show how McCandless desired to punish his parents partly for the previous lies. The scenes are taken with speed than the actual life events which are meant to create anxiety to the viewer. Besides, it should be noted that although the work is non-fictional, the presentation of events does not follow the actual chronology of events that took place. The film does not start with the birth of the character nor even the beginning of the journey that could be traced, but with a major turning point in life. This technique has also been observed in epic poems like Odyssey and Iliad which employ beginning in medias res technique (Jong and Nunlist 19). This approach is used to encourage the viewer to connect the journey and the issues surrounding McCandless. In this regard, the changes made including the stunning locations are used to emphasize on the theme and give the viewer a clearer picture while making the film more interesting.

From the analysis, it is evident that the film Into the Wild represents a real-life account of events that took place in the US with the adventures of McCandless. This period of 90s was characterized by increased parental guidance for young people. The society was undergoing various changes, especially regarding civilization. However, young people like McCandless had to strike a balance between finding true happiness in life, and material possession. Although based on real-life events, the director of the film made several changes to make the film appealing and also be able to portray the theme of issues in a simple and captivating way that would be understood by the viewer.

Works Cited

Into the Wild. Directed by Sean Penn, performances by Emily Hirsch, William Hurt, Gay Harden, and Jena Malone, 2007. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758758/

Jong, Irene J. F, and Rene Nunlist. Time in Ancient Greek Literature. Boston: Brill, 2007. Print.

Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. London: Picador, 2018. Print.