SuperTramp

                Besides being an absolutely gripping and liberating film, the film Into the Wild (to me) gives a glimpse into a man’s search for his essence. The movie seems to tug at the importance of minimizing what is not necessity from one’ self if he or she is looking to better grasp what it means to be satisfied. Towards the end of the movie, Alex (actual name Christopher) says something that for me captures an important element of this story, “The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences.” The non-essential components that I mentioned just prior seem to beyond material things, rather one can look at what else composes the persistent clutter in our minds. At different parts of the movie, Alex seems to attack or be attacked by these several of these forms of baggage: reputation by distancing himself from particularly his proud father and changing his name which not only allowed him to slip away but distance himself from the agenda of his parents. One he had particular difficulty parting with his grudge against his parents for the situation that ensued from early on in their marriage. While I still have a hard time talking about what this young man might have been feeling, I think it wasn’t until the very end that this baggage was able to be removed.  

                So to conclude, Alexander Supertramp seems to tackle an ethic for a more anthropomorphic “sake” than our last film “The Cove.” Whereas the previous film posed questions about whether differences between the rights of humans and other organisms, “Into the Wild” remains, for the most part, within the realm of our own species. What the film seems to really focus on is the power and mystery that is unveiled by removing what is consuming him from living. While Alex did this partly by ridding himself completely from the contact his family, by allowing himself to distance himself from the grudge with his parents, he was able to forgive and really identify what makes them important to him.