The uncomfortable truths of humanity, what are they? Before I can state that, I'll need to explain what the film, “Into The Wild,” is about. To put it shortly, Chris McCandless is a young man who leaves everyone he knows to live alone in Alaska; this is all in his attempt to escape from society and to achieve ultimate freedom. Also, the director is Sean Penn. Throughout this essay, I'll be contrasting the wilderness against society to show how humans are distancing themselves from their ancestors; we are losing who we truly are. As Chris gets closer to Alaska and further away from society, the director has decided that the lighting would get darker. This has been done to send the message that society has become a bright holy haven, while
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This low-key lighting brings out the dullness of the snow and the obscuring shadows of the pine trees. Instead of happiness, the director now wants the audience to feel isolation and loneliness. The bleak colours symbolise these feelings. They are plain and unsaturated; why should they make us feel anything but sadness? So, what does this all mean? Why has Sean Penn done this? Well, Chris leaves all of his friends and family behind during his journey. As this happens, the lighting and saturation are lowered as a result of the increased low-key lighting. Sean Penn has done this to show that Chris’ reliance on others is what gave him light and colour; society is where he could see properly. Society is where his life was comfortable, warm, and pleasant. On the other hand, as he nears the wilderness, the low-key lighting shows he is becoming blind. The loss of light and colour is why he can’t see properly anymore. Society is the known. The wild is the unknown; this illustrates that Alaska is an unknown terrain to Chris. What has this got to do with anything? Well, we, as humans, originated from the wild. In fact, the only reason me and you are …show more content…
However, during the preservation process, things only go downhill. This illustrates that Chris has become weakened by society; he's lost his instincts. Let's get to the explanation; this moose is important for Chris. It's his biggest catch; he doesn't want to waste half a tonne of meat. So, he must preserve it. During the sequence, Sean Penn has loudened the diegetic sounds of the flesh-circling flies. As Chris struggles to preserve the moose carcass, these diegetic sounds become increasingly louder. At the start, the audience can still hear Chris' words of anger and frustration as the flies buzz around. However, as the scene progresses, Chris' voice is slowly muted by the amplified sounds of the flies. This symbolises Chris' disempowerment to nature. Despite being insignificant, minuscule, and practically harmless insects, the flies are the ones which are plundering what he's earned. They're overpowering Chris, taking over him, ransacking his livelihood. Sean Penn reinforces this by amplifying the sounds of the flies. By not hearing Chris' voice, we think that he has no power. The flies do the talking on this turf; they're adapted. They still have their instincts intact. And once their victory is evident, the director uses a close-up of the meat; it's swarming with countless numbers of larvae - game over. Chris has failed to preserve the moose. Why has
This low-key lighting brings out the dullness of the snow and the obscuring shadows of the pine trees. Instead of happiness, the director now wants the audience to feel isolation and loneliness. The bleak colours symbolise these feelings. They are plain and unsaturated; why should they make us feel anything but sadness? So, what does this all mean? Why has Sean Penn done this? Well, Chris leaves all of his friends and family behind during his journey. As this happens, the lighting and saturation are lowered as a result of the increased low-key lighting. Sean Penn has done this to show that Chris’ reliance on others is what gave him light and colour; society is where he could see properly. Society is where his life was comfortable, warm, and pleasant. On the other hand, as he nears the wilderness, the low-key lighting shows he is becoming blind. The loss of light and colour is why he can’t see properly anymore. Society is the known. The wild is the unknown; this illustrates that Alaska is an unknown terrain to Chris. What has this got to do with anything? Well, we, as humans, originated from the wild. In fact, the only reason me and you are …show more content…
However, during the preservation process, things only go downhill. This illustrates that Chris has become weakened by society; he's lost his instincts. Let's get to the explanation; this moose is important for Chris. It's his biggest catch; he doesn't want to waste half a tonne of meat. So, he must preserve it. During the sequence, Sean Penn has loudened the diegetic sounds of the flesh-circling flies. As Chris struggles to preserve the moose carcass, these diegetic sounds become increasingly louder. At the start, the audience can still hear Chris' words of anger and frustration as the flies buzz around. However, as the scene progresses, Chris' voice is slowly muted by the amplified sounds of the flies. This symbolises Chris' disempowerment to nature. Despite being insignificant, minuscule, and practically harmless insects, the flies are the ones which are plundering what he's earned. They're overpowering Chris, taking over him, ransacking his livelihood. Sean Penn reinforces this by amplifying the sounds of the flies. By not hearing Chris' voice, we think that he has no power. The flies do the talking on this turf; they're adapted. They still have their instincts intact. And once their victory is evident, the director uses a close-up of the meat; it's swarming with countless numbers of larvae - game over. Chris has failed to preserve the moose. Why has