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Into the Wild - Book / Movie / Soundtrack

Saw it last weekend and was bored to tears. Shed no tears for the kid, though. I was actually surprised how unlikable his character was. I haven't read the book so I'm not sure if it was played that way on purpose because of the real kid's personality.

The movie wasn't even depressing or really thought provoking. Wait for the video or don't waste you time at all. All the hype about "one man's journey of introspection and self-discovery" is just crap. The guy came of as a major douche who just gave up and died rather than using a tiny bit of common sense.

The soundtrack was pretty good.
 
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RugbyBuck;964717; said:
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All the hype about "one man's journey of introspection and self-discovery" is just crap. The guy came of as a major douche who just gave up and died rather than using a tiny bit of common sense.

I have never understood why this jackass has gotten any kind of fame or infamy at all. He went to fing Alaska wilderness, with no skills, no knowledge, barely any equipment, and died of starvation a short walk away from a hiker's station WITH FOOD IN IT. He didn't know it was there because he didn't do any prepatory research!

He was a dumbshit and for doing the things he did, deserved to die. It would have been an fing miracle if he SURVIVED as ill-prepared and full of wishful thinking as he was.

Here's an essay from an Alaskan park ranger that puts my feelings about the matter into words.
 
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Some times we wish to "test ourselves". This can take many forms.
It can be driving a motorcycle or car very fast. Joining the military. It can be going to the last American frontier, Alaska. But, and this cannot be over stated enough.
You must do your homework if you are to survive in an extreme situation.
For me, it was scuba diving I suppose. I did it in what I thought was the right way. Doing my homework by getting very well trained(by an ex Navy Seal no less). Becoming much more than just confident. And researching as much as I could. Still, things can go wrong. I was wreck diving once and got stuck in the dark hold of a ship wreck in 70ft of water. It was so dark I was completely blind. Fortunately, my very sound, tough training gave me the tools and the mental toughness to survive by not panicking and extricating myself from a dangerous situation. This was not the only time
that things went wrong on a dive(I have done hundreds). But, I had passed a major "test". The ocean is a very unforgiving frontier/environment.

Younger people seem more likely to try and "test" themselves. Though older people can try it also. So.
What is the point?
For me it was becoming mentally tougher. Proving that I could do just about anything and survive just about any situation.
Is a "test" for you?
Think long and hard before you put you life in such a situation were one big mistake can end it. Do your homework!
 
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Taosman;964755; said:
Some times we wish to "test ourselves". This can take many forms.
It can be driving a motorcycle or car very fast. Joining the military. It can be going to the last American frontier, Alaska. But, and this cannot be over stated enough.
You must do your homework if you are to survive in an extreme situation.
For me, it was scuba diving I suppose. I did it in what I thought was the right way. Doing my homework by getting very well trained(by an ex Navy Seal no less). Becoming much more than just confident. And researching as much as I could. Still, things can go wrong. I was wreck diving once and got stuck in the dark hold of a ship wreck in 70ft of water. It was so dark I was completely blind. Fortunately, my very sound, tough training gave me the tools and the mental toughness to survive by not panicking and extricating myself from a dangerous situation. This was not the only time
that things went wrong on a dive(I have done hundreds). But, I had passed a major "test". The ocean is a very unforgiving frontier/environment.

Younger people seem more likely to try and "test" themselves. Though older people can try it also. So.
What is the point?
For me it was becoming mentally tougher. Proving that I could do just about anything and survive just about any situation.
Is a "test" for you?
Think long and hard before you put you life in such a situation were one big mistake can end it. Do your homework!

I think the subject failed his test. :slappy:
 
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OCBuckWife;964729; said:
I have never understood why this jackass has gotten any kind of fame or infamy at all. He went to fing Alaska wilderness, with no skills, no knowledge, barely any equipment, and died of starvation a short walk away from a hiker's station WITH FOOD IN IT. He didn't know it was there because he didn't do any prepatory research!

He was a dumbshit and for doing the things he did, deserved to die. It would have been an fing miracle if he SURVIVED as ill-prepared and full of wishful thinking as he was.

Here's an essay from an Alaskan park ranger that puts my feelings about the matter into words.

pretty ignorant analysis. He survived 150 days in the wild fending for himself. Doubt anybody here could do that.

The fact that he went with "no equipment" was the point. Pretty easy to survive in the wild if you have a stove and water purifier. :roll1:

The book makes a good point that the people most critical of him where the types who likely never had the guts to do what he did, i.e. the typical arm-chair QB. which explains the viewpoint of that Alaskan park ranger. In the end, I think most of the criticism directed TOWARDS him, is actually directed towards those who romantacize him. Certainly, he is no tragic figure. But to say that he had no idea what he was doing is just silly.
 
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tibor75;964808; said:
pretty ignorant analysis. He survived 150 days in the wild fending for himself. Doubt anybody here could do that.

The fact that he went with "no equipment" was the point. Pretty easy to survive in the wild if you have a stove and water purifier. :roll1:

The book makes a good point that the people most critical of him where the types who likely never had the guts to do what he did, i.e. the typical arm-chair QB. which explains the viewpoint of that Alaskan park ranger. In the end, I think most of the criticism directed TOWARDS him, is actually directed towards those who romantacize him. Certainly, he is no tragic figure. But to say that he had no idea what he was doing is just silly.

Going with little to no equipment is fine if it is coupled with knowledge of the area and its food sources and some plain old common sense. He may have had some basic knowledge, he was a smart guy and well educated but that doesn't make him admirable, it actually makes the situation even more laughable. He COULD have done more to prepare but he didn't.

He poached animals for food without any idea of how to preserve them, for example. To manage to kill a moose is deserving of respect but then to turn around and have no idea how to preserve the meat and essentially allow the carcass to lie and rot doesn't deserve respect.

He appears to have done no area research or bothered to have taken a map of any kind. He starved to death a day's walk from a tram that would have taken him across the river and was near a hiker shelter with food yet he didn't know either of these facts. He didn't choose to not use them, he had no idea they existed!

I don't at all think it's silly to say he didn't know what he was doing when you consider that fact alone.

I have friends that brave the wild every weekend but they bring at least a map or look at one and get to know the area before they go!

I agree that some of my animosity is directed towards those who romanticize him but that doesn't change how I feel about McCandless directly. Do some reading about him that it not "Into the Wild." He wasn't a "survivorman", he was a dreamer and he died when he didn't have to and shouldn't have.
 
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OCBuckWife;964816; said:
I agree that some of my animosity is directed towards those who romanticize him but that doesn't change how I feel about McCandless directly. Do some reading about him that it not "Into the Wild." He wasn't a "survivorman", he was a dreamer and he died when he didn't have to and shouldn't have.

Damn. Dreamer survivormen get all the chicks...

twinsandcorpse.jpg
 
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OCBuckWife;964816; said:
Going with little to no equipment is fine if it is coupled with knowledge of the area and its food sources and some plain old common sense. He may have had some basic knowledge, he was a smart guy and well educated but that doesn't make him admirable, it actually makes the situation even more laughable. He COULD have done more to prepare but he didn't.

He poached animals for food without any idea of how to preserve them, for example. To manage to kill a moose is deserving of respect but then to turn around and have no idea how to preserve the meat and essentially allow the carcass to lie and rot doesn't deserve respect.

He appears to have done no area research or bothered to have taken a map of any kind. He starved to death a day's walk from a tram that would have taken him across the river and was near a hiker shelter with food yet he didn't know either of these facts. He didn't choose to not use them, he had no idea they existed!

I don't at all think it's silly to say he didn't know what he was doing when you consider that fact alone.

I have friends that brave the wild every weekend but they bring at least a map or look at one and get to know the area before they go!

I agree that some of my animosity is directed towards those who romanticize him but that doesn't change how I feel about McCandless directly. Do some reading about him that it not "Into the Wild." He wasn't a "survivorman", he was a dreamer and he died when he didn't have to and shouldn't have.

actually there was no shelter with food. that is explained in the book.

Comparing him to poeple who camp out for a weekend is just silly. The goals of the trip are entirely different. I'm sure part of the appeal for Chris was not to be prepared. Furthermore, if you actually understood the story, you'd realize that he didn't slowly die from starvatation. All appearances was that he was doing well and then he got poisoned by some roots and he died rather quickly over a week. A map probably wouldn't have helped because he had no strength to get out.

To say he had no idea what he was doing makes no sense.. Given the fact that lived for 150 days proves otherwise.

If he truly was as stupid as you claim, he would have died in a week. If was truly some hippie dreamer, he would have died in 2 days.

EDIT: it wasn't 150 days. Now that I think about it when he was close to dying he was excited that he made it 100 days. So, 110 days is probably more accurate.
 
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tibor75;964833; said:
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Comparing him to poeple who camp out for a weekend is just silly.

I never said they just camp for the weekend, you just assume that.

Have you done any reading about the guy BESIDES "Into the Wild"? Just wondering, not trying to be snotty or anything. Are you basing your entire opinion of him on one book by a self-admitted admirer of McCandless?
 
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