This article continues our Power of Film series, in which thoughtful viewers share their experiences of meeting God at the movies. (SPOILERS are possible in this series.)
_____________________________________________________________________________

Into the Wild is the true story of Christopher McCandless, an exemplary student and college graduate, who abandons all possessions, all finances, all responsibilities, and all bonds with loved ones to be completely free and explore the United States under the name Alexander Supertramp. The reasons he leaves his family and the typical way of life, though not completely obvious, seem to stem from the environment of domestic violence in his household and the incessant pressure for Christopher to succeed in life. Both of his parents were extremely successful in their careers, but their careers seemed to make them neglect their children. This is speculative on my part, but it seemed clear that his desire to break ties with society really stemmed from his desire to cut off contact with his parents entirely. His implied readings of authors such as Walden or Kerouac must have given him framework for going “into the wild” and his judgment of society and American culture must have driven the nature of his journey as a hitchhiker without real definition. The first step, however, was away from his parents.

The film is partitioned into chapters which categorizes the stages of his journey. More or less, he progresses from an angry, immature youth who believed that he did not need connections with others or a human community to sustain him to a lonely individual stuck in the wilderness, enraptured in the epiphany that life is not experienced when experiencing it alone. Many of the chapters along the way are linear (for example, “The Getting of Knowledge”, “The Getting of Family”), but basically it is a stream of steps that lead him to his final epiphany. Through a series of misfortunes, notably consuming a poisonous plant, Christopher tragically died alone in the wilderness of Alaska.

I had such a strong reaction to to this film when I first saw it. My experience of Into the Wild was extremely visceral. I knew the heartbreaking ending before watching it, which seemed to make it that much more gut-wrenching during my viewing experience. I cried at the end and experienced sadness and regret through the roles of the characters. Because I could foresee what was going to happen in the end, I also felt frustration and angry at Christopher for choosing the path he did. The extreme choices he made upset me, but I realized later how the radical nature of his life shed light on the Divine.

I see the Divine clearly in this movie. It felt like a parable to me - a story told to illustrate the necessity humans have for each other. The film confirmed the necessity of community in my life. It showed the pain of community through Christopher’s broken relationship with his parents, the joy of community through his relationships formed on his road trip, and the desolation of life with no community. Even though part of me hated watching the movie, the beauty of the lesson learned was intensified by the tragedy that he realized the truth too late. In a way, the tragedy of this realization inspires Christopher to act now, to nurture relationships now, so that he did not learn the lesson alone in vain.

Into the Wild creates common language and a common ground for our culture to stand on when speaking about relationships and community. By encountering the story, I learned a reason why freedom should not be the ultimate objective in life. Even though it hurts sometimes, community is a necessity. It may not always be healthy, but it is possible to cling to life giving community and reject community that is harmful. Rejection off all community leads to even more emptiness. Through community, the Divine speaks and enriches in a unique way that Christopher completely missed. He tried to live a life without ties, connections, or responsibility, but then realized that those bonds in a way, are the definition of a life lived.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Rebekah Kilman Liu is, by her description, a 3rd year student of clinical psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary and an amateur lover of film.