CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON MCCANDLESS

Transcription

CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON MCCANDLESS TRANSCENDENTALISM
VALUES AS REFLECTED IN SEAN PENN’S INTO THE WILD
THESIS
Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of Requirement
for the Sarjana Sastra Degree of the English Department
Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts
Sebelas Maret University
by:
Afida Arifiana
C0304010
English Department
Surakarta
2009
CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON MCCANDLESS TRANSCENDENTALISM
VALUES AS REFLECTED IN SEAN PENN’S INTO THE WILD
THESIS
by:
Afida Arifiana
C0304010
Approved to be examined before the Board of Examiners
Thesis Consultant:
Yusuf Kurniawan, SS, MA
NIP. 19711130 199903 1001
Head of English Department:
Dr. Djatmika, MA
NIP. 19670726 199302 1001
ii
CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON MCCANDLESS’S TRANSCENDENTALISM
VALUES AS PRESENTED IN SEAN PENN’S INTO THE WILD
by:
Afida Arifiana
C0304010
Accepted and approved by the Board of Examiners
on August 13th, 2009
Chairman
:
DRA. Nani Sukarni, MS
……………………
Secretary
:
Taufiq Almakmun, SS
…………………….
First Examiner
:
Yusuf Kurniawan, SS MA
…………………….
Second Examiner
:
Fitria Akhmerti P, SS MA
….………………..
Surakarta, Agustus, 31 2009
Dean of Faculty of Letters and Fine arts
Drs. Sudarno, MA
NIP. 19530314 198506 1001
iii
PRONOUNCEMENT
Name
Number
: Afida Arifiana
: C0304010
The researcher states that the thesis entitled Christopher Johnson McCandless
transcendentalism values as reflected in Sean Penn’s Into the Wild is neither a
plagiarism nor made by others. It is originally made by the researcher. All theories
and materials taken from other sources are put in direct quotation and paraphrased
citation. The researcher is fully responsible for the pronouncement and if this is
proved to be wrong, the researcher is willing to take any responsible actions given
by Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, Sebelas Maret University.
Surakarta, July 2009
The researcher,
Afida Arifiana
iv
MOTTO
In truth, Allah SWT never changes a person’s conditions until he/ she
changes the conditions cohering with him/ her.
(Q.S AR RA’D. 11)
Make a wish…Take a chance…Make a change
(a lyric of Kelly Clarkson’s Breakaway)
Don’t waste your time or time will waste you!
(a lyric of Muse’s Knights of Cydonia)
Happiness only real when shared
(Christopher Johnson McCandless)
Do the best and God do the rest
(The researcher)
v
DEDICATION
I fully dedicate this thesis to:
My passed away father, you had done many things for me
-
even from you ever silence.
-
My mother, you’re my really wonder woman. You’re my
inspiration.
-
My brothers, my family, my friends, and all that love me,
you all color my life more colorful than a rainbow.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Assalamu’alaikum wr. wb.
The researcher, from the deepest of the heart, would like to thank Allah
SWT, the almighty and the khaliq of the entire universe, which had given the
endless power for doing and finishing this research. The researcher hopes that
this thesis can be beneficial for all readers especially for the younger English
Department students in major of American Studies. The researcher realized that it
is impossible for finishing this research without other’s help. There are many
people that give contributions to this research. Therefore, the researcher wanted to
say thanks also to:
1. The dean of Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, Drs. Sudarno, MA, for
giving the researcher a chance to study in this faculty.
2. The head of English Department, Dr. Djatmika, MA, for the endless
motivations.
3. My thesis consultant, Yusuf Kurniawan, SS, MA, for your patience when
you checked my thesis. I knew that there are so many mistakes that needed
to be revised.
4. My academic supervisor, Dra. Rara Sugiarti,M.Tourism for your help for
the smoothness of my study.
5. All the lecturers of English Department for giving the researcher a wider
and wider knowledge. I am proud to be listed as your student.
vii
6. My passed away father, my “wonder woman’ mother, my older brothers
(Aies Zainal Arifin and Afik Arifudin). Thank God I have you. I promise
that I never disappoint you. I’ll make youproud.
7. My “cukz fam” for much unforgettable moments. Having you is my lucky.
Surya “Uya” Isnawan, Mr. and Mrs. Devit “Bambank”, the little family of
mami Yuli, Cindy, Rina n Rudy, Pungky, Natalia Dany, Nanak, Dendy,
Bian, you are part of my happiness. Keep “cukz fam” forever!
8. All big family of “Amstuders 04”, Widya, Rudy, Dony, Itok, Yunindar,
Tutut, Ulil, Danang, Eline, Yunus, Ika, Reni and the nice of “Amstuders
05”.
9. All dweller of Letters and Fine Art Faculty of UNS, especially ED.04
students (We are different guys), The ED 04 Touring Team, Edy Cuby,
Edy Fata, Vanie, Martha, Hilda, Tatan, Uus, Tantra, Fitra, Ria, etc, The
Tumpuls, Komunitas Musik dan Film (KMF), Sasindo 02 and 04, my best
partner, Wira, Kansas canteen, ILC, that makes me so comfort in campus.
10. All of my sides that I ever and keep joining, Solo Youth Heritage (SYH),
GSM FM, PT. IMF Solo, PMI Surakarta, and Alfabank Training Center.
11. All of my sides who helped and motivated me to finish this thesis.
Alhamdulillah. God bless you all.
Wassalamu’alaikum wr. wb.
Surakarta, July 2009
The Researcher
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER PAGE……………………………………………………………………i
APPROVAL BY THESIS SUPERVISOR………………………………………ii
APPROVAL BY BOARD OF EXAMINERS……………………………….….iii
PRONOUNCEMENT……………………………………………………………iv
MOTTO……………………………………………………………………………v
DEDICATION……………………………………………………………………vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………………………………………..…...vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………......…......ix
ABSTRACT…………………………………………...…………………….….. xi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
A. Research Background……………………………………………….……… ..1
B. Scope of the Study………………………………………………….……........5
C. Research Questions………………………………………………….…............5
D. Objectives of the Study……………………………………………………......5
E. Benefits of the Study…………………………………………………..…........6
F. Method of Research………………………………………………….…...........6
G. Theoretical Approaches………………………………………………..….…....8
H. Thesis Organization…………………………………………………..….…....11
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW
A. American Transcendentalism…………………………………………...…….13
B. Philosophical Approach:
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1. Ralph Waldo Emerson……………………………………………..….17
2. Henry David Thoreau…………………………………………….…..20
C. Semiotics Film Theory………………………………………………….….....21
D. In the Wild………………………………………………...............................29
CHAPTER III: ANALYSIS
Christopher Johnson McCandless’ Transcendentalism Values as Reflected in Sean
Penn’s Into the Wild………………………………………………….…………..33
CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
A. Conclusion………….………………………………………………….……..72
B. Recommendation………………………………………………………..…....74
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………….….…..75
APPENDICES……………………………………………………………..……76
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ABSTRACT
Afida
Arifiana.
C0304010.
Christopher
Johnson
McCandless’
Transcendentalism Values as Reflected in Sean Penn’s Into the Wild.
Thesis: English Department Faculty of Letters Sebelas Maret University
Surakarta.
This research focuses on the transcendentalism values. The study
emphasizes to answer two research questions. First, what are Christopher Johnson
McCandless’ transcendentalism values as reflected in Sean Penn’s Into the Wild?
Second, how are Christopher Johnson McCandless’ transcendentalism values as
reflected in Sean Penn’s Into the Wild?
In order to achieve the goals of the research, the researcher analyzed the
research using semiotics film theory and observing with sociological and
philosophical approaches. The main source of data in this research is Sean Penn’s
Into the Wild that was produced by Paramount Vantage in 1997.The main data of
this research were the content of the movie encompassing the characters and
characterizations, dialogue, Mise-en-Scène, camera angles, and other
cinematographic elements which contains the transcendentalism values. While,
the supporting data were the ideas, thoughts, and opinions taken from production
notes, articles, essays, biography, and other materials related to the research
questions.
Based on the data analysis, the researcher draws conclusion as follows:
Christopher Johnson McCandless in Senn Pean’s Into the Wild reflects the
transcendentalism values i.e to live in simplicity and close to nature, believe that
everything is Divine, have own self-image and self-reliance, oppose oppressions.
Christopher Johnson McCandless’ transcendentalism values can be revealed
through his dialogue with other characters, quotes, expressions. In addition, it also
can be revealed from Mise-en-scène and cinematographic elements, such as
camera angle and shot.
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background
The United States of America is a secular country which means religion and
government concerns are separated. As stated in American Life and Institution, the
American Constitutions, especially the First Amendment, “forbids the government to
give special favors to any religion or to hinder the free practice of any religion”
(Stevenson, 1994: 22). Since Americans are free to form and follow any religious belief
they wish, there are many beliefs, philosophies, thoughts, denominations, or churches in
the United States. American is well-known as its “White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
(WASP)”, meanwhile, other religious beliefs, thoughts, or philosophies such us,
Unitarianism, orthodox Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Transcendentalism, can not be
separated from this nation.
Further, this research was talking about transcendentalism. According to
Rebecca Kneale Gould, transcendentalism is religious, philosophical, and literary
movement that begins to express itself primarily in Boston, during the mid-nineteenth
century and including such familiar figures as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo
Emerson,
and
Margaret
Fuller,
among
others
(Gould
in
http://www.religionandnature.com/ern/sample/Gould--Transcendentalism.pdf).
The outward of transcendentalism begins by the born of Unitarianism. It rises
because of dissatisfaction with the spiritual inadequacy of the established religion.
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1
According to Cliff, Unitarianism encompasses a range of liberal ideas that represent the
rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity. Unitarianism refers to the belief that God is one
being instead of the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holly Spirit or “unity”
(http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/Thoreau-Emerson-andTranscendentalism-Introduction-to-the-Times-Religious-Context.id-134,pageNum12.html). The Unitarianism is the seed of Transcendentalism. The source of American
transcendentalism is also coming from neo-Platonism, Germanic philosophy (Europe
Romanticism), and thought of Eastern religion, especially Hinduism (Horton in Sardjana,
1988: 96). Essentially, the elements constructed Transcendentalism has existed
Transcendentalists. Rebecca Kneale Gould states that:
They (transcendentalists) expressed a commitment to shaping life according to
individuality discerned aesthetic and spiritual priorities, rather than those of
social convention or the marketplace. Their intellectual stance was starting place
from which they developed their ideas of nature, as well as their moral and
religious views.
(Gould:
in
http://www.religionandnature.com/ern/sample/Gould-Transcendentalism.pdf).
In other words, transcendentalism expresses that it is against the social
convention or marketplace as product of capitalism. It means that transcendentalism is
sympathetic to living in simplicity. It tends to be close to nature along with moral and
religion values. Values shaping transcendentalism substantively have been owned by
transcendentalists, as Perry Miller said in The American Transcendentalists that
transcendentalism is “breathed rather than acquired ideas” (Miller in Sardjana,
1988:97).
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Briefly, Transcendentalism is a thought or a religious philosophy that spread out;
important to live with nature and live in simplicity, direct relation to God rather than
through formal religion, all human beings are divine, having of “Self-Image” and “SelfReliance”, and rebel the oppression (slavery) (Holman in Sardjana, 1988: 98).
After more than one century, in fact, transcendentalist still can be found in
modern American life. Christopher Johnson Mccandless, Emory college graduate having
a mind to live in Alaska,
is the example figure of transcendentalist. The
transcendentalism values of Christopher Johnson McCandless can be watched through
Sean Pean’s movie entitled Into the Wild. This movie is based on the true story of
Christopher Johnson McCandless in around 1990 to 1992. According to Jack Nachbar
and Kevin Lause in Pop Culture An Introductory Text, artifact (movie) is a product
(artifact) of popular culture. While, “artifact of popular product is the sign embedded
deeply in the mindset of the times and seeing that we have said on these can thus help
us to know what we believe” (Nachbar and Lause, 1992: 40). It means that popular
movie is one of appropriate sources as the reflection of certain society.
Into the Wild, released in 2007, was nominated for Academy Award- 2008 for
Best Achievement in Editing and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role and
won Best Original Song - Motion Picture in Golden Globe 2008 and more. It is based on
the 1996 non-fiction book of the same title by Jon Krakauer which tells about the
adventures of Christopher Johnson McCandless. It is the reason why this movie is
qualified enough to be analyzed since it is popular and it receives prestigious
achievements. (http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809698364/details)
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This movie is talking about Christopher Johnson McCandless and his
adventurous journey into the wild of Alaska. Chris is 22 years old man with promising
future from his graduate from Emory College. Chris instead walks out of his privileged
life into the wild in search of adventure. In his journey, Chris’s character reflects several
transcendentalism values. Emily Moore argues that “Chris McCandelss’ adventurous
journey into the wild indicates that his character incorporated many values of
transcendentalism”.
(Moore
in
http://www.helium.com/items/430535-character-analysis-christopher-
mcccandless-alexander-supertramp-from-into-the-wild)
Chris is portrayed as a young man who is taking risk, experiencing nature, and
discovering ultimate freedom. He chooses to leave his up-middle class society to live
meagerly in nature and devoid of the lavish pleasure of civilization. Chris’s life during his
adventure journey reflects the way of live in simplicity. Chris asserts that he does not
need monetary resources to survive. Before his journey to Alaska, Chris donates all of his
money to a famine relief fund and buns remaining cash in his wallet. Through this movie,
the audiences may consider Chris both as heroic adventure and as a naive idealist who
ends his life in tragic wrestling with precarious balance between man and nature.
This movie was chosen as the source of the main data since it reflects
transcendentalism values clearly through the main character, especially in this modern
capitalism era of the United States. This issue is interesting because it tells about a
young man that holds transcendentalism values along with materialism and modernism
of capitalism era. This movie also raises satires to the hypocrite materialism and
modernism of capitalism which most Americans embrace.
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B. Scope of the Study
This research focused on transcendentalism values of the main character,
Christopher Johnson McCandless, played by Emile Hirsch from Sean Pean’s Into the
Wild. It is an outstanding movie that was produced and distributed by Paramount
Vantage, and released in 2007. The other characters were included for giving
information and justification relating to the research question.
C. Research Questions
The research questions were formulated as follows:
1. What are Christopher Johnson McCandless transcendentalism values reflected
in Sean Pean’s Into the Wild?
2. How are Christopher Johnson McCandless transcendentalism values reflected in
Sean Pean’s Into the Wild?
D. Objectives of the Study
The objective of the study was:
1. To know what Christopher Johnson McCandless’s transcendentalism values are
reflected in Sean Pean’s Into the Wild
2. To know how Christopher Johnson McCandless’s transcendentalism values are
reflected in Sean Pean’s Into the Wild
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E. Benefits of the Study
The benefits of this research were:
1. To give inspiration and idea for students who want to conduct researches in
American
studies
especially
those
which
are
related
relates
to
transcendentalism and movie analysis.
2. To give information to the readers who want to know more about American life,
society, and
thought especially those
which are
in correlated to
transcendentalism.
3. To give knowledge for wider society who is willing to know more about the
United States of America, since, nowadays, it is the most influential country in
the world.
F. Method of Research
1. Type of Research
Research can be described as an effort to find, develop, and examine validity of
certain knowledge done by using a scientific method (Hadi, 1983: 5). This research used
descriptive qualitative method. According to H.B Sutopo, qualitative research is research
that its process is done from the very first along with the process of collecting data
(Sutopo, H.B, 2006:104). While, data of descriptive qualitative method is taken from
certain case like the explanation:
xvii
Descriptive qualitative method data deals with detailed description of situations,
events, people, interactions, and observed behaviors; direct quotations from
people about their experiences, attitudes, beliefs, and thought; and excerpt or
entire passage from documents, and correspondence records and case histories
(Patton, 1980: 22).
Therefore, descriptive qualitative need certain data that can be taken from
sources; detailed description of sources, direct quotation from people, passage of
documents, records or history.
2. Data and Source of Data
Data were divided into main and supporting data:
a.
Main data
The source of the main data was the original VCD movie entitled Into the Wild
directed by Sean Pean, produced and distributed by Paramount Vantage, and released in
2007. While the main data was the content of the movie encompassing the characters
and characterizations, monologue and dialogue, Mise-en-Scènes, camera angles, and
other cinematographic elements.
b.
Supporting data
The supporting data were the ideas, thoughts, and opinions taken from
production notes, articles, essays, biography, and other materials related to the
research questions.
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3. Technique of Collecting Data
The main data of this research were taken by observing Sean Pean’s Into the
Wild especially on the significant scenes and dialogues which contained the
transcendentalism values. Afterward, the next step were taking notes to those
significant scenes and dialogues that were found in the movie.
While, the supporting data were gathered by reading materials correlated with
the research and taking on the important ideas and thought.
4. Data Analysis
The selected data were analyzed based on the research questions by employing
the theory and seeing in several approaches. The analysis was started by looking at the
transcendentalism values reflected by Christopher Johnson McCandless as the main
character in Sean Pean’s Into the Wild. After analyzing the data, the conclusion is
written based on the result of the analysis.
G. Theoretical Approaches
This research was conducted in American studies framework. American studies
incompasses of a vast arrange discipline, all of which, in one way or another, are trying
to describe the culture of United States of America (http://eas-ref.jhu.edu). In addition,
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American studies relates to the Cultural Studies that is not a monolithic body of theories
and methods, as Start Hall in John Storey’s Cultural Studies & The Study of Popular
Culture make it very clear,
Cultural Studies has multiple discourses; it has a number of different histories. It
is a whole set of formations; it has its own different conjunctures and moments
in the past. It included many different kinds of work…It always was asset of
unstable formations…It had many trajectories; many people had and have
different theoretical positions, all of them in contention (Hall in Storey, 1996: 2).
In short, Cultural studies is unfolding discourse to response changing of history
and certain condition. Cultural studies enable people to have different point of view in
theories and approaches in considering a certain case. Here, related to the research
question, this research applies Semiotics Film Theory and uses Philosophical and
Sociological Approaches.
1. Semiotics Film Theory
Since this research analyzed certain case from a movie, semiotics film theory
was needed in order to reveal deeper meaning of the movie. The meaning of the movie
can be revealed by analyzing its duplicates as Christian Metz’s explanation:
Cinema transforms the world into discourse, and is not therefore simple
duplication. But a semiotics of the cinema cannot work at the level of the image,
since each image is unique, novel and analogous to reality, with its meaning
produced not by its places within a system but by what it duplicates. There is no
process of selection from a lexicon of images in cinema as there is from the
verbal lexicon of a natural language. (Metz in Lapsley and Westlake, 1988:40)
xx
Christian Metz explained that cinema (movie) has complicated duplications.
Metz’s semiotics film theory explains that to reveal the meaning of a movie, the
research should work at level of those duplicates. It means that those duplicates play
important role in movie which creates deeper meaning.
2. Philosophical Approach
Philosophically, transcendentalism is a form of idealism which asserts that there
are supernatural attributes present in the natural constitution of mankind. Christopher
Johnson McCandless has transcendentalism values in his life less or much is influenced
by some philosophers. It is the reason why philosophical approach was important to be
applied. Here, the idealism of transcendentalism can be pointed out by the most
important figure of transcendentalism; Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.
Both of Emerson and Thoreau contributed important thoughts for the developing of
transcendentalism.
Emerson is acknowledged as an “individualist” transcendentalist. For Emerson
“God could be found in the depths of his own heart, that with attentive ear he could
hear the voice of God speak from his heart” (Emerson in Blau, 1952: 122). It is why the
voice from the deepest of his heart is the most important than other voice. It is the
method of transcendentalism that advances to the individual rather than country. The
other most important figure of transcendentalism is Thoreau. Thoreau is acknowledged
as an “anarchist’ transcendentalist. For Thoreau “The citizen is a man first, and a citizen
xxi
afterwards, it is as a man that he must judge questions of right and wrong, for each man
has conscience” (Blau, 1952: 136). Thoreau always had resistance when he felt there
was another group was tyrannizing. He was not fear against the government holding a
brief for the matter of injustice and slavery.
Emerson and Thoreau’s thought as the most important figures of
transcendentalism certainly would be beneficial for this research.
3. Sociological Approach
The first term sociology according to Auguste Comte, the founder of sociology, is
derived from two root words: socius, which means “companion” or “associate” and
logos, which means “word”. At its most basic, it means “words about human
associations or society”. (Comte in Eshleman et al, 1993: 5).In addition, sociology deals
with human relationship, social system, and society. That is why when the research
analyzed certain values from individual or society, certainly it needed sociological
approach. According to Eshleman et. al. in Sociology an Introduction (Fourth Edition), in
sociology area “values are ideas shared by the people in a society, regarding what is
important and worthwhile”. Most of the basic values are learned early in life from
family, friends, the mass media, and other sources within society (Eshleman et all, 1993:
96). Values are learned as cultural products; differ from one society to another.
Christopher Johnson McCandless in Sean Pean’s Into the Wild indicates that his
character incorporates values of transcendentalism that he gets from external or society
development. Thus, this research needed to apply sociological approach.
xxii
H. Thesis Organization
This thesis is divided into four chapters. First, Chapter I consists of Background,
Research Questions, Scope of the Study, Objective of the Study, Benefits of the Study,
Method of Research, Theoretical Approaches, and Thesis Organization. Second, Chapter
II consists of Popular Culture Theory, History and Development of Transcendentalism in
America, Biography of Christopher Johnson McCandless, and Semiotics Film Theory.
Third, Chapter III is the Analysis of the Main Data. Last, Chapter IV is divided into
Conclusion and Recommendation.
xxiii
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
A. Transcendentalism in America
Transcendentalism can be termed as the movement of religion, philosophy, and
literary that begins to express itself primarily in Boston, during the mid-nineteenth
century. The word “transcendentalism” is derived from “transcend” meaning to “pass
beyond” (Blau, 1952: 111). Furthermore, it means that all convention avenues of
communication are not only to transcend the senses but also to transcend churches,
priest, or Scripture.
The early emergence of transcendentalism era is marked by a revolt against the
enlightened of the Revolutionary era. This era is considered “the American
Enlightenment”. The pattern of the American Enlightenment corresponded with the
period in Western European intellectual life. The American Enlightenment involved and
interconnected the thought of science, religion, politics, and economics that fall under
one general pattern of understanding. In religion side, the Enlightenment is contrast to
the Puritan thought. For the American Enlightenment mankind, “God is good, and
natural law has replaced divine intervention as a principal of explanation. This concept is
like what Cotton Mather in The Christian Philosopher (1721) said that “the world is wellplanned, well-ordered, and beautiful, that to study nature is to realize God’s goodness,
and that man can appreciate God by the exercises of observation and reason”(Blau,
1952: 39). Here it can be seen that according to the American Enlightenment ideology,
xxiv
13
God is good and to keep the goodness, people should manage this opportunity. The
universe is designed for the happiness of people. The American Enlightenment, later on,
constructed Americans to compete each other in order to get the happiness. Americans
tend to seek the understanding rather than feeling in order to get happiness. This
pattern of thought gives direction to the United States of America. Among
transcendentalists, faith is founded on the doctrine of self-reliance, while the
Enlightenment is in the inevitable advance of science. It can be reasonable that the
transcendentalism emergence was a reaction against the excessive emphasizes on
science and rationalism which are the characteristics of the American Enlightenment.
Transcendentalism is actually not a new thought of Americans. The values
shaping transcendentalism substantively has been owned by the transcendentalists.
Perry Miller said in The American Transcendentalists that transcendentalism is
“breathed rather than acquired ideas” (Miller in Sardjana, 1988:97). Transcendentalism
is stemming from the romantic movement in Germany and England. Transcendentalist’s
oats also got by Oriental, particularly Hindu that feed ranging of imaginations (Blau,
1952: 110). The rise of transcendentalism in America was begun by the emergence of
“Unitarianism”. Unitarianism was born by the dissatisfaction of the Christian thought of
“Trinity”. Unitarianism refers to the belief that God is one being instead of the Trinity of
Father, Son, and Holly Spirit or “Unity”. Because of this they are called as Unitarians
while the thought is called Unitarianism.
(http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/Thoreau-Emerson-andTranscendentalism-Introduction-to-the-Times-Religious-Context.id-134,pageNum12.html). The important figure of this thought is William Ellery Channing. Even though
xxv
he was not declared as a transcendentalist; Channing was closely involved to
transcendentalists and was a great influence to transcendentalism. Channing believes
that “when a man grows in God-likeness, he develops a power of vision which enables
him to see the Divine in everything from the frail flower to the everlasting stars”
(Channing in Blau, 1952: 114).
For transcendentalists, there is no exact doctrine of transcendentalism. James
Freeman Clarke said that “we called ourselves the club of the like-minded, I suppose
because no two of us thought alike (Clarke in Blau, 1952: 110). It can be underlined that
among the transcendentalists, there are certain antagonisms and no bound of union.
However, they tend to share the characteristics mood or temper, a common method or
philosophical habit of mind. Here, it can be said that transcendentalism is also a
movement.
Transcendentalism is the assertion that man has intuitive capacity for holding
ultimate truth, and achieving knowledge of supernatural order beyond the reach of the
sense. Transcendentalists apply the thought more democratically in the thought of
religion that “the ability to know Divine reality directly, is the birthright of every human
being”. Thoreau argued that “not to be Christian to appreciate the beauty and
significance the life of the Christ” (Thoreau in Blau, 1952: 114). For transcendentalists,
man has body, mind, spirit, affection, bodily, mental, religious; appetite, understanding,
and religion (Miller, 1957: 25). Thus, man knows that of the existence of the spiritual
element in his being as he knows of the existence of his mind or his body. Every one has
the idea of God and this leads him to worship. Transcendentalist’s method is declared
valid on the ground that universal truth is presented in the inmost heart of human
xxvi
being. In addition, all men are spiritually equal, thus, all men are able to communicate
to God. In this point, transcendentalism has affected deeply the development of the
democratic ideas in America.
Along with that ideology, Frederick Hedge in The Transcendental Club
inaugurated in 1836, as a sequenced conversation of transcendentalists, said that “man
develops in continuous fashion through three realms; the realm of nature, the realm of
moral, the realm of spirit” (Hedge in Blau, 1952: 117). Hedge explained that the realm of
nature was the motives to fulfill the needs and interests of the physical organization.
Then, the realm of moral in which the governing motive of the actions was the law of
duty and the realm of spirit was when man had reached this stage in development
moved by love. In this part, transcendentalism actually respects “philosophical”
reconsideration of the basic principles of Christian belief. Theodore Parker added that
“Christian religion however was in need of a new theology which would base itself upon
the immanence God in nature and in man, that is, a transcendentalist theology” (Parker
in Blau, 1952: 119). For the Parker’s statement, the essence of Christianity is coming
from permanent intrinsic and inherent merit rather than the connection with Jesus.
Thus, it can be concluded that although the idea of transcendentalists differ
from each other in many respects, there are some common attitudes called
“transcendentalism”. Briefly, Transcendentalism is a thought or a religious philosophy
which is also a movement that spread out:
1. It is important to live in simple and close to nature
2. Every person’s relation to God is a personal matter to be established directly
by the individual rather than through formal religion.
xxvii
3. Human beings are divine in their own right
4. Self-trust and self-reliance are to be practiced all times since to trust oneself
was really to trust the voice of God speaking through us.
5. It is important to support reform movements which foster human potential
such us the abolition o slavery and enfranchisement of women. (Holman in
Sardjana, 1988: 98)
B. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau
Philosophically, transcendentalism is a form of idealism which asserts that there
are supernatural attributes present in the natural constitution of mankind. Here, the
idealism of transcendentalism can be pointed out by the important figure of
transcendentalism; Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.
1. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson is essayist, poet, lecturer, philosopher, Unitarian minister,
and central figure among the American Transcendentalist. Emerson was coming from
the family given careful attention to both the religious and intellectual development. His
father, William Emerson, was a liberal minister and a sociable well-respected man in the
society while his mother, Ruth Haskins, was pious woman. Emerson and his family
stayed
in
Concord
from
time
during
their
childhood.
(http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/Thoreau-Emerson-andTranscendentalism-Ralph-Waldo-Emerson-Life-and-Background-of-Emerson.id134,pageNum-21.html as cited on March 5 2009 at 1.52 pm)
xxviii
Emerson, in the early 1833, had come to firm resolution of plenty time for
solitary communion which he expressed in a poem called “Self Reliance”
Henceforth, please God, forever I forego
The yoke of men’s opinions, I will be
Light-hearted as a bird, and live with God
(Emerson in Blau, 1952: 122)
Emerson made the important discovery which converted him into
transcendentalist. He discovered that God could be found in the depth of his own heart.
Here, Emerson had discovered the transcendental method. In other Emerson’s work
“Nature”, he said “I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I
am part of parcel of God” (Emerson in Sardjana, 1988: 100). Emerson believed that
there was a very strong relationship between men and God that men were divine. This
belief was strengthened in his speech in Harvard at July 15, 1838 “He (Christ) saw that
God incarnates himself in man……..the world is not the product of manifold power, but
of one will, of one mind; and that one mind is everywhere active, in each ray of star in
ach wavelet of pool,……”(Emerson in Sardjana 1988: 100). Emerson, in this case,
belonged to antagonism. Because of that God incarnation, men should trust to him self
as Emerson wrote “Trust thyself” (Emerson in Sardjana 1988: 100). Emerson in “SelfReliance” pointed out that men trust to his self, trust to his mind, and trust that what
honest truth for him was also truth for others. Therefore, it ca be said that Emerson’s
self-reliance can be translated as individualism. Emerson strengthened it by writing
“what I must to do is all that concern me, not what people think. He did not care to the
law beside of his law “No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature” (Emerson in
xxix
Sardjana 1988: 103). In addition, Ralph Waldo Emerson revealed individualism to
transcendentalism.
Each act of transcendentalists’ reflection is individual, immediate raid on
universal truth. It stands by itself, it has no connection with what come after or what has
gone before, it is called as inconsistency. Emerson said that “A foolish consistency is the
hobgoblin of little minds” (Emerson in Blau, 1952: 123). It can be revealed that Emerson
convinced this transcendental method to all men that “Every man’s nature is a sufficient
advertisement to him character of his fellow”. The individuality of Emerson can be
termed as egotism but tends to “true humility”.
For Emerson, the nature is not the scientific, but rather the nature-mystic. For
Emerson, there is correspondence between every appearance in nature and some state
of the mind as he called as “doctrine of correspondence”. Emerson convinced that for
the man who was powerful in seeing these correspondences stimulate to live in country
and face nature day after day, rather than live in cities. Living in cities tends to magnify
trifles and degrade men (Emerson in Blau, 1952: 127).
2. Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau is one of major American transcendentalist, lecturer,
naturalist, active opponent of slavery, and social critic. He was born on July 12, 1817. He
had almost life-long resident of Concord, Massachusetts.
Thoreau rebelled the domination of Puritan conscience, was insisting that
Puritanism allowed the conscience a monopoly over the whole life. Thoreau said that
there might be deranged emotions or distorted minds or as “disease consciences” (Blau,
xxx
1952: 132). Thoreau felt that God of civilized countries seemed to him to be divine in
name, but not in essence. Thoreau argued that civilized country as the basic problems of
society. Thoreau signed that he did not want to be subjection of government’s authority.
He reflected the relation of the individual to civil government. He did non-violence
protest through his literature work. Thoreau’s non-violence movement was influenced
by Mahatma Gandhi that against to unfair treatment by doing no-violence actions.
Thoreau did not want to be ruled by government since he felt that he was higher than
government. As his writing “Essay on Civil Disobedience”,
I am too high-born to be propertied
To be a secondary at control,
Or useful serving-man and instrument
To any sovereign state throughout the world.
(Thoreau in Sardjana Sardjana 1988: 103)
In this essay, Thoreau felt that he is too sublime to be owned or ruled. Here, it is
clear enough that Thoreau do not admit the outside force He tends to be antinomian, a
person who do not admit authority outside of himself.
For transcendentalists, especially Thoreau, individual is prominent than society
as his writing “the citizen is a man first, and citizen afterwards; it is as a man that he
must judge questions of right or wrong, for each man has conscience” (Blau, 1952: 136).
It means that country or government can not master the individuals.
Thoreau believed that his free life included the assertion of his independence
from God. Freedom, here, should be begun by each individual. Thoreau criticized that
xxxi
men who remain loyal to an unjust state are themselves slave, like a figurehead to
government. Thoreau rejected the oppression that grew up at the time, such as slavery.
This detachment of mind which is the ultimate independence is like Hindu and Buddhist.
Thoreau is well-known by his becoming anarchist.
C. Semiotics Film Theory
Film is not a language, but is like language. It means that to study a film, some
methods to study language may be applied. The study of language certainly can not be
separated from Ferdinad de Saussure’s language system. This system of language sought
to explain how the word and sound produced a meaning. This system is known as
“structuralism” divided into langue (permissible and impermissible utterances and their
significance) and parole (potential utterance). Then, in explicating the functioning of
language, Saussure distinguished the system between the “signifier” and the “signified”,
which together comprise the linguistic sign (typically a word). “The signifier is the actual
sound (of if written, the appearance) of the word; the signified is the concept or
meaning attached to it” (Saussure in Lapsley and Westlake, 1988: 34). Furthermore,
these three-dimensions of Saussure affected Roland Barthes’s semiotics theory.
Roland Barthes developed the three-dimensional system of Saussure. Barthes
added what he called as “signification”. This signification relates to the mythical form
and mythical concept (myth). Barthes defined “myth is a peculiar system, in that it is
constructed from a semiological chain which existed before it: it is a second- order
semiological system” (Barthes, 1999: 114).
pattern:
xxxii
Barthes describes his theory into this
1. Signifier
Language
MYTH
2. Signified
3. Sign
I SIGNIFIER
II SIGNIFIED
III SIGN
(Barthes, 1999:115)
From the pattern above, it can be seen that in myth there are two semiological
systems. First, a linguistic system which is called the languageobject. In this languageobject, also called as denotation stage, indicates relationship between signifier and
signified, while the signified is explicitly derived from the signifier. Second, myth itself
called metalaguage shapes the meaning behind the object. It is can be termed as
connotation stage that the signified is implicitly derived from the signifier. Here, it can
be underlined that Roland Barthes developed semiotics into signifier as form, signified
as concept, and sign is the combination between form and concept that produce myth
(signification). Semiotics theory keeps developing into the study of film.
In the beginning of film history, film study was compared to verbal language. It
was not until now that written and spoken languages are just two among many systems
of communication, making the real study of film can proceed. Then, it is known as
semiotics, the study of sign. Semiotics film theory is redefining the concept of written
and spoken language.
xxxiii
Christian Metz, the well-known film semiotician, said that “It is not because the
cinema is language that it can tell such fine stories, but rather it has become language
because it has told such fine stories (Metz in Monaco, 2000: 157). In other term, Metz
said that “a film is difficult to explain because easy to understand”. Here, Metz explained
that in film, the signifier and the signified are almost identical: the sign is a short- circuit
sign. It means that it can not modify the signs of cinema as modifying the words of
language system. Metz gave example an image of rose. In film, an image of rose is image
of rose, nothing more and nothing less. While in English a rose can be simply a rose , but
it can be modified with similar words: rose, rosy, rosier, rosiest, rise, risen, rows (ruse,
arose, roselike, and so forth (Metz in Monaco, 2000: 158). Here, it can be concluded that
the power of film between the signifier and signified is less than the power of language
system. Metz added that film semiotics could not only work at the level of image but
also at its duplicates. In film there is no process of lexicon as it exists in verbal language.
Film is added by its duplicates that construct deeper meanings, as Metz’s explanation:
Cinema transforms the world into discourse, and is not therefore simple
duplication. But a semiotics of the cinema cannot work at the level of the image,
since each image is unique, novel and analogous to reality, with its meaning
produced not by its places within a system but by what it duplicates. There is no
process of selection from a lexicon of images in cinema as there is from the
verbal lexicon of a natural language. (Metz in Lapsley and Westlake, 1988:40)
The fact is that film, unlike written or spoken language, is not composed of as
units as such, but is rather a continuum of meaning. In conclusion, James Monaco in
How to Read a Film described that “film presents us with a language (of sorts) that:
xxxiv
a. consists of short- circuit signs in which the signifier nearly equals the signified;
and
b. depends on a continuous, nondiscrete system in which we can’t identify basic
unit and which therefore we can’t describe quantitatively. ( Monaco, 2000: 160)
This thesis focused using Christian Metz’s semiotics film theory as the development
of Roland Barthes’s semiotics theory. Film has its own language that needs knowledge
about technique and terminology of film to understand it. In order to reveal deeper
meaning of film, it is better to know the film idioms bellow:
1. Mise-en-Scène
Mise-en-Scène was originally a French theatrical term, meaning “placing on the
stage”. Louis Giannetti in book Understanding Movies: Fourth Edition (1987: 32)
described Mise-en- Scène as “somewhat more complicated a blend of the visual
conventions, of the live theater with those of the plastic arts”. Here, it can be seen that
Mise-en- Scène of the movie closely relates to the visual objects or people in the movie
which are called “image”. Mise-en- Scène can be termed as a fluid choreographing of
visual elements that correspond to complex idea. The information got through Mise-enScène can be used in order to analyze a movie and its message. Each discipline of Miseen- Scène contains tools that usually be used to enhance the film. James Monaco in How
to Read a Film (2000: 179) explained that Mise-en- Scène is often regarded as static,
while montage as dynamic. The codes of Mise-en- Scène are tools with which filmmaker
alters and modifies the audience’s reading of shoot. The shoot in the movie is the
important thing in constructing a large unit of meaning. This analysis of Mise-en- Scène is
divided into; the framed image and the diachronic shoot.
xxxv
a. The Framed Image
Each movie is enclosed by the frame of the screen which defines the
world of the film. As an esthetic device, the frame performs several ways. Louis
Giannetti argued that this frame “selects and delimits the subject, editing out all
irrelevancies and presenting us with only a “piece” of reality (Giannetti, 1987:
39). It means that the framed image is not only adding meaning to the movie
message but also bounding the image presented to the screen of the movie. The
movie frame can function as a metaphor for other types of enclosure. Louis
Giannetti given the example from “Hitchcock”, the frame is likened to a window
of the films of audience may satisfy its impulse to pry into intimate details of the
characters’ live (Giannetti, 1987: 39). The areas within the frame can suggest
symbolic ideas. For instance, by placing an object or actor within a particular
section of the frame, the filmmaker can radically alter his comment on that
object or character. Another example is that usually the area near the top of the
frame is used to suggest the idea dealing with power, authority, and aspiration.
In conclusion, it shows how the framed image can add certain meaning to movie
message.
xxxvi
The example of the framed image
(Monaco, 2000: 187)
b. The Diachronic Shot
Filmmakers use a wealth terminology in regard to the shot. The shot of
the movie includes distance, focus, angle, movement, and point of view.
According to James Monaco (2000, 196) there are two divisions of shot used in
terminology of movie and each of them will give certain effect to the movie
itself. First, is in the term of the number of subject viewed including the full
shot, three- quarter shot, medium shot (or mid- shot), and head-and-shoulders
shot. Second is in the term of the range of distances consisting of close-up shot,
long shot, and extreme long shot.
xxxvii
The example of close-up shot
(Monaco, 2000: 196)
The example of medium shot
(Monaco, 2000: 196)
Focus is the next most important of the shot. There are two axes in the
determination of focus. First is between deep and shallow which are possible to
“put things in the scene”. It makes the scene is much larger and more
accommodating. Second is the continuum between sharp associated with
xxxviii
verisimilitude and soft focus associated with “romantic mood”. Focus can be
associated with single ground or it tends toward “movement”. Filmmakers can
shift the interest of the frame from one ground to another. In certain ways,
filmmakers can use a parallel way, zoom, or tracking shot or they can do so
within the frame and without moving the camera. The basic movement used by
Hollywood is for its ability to maintain attention on the subject.
The next aspect of diachronic shot is “angle”. The different angle of
camera will shape the different point of view. There are three kinds of camera
angle; eye-level, low-angle, and high-angel. Each camera angle has its
importance to the subject. For instance, high-angle shot will reduce the
importance of the subject while low-angle shot emphasize its power. While, eyelevel shot is not always easy to be defined.
The example of high angle
(Monaco, 2000: 181)
2. Sound
xxxix
Christian Metz in How to Read a Film (2000: 212) identified five channels of
information in film: (1) The visual image, (2) Print and other graphics, (3) Speech, (4)
Music, and (5) Noise (sound effect). It means that speech is important as well as the
other source of information. Sound is all voice presented in the movie which consists of
speech, music, and noise (sound effect). Speech and music naturally receive attention
because the have specific meaning. In this research speech also give significant meaning
to whole meaning of the movie. Speech can be divided into monologue and dialogue. In
the movie of Into the Wild, Christopher Johnson Mccandless as central figure often has
monologue and dialogue that deliver significant meaning related to the major theme,
transcendentalism.
D. Into the Wild
Into the Wild is a non-fiction movie, released in 2007, told a story about a young
and his adventures till finally died in wilderness of Alaska. This movie can be said as
semi-autobiographical of Christopher Johnson McCandless since it tells his life till his
dead.
Chris was born on February 12, 1968 in Southern California. When he was six
years old, his parents moved the family to Annandale, Virginia. His father worked for
NASA and his mother was a secretary. Then, they built their own success consulting
business. Despite their financial success, Christ’s family was fraught with emotional
turbulence. His father and mother fraught often, and these fights occasionally into
xl
physical affairs. On top of that, they was willing to divorce, even finally it failed. From
the child age, Christ was recognized as being strong willed with compulsion to be
idealistic and physically powerful. Christ graduated from high school in 1986 and then
from Emory University in Atlanta in 1990, having majored in anthropology and history.
Despite his success and status as an-upper middle class citizen, however, Christ had a
growing contempt for modern and material America, and he found himself being
influenced by philosophers likes Emerson and Thoreau, and writing from Jack London
and Leo Tolstoy. Then, he considered leaving society to enter a period of contemplation.
After graduating from Emory University, Christ began to travel and donated his
saving, $24.000, to orphan house. He wandered under the name “Alexander
Supertramp” through Arizona, California, and North Dakota. He even allowed his car to
be washed away a flash flood. He was proud to his ability to travel with minimum
money, gear, and food. Along his journey he faced many characters giving impact to his
life. He ever live with the hippies, Jan and Rayney, Wayne, a wheat farmer that in fact
also a fugitive, and Ron, an old widower that want to adopt Chris. Chris was holding his
idealism strongly. He was dreaming to live in Alaskan in order to reach his ultimate
freedom. Many people that love Christ prohibited him, but he kept traveling to Alaska.
Christ with “Alaskan Odyssey” would live in desolate locate, far from humanity, and
progress further physically and spiritually. In 1992, Christ did so, hitchhiking to
Fairbanks, Alaska. After hiking for some time through the snow Christ located on old
“magic bus” used as a shelter for hunters in the area. Christ lived during the time by
poaching and hunting. However his fortunes began to fail as food became more and
more scarce, and soon he essentially trapped within the vicinity of the bus with no food
and no way out. He was found a few later, dead in his sleeping bag. His journey indicates
xli
that he had managed his self in the area at least 189 days. He taught that he has died
from a combination of starvation and poisonous fungus found on some seeds he ate,
but it was a matter of speculation. (http://christophermccandless.net/)
The death of Christ Mccandless was made public in the January, 1993 edition of
Outside magazine. Author Jon Krakauer published article titled “Death of an Innocent”,
in which he depicted life of Christ. Jon Krakauer said about Christ adventure story that:
“The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is in his passion for adventure. The
joy of life comes from our encounters with the new experiences, and hence
there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day
to
have
a
new
and
different
sun”
(Krakauer
in
http://nerro.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/into-the-wild-depicting-the-life-ofchristopher-mccandless/).
Having much interesting to Christ adventure story and life, Jon Krakauer decided
to take his published article a step further. In 1996, he published his book that
encounters Christ’s experience to the other wilderness experiences and his own as well
“Into the Wild”. It became a best seller book. Krakauer believes that away from a couple
of fatal mistakes, Christ McCandless would have been alive now.
In 2007 Sean Penn released an adaptation of the biography from Jon Krakauer’s
Into the Wild. In the movie, Penn decided to take off Krakauer’s voice and stick to Chris’s
story only. He said “The interest I had in this story was predominantly what he was
pursuing and not as much what he was fleeing”. However, after 10 years Penn received
an
approval
call
from
the
family
and
started
working
on
the
movie.
(http://nerro.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/into-the-wild-depicting-the-life-of-christophermccandless/
xlii
CHAPTER III
ANALYSIS
This chapter of the thesis contains the analysis related to the research question
being questioned in the first chapter. Thus, this chapter discusses what and how the
transcendentalism values of Christopher Johnson McCandless are reflected in the nonfiction movie Into the Wild directed by Sean Penn. This chapter applies the semiotics
film theory and to be seen from the perspectives of sociology and philosophy to answer
the questions what and how the values of transcendentalism of Christopher Johnson
McCandless are presented in the movie
In analyzing the movie, certainly it can not be separated from the title as the
representative idea of the movie. The title of the movie does not only as the
representative idea but also persuasive strategy to invite the audiences. From the title
of the movie Into the Wild, the audiences can guest what the story will be which is
“someone who enter the wilderness”. Into the Wild by Sean Penn, as the commercial
movie, was expected to reach as many audiences as possible. Then, the poster is also set
up in simple way without forgetting for deliver the idea of the movie.
The promotional film poster of Into the Wild shows the main character,
Christopher Johnson McCandless, that is sitting in the top of old bus and facing right
side. He looks enjoying the view in front of him. It shows the “optimism” of Christopher
Johnson McCandless. This poster uses the color of sky (white and blue) or it can be the
color of snow as the background and combined with written text in soft green. It is a
xliii
33
harmonious combination. This combination of colors is certainly as the representative of
the main setting of the movie “Alaska”. The written text consists of title, director, and
players. The text of the title is written much bigger and clearer than the other text in
order to make audiences give more pay attention to the movie title than the name of
stars and the director. It can mean that this movie is qualified enough not only from the
popularity of the stars or the director, but also from the quality of the movie. Basically,
promotional poster film of Into the Wild is simple in both of the view and the content
but it is attractive and representative enough to invite audiences.
Promotional film poster
(www.en.wikipedia/Into_the_Wild_(film) wiki.htm)
xliv
The title Into the Wild makes reference to the place where Christopher Johnson
Mccandless live with his physical and spiritual exercise. It does not only show the coming
of a person who lives in the wilderness but also the coming of a person to spiritual
world. There are juxtapositions between journey and destination which is in particular
more Alaska in the body of film.
In the beginning of the movie, there is a scene that shows Christ who is carving his
statements about his living in the wild. Certainly the wild place in that statement
represents Alaska.
Two years he walks the earth. No phone,
No pool, no pets, no cigarettes, ultimate
Freedom. An extremist. And aesthetic
Voyager whose home is in the road
…………………………………………
Escaped from atlanta.
Thou Shalt not return ‘cause the “west is the Best.”
And now after two rambling years,
Comes the final and greatest adventure.
…………………………………………
The climactic battle to kill the false
Being within and victoriously conclude
The spiritual revolution.
………………………………………..
No longer to be poisoned by civilization,
he flees, and walks alone upon the land
xlv
to become lost in the wild.
(Chris signs his doctrine)
ALEXANDER SUPERTRAMP MAY 1992
(http://www.dmsukltd.com/hawk/paramount/into_the_wild_tra/script/Into%20
the%20Wild%20-%20Intl%20Trailer%20A%20CCSL.pdf, p.126)
For most people, Alaska (Fairbanks, Yokun territory of the Alaska Interior) is
considered the area that absolutely is uncomfortable at all to live. It is best described as
extreme and is a good example of a true subarctic climate. Some of the highest and
lowest temperatures in Alaska occur around the area near Fairbanks. The summers can
have temperatures reaching into the 90s°F (the low to mid 30s °C), while in the winter,
the temperature can fall below −60 °F (-52 °C). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska).
For other people, a long time living in Alaska is a stupidity but it is not for Chris. From his
carving, he considers the simplicity and the wilderness of the journey to Alaska are as a
bridge for his spiritual revolution. It is the new living to escape from the troublesome
civilization. It is the great adventure for Chris as he says as the ultimate freedom. In this
place, certainly Chris is living without modern facilities as he says living with no phone,
no pool, no pets, and no cigarettes. Chris has had a new life by going Into the Wild.
xlvi
(ITW I/ 01/0.17.23)
Chris always makes a note what he has done during his adventure journey especially
when he lived in Alaska. It is an evidence of what he has done and what he has got
during his traveling.
Into the Wild presents the values of transcendentalism through several
elements of movie, especially its main character, Christopher Johnson Mccandless.
However, Sean Penn as the director and screen writer also add the sign of
transcendentalism values from the very first scene of the movie. It opens with a verse by
Lord Byron. Lord Byron was an English poet who also played a role to Greece’s
independence. He inherited his grandfather’s land in a nearby forest in Sherwood. He
ever rode a horse taking around Greece. He often wrote poems to draw his adventure
(http://wapedia.mobi/id/Lord_Byron). Sean Penn uses Lord Byron’s verse in this scene,
xlvii
(ITW I/ 02/ 0.00.28)
Here, it can be seen that Sean Penn is willing to introduce the new concept of
happiness which is out of modern civilization. Happiness, precisely, is got from the place
around the forest or shore with the animal roar. Happiness is not in the area with
intrudes, hypocrites or restrain rules, which usually happens in modern urban
civilization. People living lonely in a very small group in a certain village are much better
than getting lost in the hypocrisy of big city. It has been proper when a person lives close
to the nature. In this point of view, by adding Lord Byron’s verse, Sean Penn is in
agreement with Emerson’s doctrine of correspondence; “Every appearance in nature
corresponds between to some state of the mind. For the man of powerful mind who
recognizes these correspondences, country living, facing nature day after day, is far
more stimulating than living in cities which tend to magnify trifles and degrade men”
(Emerson in Blau, 1952: 127). In other words, it can be concluded that to be a better
man with a powerful mind is strongly suggested to live close to nature. While, living in
xlviii
cities with its negative side will degrade the quality of mind. Cities make its citizens
become invaluable man. It belongs to the transcendentalism values.
Sean Penn as the script writer and director of Into the Wild shapes this movie
with linear dominantly but the audiences should be advised with the time played. In the
beginning of the movie, the audiences are served with the first coming of Chris in Alaska,
then the audiences are asked to see Chris before he goes traveling, then he comes back
to Alaska again, then comes back to the scene of the Chris’s traveling journey and keep
continuing like that. This sequence of time is continuing until the final scene which is the
death of Chris in Alaska. It is an interesting setting of time since not many directors of
the movies are brave in using this type of time sequence. If it is not done well, it will
make the audiences confused.
After Sean Penn shows the Chris’s first coming to Alaska, Penn asks going flash
back in Chris’s graduation ceremony, a moment before Chris has a long journey. In
graduation ceremony there is Chris’s voice over as if he imagined about his parents
graduation a long time ago.
CHRIS (V.O.)
I see them standing at the formal gates of their colleges,
I see my father strolling out under the ochre sandstone arch,
The red tiles glinting like bent plates of blood behind his head,
I see my mother with a few light books at her hip standing at the pillar made of tiny
bricks with the wrought-iron gate still open behind her, its sword-tips black in the May
air, they are about to graduate, they are about to get married,
they are kids, they are dumb, all they know is they are innocent,
they would never hurt anybody.
xlix
I want to go up to them and say Stop, don't do it--she's the wrong woman,
he's the wrong man, you are going to do things
you cannot imagine you would ever do,
you are going to do bad things to children,
you are going to suffer in ways you never heard of,
you are going to want to die.
I want to go up to them there in the late May sunlight
and say it, her hungry pretty blank face turning to me,
(http://www.dmsukltd.com/hawk/paramount/into_the_wild_tra/script/Into%20the%20
Wild%20-%20Intl%20Trailer%20A%20CCSL.pdf, p.4)
Here, Chris describes his parents as the wrong couple. Chris states that when
they got married, his parents were just a kid, damn, and innocent. Chris feels that they
are not good parents for him and his sister, Carine. Thus, it can be seen that Chris grows
up in a less comfortable family condition. Chris is coming from upper middle class of
society, but it can not make Chris live happily. But Chris does not want to regret about
this condition, he still wants live with his own way.
That voice over is continued with brief conversation with Carine.
INT. DATSUN
Chris is holding a book from which he reads aloud the
LAST LINE OF THE POEM...
CHRIS
I say...Do what you are going to do,
l
and I will tell about it.
CARINE
Who wrote that?
CHRIS
Well, it could’ve been either one of us,
couldn’t it?
He hands a book of Sharon Olds’ poetry to her.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
There’s a lot of great poems in there.
CARINE
Thanks, big brother.
They exit
This is the last personal conversation between Chris and Carine before he leaves
for Atlanta. This conversation is focused on the sentence “Do what you are going to do”.
It shows that Chris is as a person who has tenacious conviction. He will struggle what he
feels right. Chris also asks it to his sister.
li
Sean Penn, in several scenes, put Chris’ sister, Carine McCandless (played by
Jena Malone) as a additional narrator who tells about Chris and her own family, such as
in scene in a night before Chris leave Atlanta going to north.
Carine (VO)
Chris measured himself and those around him by impossibly rigorous moral code.
He risked what he could been to find some companies from the books he love
from the writers like Tolstoy, Jack London, and Thoreau.
………………………………………………….
The voice above is together with the scene that shows Chris in the night in
campus’s “rooming 8 house” (the name of Chris’s boarding house). This scene shows a
warm light, a black and white poster on a barren wall. Then it also shoots to a stack of
books sitting on the floor such as Tolstoy, Stregner, Thoreau, Jack London, and
Pasternak. It can be seen that the night is like contemplation for Chris. He has
introspection at his desk by candlelight. Then the shoot continues to focus on envelope
that Chris fill it a check ($24.000) with a note “These are all my savings. Feed someone
with it”. Then Chris signs it, and then slides the note the check into addressed Oxford
Famine Relief Fund (Boston OXFAM America). Then Chris pulls his wallet from his back
pocket. He saves his remaining cash then pulls all the cards and pictures from its sleeves
(including a picture of his parents). Then he cuts his entire card included ID card using a
scissor and throws away all the pictures. Finally the shot comes to his social security
card, he holds it to the candles flame. Then, Chris burns it
lii
That night is a huge step to Chris. Chris has felt that he is restrained by
modernization tools, such as ID card, money and social security card. Chris feels he can
not to be what he wants with all those stuffs. He leaves all the modern comfortable
stuffs to have a new life. It can be connected with the books displayed at the scene.
Certainly, those books are put not just as decoration stuffs. Those books give further
understanding what kind of person Chris is. From that scene, the audiences know that
Chris reads many books especially from the writers such as Stegner, Tolstoy, Thoreau,
and Pasternak.
Wallace Stegner is recognized as American historian, novelist, and often called
“The Dean of Western Writers”. Stegner’s works mostly are non-fiction of his life or
other person biography. He is a writer who has strong care to his environment
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Stegner).
Then, Leo Tolstoy is a Russian writer who is widely regarded as among the
greatest Russian novelist. His masterpieces War and Peace and Anna Karenina represent
the peak of realist fiction. Tolstoy, then, is recognized as a fervent Christian Anarchist
and nonviolent resistant. His work of The Kingdom of God Is Within You has impact to
twentieth-century
figures,
Gandhi
and
Martin
Luther
King,Jr
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy).
Then,
Thoreau
is
recognized
as
writer
and
important
figure
of
transcendentalism. Jack London is American novelist, journalist, essayist, and socialist
He wrote popular books such as The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and The Sea Wolf
along with many other popular books (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_London).
liii
Those writers have certain similarity in theme of his works, which are about
nature, adventure, non-violent movement, and social life. Even though not all of those
writers are transcendentalist, their theme of writing is in arrow to transcendentalism.
Here, it can be seen that Chris get strong influences from the books that he
read. He gets many learning from the books. It is not strange that he has
transcendentalism values even this philosophy thought grow up in the end of
nineteenth century. It this case, Chris gets transcendentalism values mostly from the
books from the related authors. As Eshleman et all in Sociology an introduction 4th
edition said “most of our basic values are learned early in lifer from family, friends, the
mass media, and other sources within society” (Eshleman, 1993: 96). Values indicates
what is proper or improper, they tend to justify particular types of behavior and to
forbid others. In addition, Chris also has behaviors that tend to be similar with that
character of those books. Chris often uses a quotation from certain books that he read
(especially from Thoreau) to show him the way of thinking about certain thing.
(ITW I/ 03/ 0.20.42)
liv
The eye level camera angel shows the books that usually are read by Chris. It
makes the audiences can focuse nad recognizes the title and the writer of thoise books.
Those books are symbolizing the character of Chris. The Mise-en-Scène of those books is
important since it is not only as stuffs but also deliver meaning who is Chris actually.
From the books that Chris reads, it can be concluded that Chris gets transcendentalism
values mostly from those kinds of books.
After Chris breaks his ID and burns his insurance card, he goes to the west. It is
the time that he calls “my own birth” as his changing name into “Alexander
Superstarmp”. Chris fells that he has a new life by this traveling and because of that he
changes his name. For Chris, west is reputed as the best place. Although Chris does not
tell explicitly, “West”, can be meant as west part of America which is Boston of New
England. Around this place was the first place emerges of transcendentalism. Chris feels
that west is the best place to live. Chris leaves Atlanta with nothing; indeed he burns his
remaining cash. Chris burns his remaining cash signing his hate to the product of
capitalism. Chris wants to show that he can live without money.
(ITW I/ 04/ 0.23.34)
Chris burns his remaining cash and he goes traveling without monetary. Money, here, is
important to show that actually Chris is a wealthy person. Meanwhile, he thinks money
brings negative side to his life. It shows that as transcendentalist, Chris disagrees to
capitalistic life which is money as one of its symbol.
lv
Chris’s unsympathetic to monetary also can be found when he has conversation
with Jan Burres and Rainey. They are hippies that usually ride a van to travel. They offer
a passenger side as they see Chris walking along Northern California highway. Jan and
Rainey are getting closer and closer with Chris since they have similar interest, traveling.
Jan and Rainey treat Chris so nicely. They offer some foods to Chris, and then they share
each other about their life.
……………………………………………..
JAN
Alex could have a vehicle. If he didn’t burn his money. Why would you want to do that?
CHRIS
I don’t need money. It makes people cautious.
JAN
Well, you have to be a little cautious
Alex. That book of yours is all well and fine but you can’t depend entirely on leaves and
berries.
CHRIS
I don’t know if you’d want to depend on much more than that.
JAN
Where’s your mom and dad?
lvi
CHRIS
Makin’ their money somewhere.
JAN
Come on Chris. You look like a loved kid. Be fair.
CHRIS
Fair?
JAN
You know what I mean.
CHRIS
I’ll paraphrase Thoreau -- “Rather than love, than money, than fairness, give me truth.”
RAINEY
You look like shit. There’s the truth.
They all laugh.
Jan and Rainey is the first Chris’s close friend after he changes his name into
“Alexander Superstramp”. To Jan and Rainey, Chris introduces with the name “Alex”.
Even though they meet each other for the first time, they have been close to each other.
lvii
In the conversation between Chris, Jan, and Rainey, it can be seen that Chris fully enjoys
his condition, life without money. J. Ross Eshleman said that “The United States of
America has a capitalist economic system; that is, the means of production, the land and
the factories, are owned by one or more individuals” (Eshleman et all, 1993: 430). This
economic condition makes profit become a major goal, provides people to accumulate
wealth. Because of that, Americans judge the rich successful, while the poor is not. The
success means economic success. Chris clearly shows his unsympatheticness to this
Americans social life. For him money makes people cautious. Then, people usually
emphasize money above all things. In this case Chris delivers the transcendentalism
value which is live in simplicity. As Thoreau said “material progress was not necessity for
a rich life”. (Thoreau in http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/ThoreauEmerson-and-Transcendentalism-Transcendentalism-What-Is-It-Historical-Context.id134,pageNum-8.html). Chris is in arrow to Thoreau’s point of view that to get a rich life
is not because of progress of material. Chris adds it with paraphrasing Thoreau’s thought
“Rather than love, than money, than fairness, give me truth”. In addition, Chris wants to
say that truth is more important rather than love, money, or fairness. It can be
concluded that in his life Chris looks for “truth” rather than the other things. It is one of
the important transcendentalism’s points of view. Transcendentalism can mean
intuitions of direct relationship between soul and God, not only transcend the sense. For
transcendentalists, “a man has an intuitive capacity for grasping ultimate truth, and thus
achieving a sure knowledge of a supernatural order, beyond the reach of the senses”
(Blau, 1952:111).
lviii
Chris’s sister, Carine, also realizes that Chris feels that materialism has bounded
people’s life, especially Chris’s family. Chris feels comfortable enough with his
restrictiveness.
……………………………………
I think this is when Chris began to see
“careers” as a diseased invention of the twentieth century
and to resent money
and the useless priority people made of it in their lives.
He’d begun planning to “slay the beast”...
to make himself free.
According to Chris’s brother, Carine, he sees career and monetary just making
people become unworthy. He sees like what happens to his parents, when they start
getting much money at the same time they lose the family harmony. They advance their
career and monetary rather than their family. Chris prefers to live meagerly in nature,
devoid of the lavish pleasures of civilization. Chris prefers to survive with only the bare
necessities rather than live bounded with the false monetary life. This Chris’s
unsympatheticness to the modernism is also presented in the scene when Chris kayaks
Colorado River, then passes Lake Mead and reaches Topock Arizona, Mexico. He is seen
to dislike the people who stay there, in the crowd of town. He imagines that he becomes
one of them and he does not like to be what he imagines. Then, quickly Chris leaves this
lix
town. Chris does not mean he never needs monetary, but he just feels that he is
comfortable enough with his restrictiveness.
(ITW II/ 05/ 01.02.26)
(ITW II/ 06/ 01.05.32)
The contrast of Chris’s expressions
The left side indicates the unhappiness staying in the middle of town. Chris looks
unhappy to see people in the crowd of the town. The close- up shot makes the
audiences more focus to the expression. In the other hand, the right side
indicates Chris enjoys in the surrounding of water (nature). It is a middle long
shoot emphasizing both the character and the place. The Mise-en-Scène of
water represents nature as one of important thing to transcendentalism. It
shows how transcendentalism values of live in simplicity and close to nature
incorporated in Chris’s characters.
Transcendentalism can also be termed as a movement against the bad
treatment to each other. During the last 19th century, most of the transcendentalists
were committed to abolition movement especially to slavery and black discrimination.
lx
They disagreed to certain government policies that carry human right away.
Transcendentalists felt that they were necessary to perfection of the individual. Then,
transcendentalists like Emerson, Thoreau, Theodore Parker, and others became
important figure in the antislavery movement. In the 1840’s, Alcott and Thoreau refused
to pay the poll tax in Concord in protest against slavery. He was jailed for his refusal,
then his friends paid his taxes and he was released. Thoreau on the relation of the
individual to civil government finally led him to the writing of the “Essay of Civil
Disobedience” which is today regarded as a classic in the literature of non-violence. For
Thoreau, resistance became important when another group was tyrannizing. Thoreau,
like the other transcendentalists would never let the present of oppression to another.
(Blau, 1952: 136)
Chris in Into the Wild also presents this transcendentalism value, animosity to
oppression to the others. He is in fire describing the sick of society around him. He feels
that so many people do badly to the others. He feels that there is something wrong with
society around him. It is presented when Chris forwards to Wayne, his friend when he
stay in Eastern South Dakota, about his willingness to live a while in Alaska.
WAYNE (CONT'D)
What’s the interest in all that?
CHRIS
I’m thinking about going to Alaska.
WAYNE
Alaska, Alaska? Or city Alaska? The city Alaska does have markets.
lxi
CHRIS
No, Alaska, Alaska. I want to be all the way out there. On my own. No map.
No watch. No axe. Just out there. Big mountains, rivers, sky. Game.
Just be out there in it. In the wild.
WAYNE
In the wild.
CHRIS
Yeah. Maybe write a book about my travels.
About getting out of this sick society.
WAYNE
Society, right.
CHRIS
Because you know what I don’t understand?
I don’t understand why, why people are so bad to each other, so often.
It just doesn’t make any sense to me. Judgement. Control. All that.
WAYNE
Who “people” we talking about?
lxii
CHRIS
You know, parents and hypocrites.
Politicians and pricks.
Chris lives in the era of late 20th century that slavery has gone. But, Chris feels
that he still live around sick society. He lives in the middle of people that judge and
control the others. Chris clearly shows his hates to people that judge, control, or more
oppress the others as he gets from his parents, hypocrites and politicians.
Transcendentalism socially cares about human right. This movement attacks the
societies that oppress the others. Chris does not live in slavery era, but other oppression
remains be found in the society, especially in urban social life with the often people
treat badly to each other.
Chris is trapped in that sick of society condition, then he wants to be free from
that situation. Chris has found a new family when he lives in the middle of hippie’s
society. He lives for a couple of month with the hippies. Chris looks enjoying live with
this kind of society. He lives with Jan and Rayney, a hippie couple that he has known
before. Chris is close to Jan and Rayney as if they are family.
RAINEY
How long can you stay with us?
CHRIS
lxiii
Well, I’m waiting on a check from my last job to come into Salton City the day
after Christmas.
I’ve got to start thinking about getting ready for Alaska.
When the sun gets a little lower tonight,
I’m going to start a calisthenics routine.
I think after the check comes in,
I’ll try to find some mountains I can climb everyday till spring comes.
I gotta see how far the money’s gonna go.
I’m going to have to pick up a lot of supplies before spring.
So, I might take another job or I might be okay.
RAINEY
Well, you know, we’ll give you a little something for every day you work the booth.
CHRIS
I’m not taking any money from you,
Rainey. It’s been a real great twist meeting you two.
You look like you’re doing good.
RAINEY
We are, and you were a big part of that, coming along when you did.
Yep, things are good.
Man, I used to think Tantric sex was just a bunch of reading.
Speaking of which, don’t you think you ought to introduce yourself to Joni Mitchell over
there?
……………………………………………………………….
lxiv
From that conversation between Chris and Rayney, it can be concluded that
they are close each other although in twice meeting. Rayney, moreover, offers some
money to help Chris but he rejects it. For Chris, he can meet Jan and Rayney again is a
much wonderful that money that Rayney offers. Chris is only for a while living with Jan
and Rayney. He feels comfortable to live with Jan and Rayney, but Alaska has become
his priority.
The hippie subculture, factually, is a youth movement that begins in the United
States in during early 1960s and spread around the world. The word hippie derives from
hipster and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's
Haight-Ashbury district. These people created their own communities. From the first
emerge, hippie culture has been assimilated by mainstream society. Hippies’ fashions
and values have been influencing popular culture, television, film, literature, and the
arts. Hippies support Eastern philosophy and spiritual concepts have reached a wide
audience. Hippie’s philosophy gets influences from important philosopher figures as like
Jesus Christ, Buddha, Henry David Thoreau, and Gandhi. Hippies opposed political and
social orthodoxy, choosing a gentle and non-doctrinaire ideology that favored peace,
love and personal freedom. Grateful Dead, lyrics from “That’s It for the Other One”
describes about hippies,
Escapin' through the lily fields
I came across an empty space
It trembled and exploded
Left a bus stop in its place
The bus came by and I got on
lxv
That's when it all began
There was cowboy Neal
At the wheel
Of a bus to never-ever land
Grateful Dead, lyrics from "That's It for the Other One
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippie)
From the lyrics above, hippies is community that live nomadic. They
usually move from one place to another place. They are travelling to look for the
place for living. They are riding bus or van as well as their house. They shape a
community that share their live far from the law. They do not want to be banded
in certain territory or society. They indicate glorifying freedom.
Hippies sought to free themselves social restrictions, choose their own
way and find new meaning in life. Hippies often express their independence from
societal norms by their standard of dress which makes hippies instantly
recognizable from the others. They often serve dress as a visual symbol of their
respect for individual right. They question the authority and distance themselves
from straight segments of society. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippie)
(ITW II/ 06/ 0.22.52)
lxvi
This long shoot shows the sphere around of hippies. They use bus /van as
their ride as well as the house. They live in a group that often move from one
place to other place. Bus/ van is symbol of freedom as one of characteristic of
hippies. Busses/ vans put in the middle of area with many trees show that they do
not like to live in the middle of town. This kind of society is appropriate with
transcendentalist’s life.
Jan and Rayney treats Chris so nicely as if their son. Chris rakes up Jan to
his son that passes away. Chris is like finding a new family around the hippies.
For Chris, hippies are nice guys, they open up to newcomer’s curiosity. Chris is in
one mind with hippies’ philosophical life, tramping, travelling, freedom,
simplicity, close to nature life. Besides Jan and Rayney, Chris is close to Tracy,
16 years old hippie girl. Chris recognizes Tracy when he sees hippie’s music
festival. Tracy falls in love to Chris. They are close each other.
Chris looks so happy being live in the middle of the hippies. But, Chris
keeps running his intention to go to Alaska. Chris says to Rayney that he will
meet his sister, Carine, after his staying in Alaska. His desire living in Alaska has
defeated staying with the people who love him.
……………………………….
RAINEY (CONT'D)
Do your folks know where you are?
CHRIS
No.
lxvii
RAINEY
Don’t you think they ought to?
CHRIS
They should. But I can’t. Not yet, anyway. I got a sister though, Carine.
She’s the most beautiful girl in the world. But, it’s all got to stay behind me until I get
where I’m going.
RAINEY
Alaska?
CHRIS
Yeah, Rainey. Alaska.
(http://www.dmsukltd.com/hawk/paramount/into_the_wild_tra/script/Into%20the
%20Wild%20-%20Intl%20Trailer%20A%20CCSL.pdf,p.93)
Jan, Rayney, and Tracy deplores to Chris’s decision living them. Then,
Chris leaves this group of society to look for his dream, living in the wilderness
with his freedom in Alaska. It is not because Chris does not love them but because
he wants to achieve what his truth that present in deep of his heart. Chris has a big
desire staying in Alaska for several times. He also remembers to Tracy that if she
wants something in her life, she should reach out and try hard to get it.
Freedom has become a thing that Chris always wants to achieve. There are
many scenes that show Chris solidly says about freedom.
Two years he walks the earth. No phone,
lxviii
No pool, no pets, no cigarettes, ultimate freedom.
An extremist. And aesthetic
Voyager whose home is in the road
…………………………………………..
Chris often shows hard characteristics. In many scenes he shows as individual
having strong will to achieve what he wants. For him, a freedom is guarantee of
happiness. Chris moreover leaves his all stuffs in order to get his freedom. He feels
happy where there is no rules binding him, there is no ones regulating him, and there is
no conditions making him to do something improper. He gets his freedom during his
adventure. Although Chris lives without the pleasure stuffs, he feels happy because he
has achieved his freedom. He can live in one place as easy as he leaves to move to other
places. How Chris sees freedom also can be figured out by his handwriting dedicated to
his boss when he works in wheat agriculture, Wayne.
Wayne, hates to think of a wild man like you in a cage.
Tramping is too easy with all this money you paid me.
My days were more exiting when I was penniless
I’ve decided I’m going to live this life for some time to come
The freedom and simple beauty is just too good to pass up.
lxix
Chris says to Wayne that his day become more exiting when he is penniless.
Then, Chris also say that he want to achieve freedom and simple beauty. Chris regards
his life into tramping as he is free to live everywhere. He feels sorry to Wayne who is
jailed.
Freedom is one of important issues in the United States. Freedom is one thing
that can not be separated with Americans life. Freedom has been cohering from the
very first settler of this country. America was born out of a rebellion against all those
who would place restriction upon the inherent right to individuals to determine their
own destinies through their own choice and actions (Nachbar and Lause, 1992:46).
America has innate right to personal freedom. Americans feel that they have their own
destinies, they are absolutely able to pursuit the dreams, and they can act with their
own way. In addition, it is not astonishing that the United States argues as the main
model of democratic country. Besides the history influences, transcendentalism also
affects deeply to the development of democratic ideas in America through its principles.
For transcendentalists, for every people, to know Divine reality directly, is the birthright
of every human being. It shows that all people have common position of reaching God.
It is inalienable worth of every human being. It can be concluded that transcendentalism
lectures that “all men are spiritually equal and of equal dignity in that all men are able to
communicate with God” (Edwards in Blau, 1952:111). This democratic principle of
transcendentalism, then, is not only in the religion domain but also in social human life.
In fact, most of transcendentalists become important figure of anti-oppression
movement specially slavery and women discrimination. Transcendentalism respects to
the freedom because all human has birthright as a gift from God.
lxx
Because of transcendentalism influences, it is not shocking if Chris has strong
desire to achieve what he believes bringing happiness for him. Chris feels living in the
road as traveler brings the happiness. Chris gets his happiness through his freedom and
chooses his own way as if there is no one can stop him. As someone influenced by
transcendentalism, Chris believes that live with his freedom near in the nature is the
absolute happiness. The concept of freedom can be looked from Thoreau’s thought as
one of important transcendentalism figures. Thoreau wrote,
Great God, I ask thee for no meaner pelf
Than that I may not disappoint myself…
And next in value, which thy kindness lends,
That I may greatly disappoint my friends.
(Thoreau in Blau, 1952: 138)
Thoreau in his writing describes that the independence means living with his
own self- image. This way of living can disappoint those friends who set up the ideal life
for him to live by. Thoreau moreover believes that free life included the assertion of his
independence from God. For Thoreau people who is truly independent should not wish
the states satisfy, as he says “A free soul is truly independent, has no wants which the
sates can satisfy” (Thoreau in Blau, 1952: 138). It shows that freedom of this short must
start within each individual. It can not be the product of legislative enactments or
collective actions. It is able seen through Chris’s writing to Wayne also. Chris feels that
his life is more exiting when he is penniless. It means his happiness in not depended on
other people. He should reach his happiness by his ability.
lxxi
(ITWI/ 08/0.56.55)
Chris with his kayak follows along Colorado River without any
safety staffs. It describes how brave Chris. Chris will do what he believes
as truth. Chris kayaks without any license and enough experience. The
great waves show how wild and dangerous the river is. This Mise-enScène is important to emphasize how brave Chris is. He strongly believes
to his self. Here, Chris shows how strong his Self-Reliance as he is
transcendentalist.
lxxii
(ITWII/09/0.11.11, ITWII/10/0.11.13, ITW/11/0.11.17)
Close-up shot and head- shoulder shot with the basic movement maintaining attention
to the subject. Chris is seen enjoy the view and the weather around him. These scenes
show how Chris enjoys his freedom by living in the middle of Alaskan wilderness. The
ices and mountains which are seen everywhere shows how wild and who quiet his
surrounding. But, Chris looks enjoying this place because it is his dream to live in Alaska.
Before reaching Atlanta, Chris meets an old widower named Ron Franz that
gives Chris a ride. Chris camps a couple of weeks in area called Oh-My-God-Hootsprings
at Anza Borenzo Desert. Chris lives in the near of smokers and nudists camp. Ron Franz
feels touched with Chris, then they become closer each other. Ron lives alone and he
feels getting good friend by his meeting with Chris. Ron feels pity and skeptic looking at
Chris’s condition. In fact, Chris precisely feels happy with his own choice. Chris describes
lxxiii
that his tramping life is not because of destitution. This is the way that Chris has chosen.
Ron sees little bit surprised with Chris’s story.
………………………………………………………
RON
Well, this is somethin’ out here. Don’t you worry about those dope smokers and nudists
down below there?
CHRIS
No, they keep to themselves pretty much and so do I.
RON
Hmmm. You strike me as a bright young man. Am I wrong about that?
CHRIS
I think I got my head on my shoulders pretty good.
RON
That’s what I mean. How long have you been out here?
CHRIS
Couple of weeks.
RON
And before that?
lxxiv
CHRIS
A lot of places. I’ve been moving around.
RON
How old are you?
CHRIS
Twenty-three.
RON
Twenty-three years old! Son, don’t you think you should be getting an education? And a
job? And making something of this life?
CHRIS
Look Mr. Franz. I think careers are a twentieth century invention and I don’t want one.
You don’t need to worry about me. I have a college education. I’m not destitute. I’m
living like this by choice.
RON
In the dirt?
CHRIS
Yeah, in the dirt.
RON
I just don’t know. Where’s your family?
lxxv
CHRIS
Don’t have one anymore
RON
That’s a shame.
………………………………………
Chris is chummy person. He is easy to be intimate with the people that he just
has been known. Chris, then, is asked to stay in Ron’s house than camp in the desert.
Ron and Chris often discuss about their life. Chris opens up to share what his feeling to
the government, parents, and other society according to Chris, all of them are fools. Ron
is a retired of ground force that nowadays runs his leather handicraft trade. Ron runs his
life in well-regulated. After retired, he never goes away just run his business to fill his
loneliness. In 1957, Ron lost his wife and his only one daughter because of a traffic
accident. Ron feels like finding a new family by the coming of Chris in his house. Chris
and Ron sometimes have different point of view for seeing the life. They often have
different premises for certain thing. Moreover, they still enjoy to kill the time together.
…………………………………………………
RON
I’m going to miss you when you go.
CHRIS
lxxvi
I’ll miss you too, Ron. But you’re wrong if you think the joy of life comes principally from
human relationships. God’s placed it all around us. It’s in everything. In anything we
can experience. People just have to change the way they think about those things. You
ought to put a little camper on the back of your pick-up and go take a look at some of
the great work god’s done out here in the American west.
RON
Alex...You’re probably right. And I’m going to take stock of that
.
RON (CONT'D)
No, I am.
RON (CONT'D)
I am.
RON (CONT'D)
But I’ll tell you something. The bits and pieces I’ve put together, you know, what you’ve
told me about your family. Your mother and dad. And I know you got your problems
with the church too, but there’s some kind of bigger thing that we can all appreciate.
And it sounds like you don’t mind calling it God. But when you forgive, you love. And
when you love...God’s light shines on you.
CHRIS
Holy Shit!
RON
I told you about that language.
RON (CONT'D)
lxxvii
I told you so! I told you so!
……………………………..
From the scene showing the discussion between Ron and Chris, it can be seen
there are certain premises delivered by Chris to Ron. Chris pin out that the happiness is
not because of the human relationship. Chris says that “God’s placed it all around us”.
It’s in everything. At this point, Chris says that God can be found in every single of thing,
both of man and nature. Then, people should not hang out the happiness to other
people since God is everywhere and in everything. People get experiences the Divine in
all places, indeed in our heart.
Chris, at that point, delivers the transcendentalism values. Christian Parker as a
transcendentalist said that a transcendentalist theology was “base itself upon the
immanence of God in nature and in man” (Parker in Blau, 1952: 119). Parker was a
transcendentalist who never left the church. Even though Parker stated as a Christian,
but he also believed that God was not only found in church but also in everywhere.
Ralph Waldo Emerson had similar idea with Parker. As early 1833, Emerson had come to
this resolution, which he expressed in poem called “Self Reliance”
Henceforth, please God, forever I forego
The yoke of men’s opinions. I will be
Light-hearted as a bird, and live with God
lxxviii
By this poem, Emerson had the important thought that God can be found in the
depth of his heart. So, when Emerson went everywhere as if a bird, he enabled finding
God. He believed he could hear the voice of God speak from his heart. In other word, he
could find God in everywhere since he listened what God’s speaks trough his heart.
Chris believes that what he does along that time as speaks of God. It is not
shocking if Chris is completely sure to live in Alaska. For Chris, what he believes as
speaks of God. Ron a little bit disagrees with Chris’s statement about God. Ron hesitates
that Chris really knows God. Ron suggests to Chris that he should forgive the others,
especially his parents. Ron argues that God herewith the people who forgive and love
each others. Although they are having a different point of view, both of them respect
each other. Moreover, Ron is willing to adopt Chris as his grandson. Chris says that he
will think about Ron‘s plan after his comeback from Alaska.
……………………………………………………………………….
RON
I had an idea. You know my mother was an only child. So was my father. And I was their
only child. Now, with my own boygone,
I’m the end of the line. When I’m gone, my family will be finished.
What do you say, you let me adopt you. I could be, say, your grandfather.
CHRIS
How about we talk about this when I get back from Alaska, Ron.
lxxix
CHRIS (CONT'D)
Alright, Ron. We’ll talk about it then.
…………………………………..
Ron has considered Chris as his close family. He feels so sad to let Chris move on
from his house. But, Chris keeps continuing his traveling until reaching Alaska.
(ITWII/17/1.05.34)
The middle and head-shoulder shot makes the audiences do not only focus on the
character but also the surrounding. It shows the optimistic Chris to go traveling while in
other side Ron looks so difficult let Chris leaves him. The stuff that Chris brings, such as
big back pack, shows that he will live in Alaska in sufficient time. Chris shows his
transcendentalism value of Self-image and Self Reliance. He believes that what his heart
lxxx
says as the voice of God. So he follows his heart voice which is living in Alaska as his
ultimate freedom than live with Ron.
In her article, Emile Moore says that Chris embarks on a snowy trail into the
Alaskan wilderness in solitude because of taking risks, experiencing nature, and
discovering freedom” (Moore in http://www.helium.com/items/430535-characteranalysis-christopher-mccandless-alexander-supertramp-from-into-the-wild).
Chris is not seeking consistency in the wilderness of Alaska, he is willing to experience
life fully. In this point, Chris observes transcendentalism’s perspective “A foolish
consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds” (Emerson in Blau, 1952: 123). It means that
transcendentalists have a room for inconsistency. It is as like the wind of the spirit do
not blow from the same quarter nor with the same intensity. By living in wilderness of
Alaskan, Chris experiences different things everyday. There is no connection with what
come after or what has gone before.
Chris’s decision to live for some times in the wilderness of Alaska also indicates
the meaning of “nature” for the transcendentalists. According to the transcendentalists,
nature is an important thing for human live. Thoreau said in Walden that the mind which
is truly free is beyond its own involvement with nature (Thoreau in Blau, 1952: 139). In
this case, Thoreau suggests that man can feel a really freedom only when closely to
nature. Chris strongly believes to this premise. To Chris, nature is a mechanism to “find
something more dear and connate than in streets or villages” (Emerson in
http://www.helium.com/items/430535-character-analysis-christopher-mccandlessalexander-supertramp-from-into-the-wild). He lives meagerly in nature, devoid of the
lxxxi
lavish pleasures of civilization. Chris prefers to survive with only the bare necessities.
Chris rejoices the nature. By this way of living, Chris asserts that he does not need
monetary resources to survive as he think that money is inherently evil and make people
greedy. It is appropriate with transcendentalism perspective as Emerson said “Every
man’s nature is a sufficient advertisement to him of the character of his fellows”
(Emerson in Blau, 1952: 123). Here, the representative man is not chosen by the voice of
the people, they are chosen by the virtue within universal voice of the heart. In certain
occasion, Emerson expressed about nature that sometimes became mystical. He wrote
in Nature;
Standing on the bare ground, my head bathed by blithe air,
and uplifted into infinite space- all mean egotism vanishes.
I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all;
The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me.
That poem shows how meaningful nature for the transcendentalists. Emerson
could feel the circulation of universal being when he was close to nature. Emerson felt
becoming part of Divine. Finally Emerson arrived to the conclusion “doctrine of
correspondence”. Emerson said “Every appearance in nature corresponds to some state
of the mind” (Emerson in Blau, 1952: 127). It means for the man with powerful mind will
recognize this correspondences. They tend to chose living country and facing nature day
after day. For transcendentalists, living in cities tends to magnify trifles and degrade
men. Chris is sharply in one mind to this transcendentalism values. Emily Moore in her
article thinks that Chris views the wilderness as sanctuary of solace from the harsh
lxxxii
realities of life, as Emerson said “In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through
the man in spite of real sorrows”
(Moore
in
http://www.helium.com/items/430535-character-analysis-christopher-
mccandless-alexander-supertramp-from-into-the-wild)
Chris comes to important learning along his living in Alaska. In the 9th week of his
living in Alaska, he decides to leave this wild place. His contemplation comes up when he
reads Tolstoy’s Family Happiness. Chris reads the page;
I have lived through much and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness.
A quiet, secluded life in the country with the possibility of being useful to people.........
To whom it is easy so do good and who are no accustomed to have it done to them; hard
work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for
one’s neighbor- such is my idea of happiness.
And then, on top of all that, you for a mate, and children, perhaps - what more can the
heart of a man desire?
(Tolstoy in
http://www.dmsukltd.com/hawk/paramount/into_the_wild_tra/script/Into%20the%20
A page of Tolstoy’s Family Happiness has enlightened Chris to have such kind of
happiness. It is a spiritual resolution for Chris. He has felt living in solitude in the
wilderness of Alaska. He has felt the happiness of ultimate freedom in Alaska. He feels
that he needs other people to share with. Then, Chris wants to live simplicity in the
country society. He is in one mind with the idea of living in the middle of nature. He is
willing to live in simplicity in a village with his books, music, and doing something good
lxxxiii
to everyone. At this juncture, Chris shares the transcendentalist perspective of simplicity
and close to nature.
Chris finds an old bus which is called “magic bus”. Chris uses this “magic bus” as
his shelter while living in Alaska. Chris lives in the wilderness of Alaska for around 10
weeks. Unfortunately, he is in wrong time to live Fairbanks, Alaska. The Teklanika, the
river lining Fairbanks, is at full blood. It is snowmelt from glaciers high in the Alaska
range. Chris can not go anywhere. He is trapped in the wilderness of Alaska without
knowing the way out. During that time, Chris is in a pinch to live in Alaska. As he write in
his note;
DAY 82 - DISASTER. RAINED IN. RIVER CROSSING
IMPOSSIBLE. LONELY, SCARED.
Chris’s condition becomes miserable. Chris is running out his food stocks. There
is no animal that can be hunted anymore. Then, he starts to identify plants and decides
gathering the wild potato root. In the next morning, Chris awakens and breathes heavily.
He realizes that there is something wrong in his body and a curiosity seems to overtake
him. The book describes the tiny green seeds of the potato
root and warns that those with:
lateral veins, such as those invisible on the leaflets of
wild sweet peas are poisonous.
lxxxiv
The words ...leading to partial motor paralysis...
...inhibition of digestion...
...nausea, starvation...
ECU: ...STARVATION
Chris realizes his desperate plight. He realizes that the poison of wild potato root
will make him dead. In his powerless condition, he reaches his copy of Doctor Zhivago
for distraction and focuses the page “and that unshared happiness is not happiness”.
Then he scribbles across that page;
HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED
Chris gets another important lesson that “happiness only real when shared”. It
shows that what he has done as long as living in Alaska is a fault. By living in Alaska, Chris
looks for non-conformity, refuge, and simplicity in the wilderness of Alaska. In fact, he
forgets that he can not live without anybody. He has got what he wants, his freedom,
but he can not share it to other people. In this case, he feels that what he has achieved
is a mere. Then, the scene focuses on Chris’s quote that he has written. He says “I have a
happy life and thank the lord, goodbye and may God bless all”. Finally, he signs with the
name “Christopher Johnson McCandless”. Here, Chris wants to be recognized as his right
lxxxv
name. He also points out that everything should be called by the right name. This
changing name from “Alexander Superstamp” to his right name “Christopher Johnson
McCandless” indicates that Chris wants to be found by his family. Even though Chris can
not feel the real happiness by living in Alaska, he has had a happy life. He thanks God for
his happy life.
The last scene shows that Chris is in great suffer and shatter trembles. He defies
his body from its agony by pushing it into sleeping bag. Finally, Chris lies downa and
finally dead in the near window of the magic bus. Two weeks after his death, moose
hunters discovered his body in the bus. On September 1992, Carine Mccandless flew her
brother’s ashes from Alaska to the eastern seaboard.
(ITWII/17/1.09.51, ITWII/18/1.09.57, ITWII/19/1.11.03)
lxxxvi
The close up shot on Chris’s face combines up- side down and right-side up moving. This
scene continues to zoom in to emphasize Chris’s face expression. This expression shows
the signs of hope, anguish, sadness, and elatedness.
(ITWII/20/1.12.59)
The last self portrait of Chris that is undeveloped in his camera. The simple clothe he
wears shows that he does not really care about physical appearances. Even though he
has disorderly appearances but his face expression signs the satisfaction and spirit.
lxxxvii
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
A. Conclusion
Sean Penn’s non- fiction Into the Wild reflects the transcendentalism values
through the main character, Christopher Johnson McCandless. It tells about young man
with a bright future who leaves his upper middle class for traveling adventure. He leaves
his pleasure to have full experiences of life. Chris grows up with his fright as his parents
wrangle each other. He feels trapped in the sick society. He renames to be “Alexander
Supertramp” as a symbol of his freedom. He has a huge desire which is living in Alaska.
During his traveling, Chris’s life is taking risks, experiencing nature, and discovering
ultimate freedom.
This research was aimed to answer the research questions namely what and
how Christopher Johnson McCandless’s transcendentalisms values as reflected in Sean
Penn’s Into the Wild. After analyzing the movie, it can be concluded that Chris’s
character reflects the transcendentalism values in several cases. First, Chris strongly
indicates his agreement for the important to live simplicity and close to nature. He
regards that carriers are twentieth century invention and he does not want it. He thinks
that money is inherently evil and makes people greedy. Chris agrees with Emerson that
living cities tend to magnify trifles and degrade men. Transcendentalists consider nature
as an important thing. Chris realizes that live close to nature makes he is able to find
something more dear and
connate. Second, Chris also encompasses the
lxxxviii
72
transcendentalism values that all human beings are Divine. He believes that God is
everywhere. Wherever he goes, Chris still can be in contact with God. Moreover, he
believes that his self is Divine. For Chris, truth is the most important rather than money,
love, and fairness. What he believes as truth is the voice of God. Third, Chris shows the
“self-mage” and “self-reliance” of transcendentalism. Chris is described as a person that
muscularly holds his desire. Chris is hunger of freedom. He extremely expresses his
freedom by living in the wilderness of Alaska. He lives meagerly nature without the
lavish pleasure of civilization. Chris prefers to survive with the only bare of necessities.
Finally, Chris also point out his disagreement into oppression to the other people. He
argues that people do not have right to control, judge, or oppress other people.
Furthermore, Christopher Johnson McCandless transcendentalism values can be
revealed through his dialogue to other characters, quotes, expressions. In addition, it
also can be revealed from Mise-en-scène and cinematographic elements such as camera
angle and shot.
Chris is described as someone who is easy going and chummy. Before reaching
Alaska, Chris has sufficient time staying with hippies, Jan and Rayney. Chris feels
compatible with them because hippie’s characters are most similar to him. Chris also
ever lives for several times with Ron, a lonely widower. Whether Jan, Rayney or Ron can
not makes Chris cancels his desire, living in Alaska. There is no one that can stop him.
Living in the wilderness of Alaska, for Chris, is not only physical but also spiritual
exercise. In the end of his life, Chris feels that he has had a happy life. Furthermore he
gets an important lesson that happiness is only real when shared.
B. Recommendation
lxxxix
Sean Penn’s Into the Wild serves the transcendentalism values which are
contrast to nowadays American capitalistist society. It is an interesting theme to be a
research. It is suggested for the others who will gain a research in the field of American
Studies, especially about transcendentalism, to make comparative study on other
sources of data, such as Into the Wild book version by Jon Krakeaur.
There is no perfection in this world. It is just like this research that contains
inadequacies. The lack of knowledge, preparation, and experience become factors which
produce those inadequacies. In many part of this research, it is possible that there are
many aspects are not explored well. It can be a good lesson for the others who are
willing to conduct a research chiefly descriptive qualitative research. As a final point, it is
better for those who want to conduct a similar research to study more about philosophy
of transcendentalism, semiotics and popular culture theory, and American social life
before conducting the research.
xc
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Movie:
Penn, Sean. 1997. Into The Wild. California: Paramount Vantage.
Books:
Barthes, Roland translated by Annette Lavers. 1999. Mythologies. New York: Hill and
Wang.
Berger, Arthur Asa. Media and Communication Research Methods. London: Sage
Publications.
Blau, L. Joseph. 1952. Men and Movements in American Philosophy. Columbia: PrenticeHall,
Inc.
Eshleman, J. Ross et all. 1993. 4th Sociology an Introduction. New York: Harper Collins
College Publishers.
Giannetti, Louis. 1987. Fourth Edition Understanding Movies. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall,
Inc.
Hadi, Sutrisno. 1983. Metedologi Research 1. Yogyakarta: UGM.
Lapsley, Robert and Michael Westlake. 1988. Film Theory: An Introduction. New York:
Manchester University.
Miller, Perry. 1957. The American Transcendentalist Their Prose and Poetry. New York:
Doubleday Anchor City Books Doubleday & Company, Inc.
xci
Monaco, James. 2000. How to Read a Film.
Nachbar, Jack and Kevin Lause. 1992. Pop Culture An Introductory Text. New York:
Bowling Green State University Popular Press.
Patton, Michael Quinn. 1980. Qualitative Evaluation Methods. London: Sage
Sardjana, Bathoro Moch. 1988. Ambivalensi Pikiran Nathaniel Hawthorne dalam
Scarlet Letter. Surakarta: FSSR UNS.
Storey, John. 1996. Cultural Studies & The Study of Popular Culture. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press.
Stevenson, Douglas K.
Ernst Klett Cerlag.
1994.
American
Life
and
Institutions.
Washington:
Sutopo, H.B. 2006. Metedologi Penelitian Kualitatif: Dasar Teori dan Penerapannya
dalam Penelitian. Surakarta:UNS.
Internet Articles
Gould, Rebecca Kneale. Transcendentalism.
http://www.religionandnature.com/ern/sample/Gould--Transcendentalism.pdf as cited
on February 29, 2009 at 2.34 pm.
Moore, Character analysis: Christopher McCandless & Alexander Supertramp from “Into
the
Wild.
http://www.helium.com/items/430535-character-analysis-
xcii
christopher-mcccandless-alexander-supertramp-from-into-the-wild as cited on
February 25, 2009 at 1.53 pm.
Into
the
Wild
movie
script
as
downloaded
from
http://www.dmsukltd.com/hawk/paramount/into_the_wild_tra/script/Into%20
the%20Wild%20-%20Intl%20Trailer%20A%20CCSL.pdf on February, 25 at 3.04
p.m.
Welcome Christopher McCaandless net- Christopher McCandless Biography.
http://eas-ref.jhu.edu as cited on February 5, 2009 at 3.30 p.m.
http://christophermccandless.net/ as cited on February 18, 2009 at 13.29 p.m.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska as cited on May 27, 2008 at 2.17 p.m.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippie as cited on July 9, 2009 at 7.25 p.m.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_London as cited on June 26, 2009 at 3.31 p.m.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy as cited on June 26, 2009 at 3.25 p.m.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Stegner as cited on June 26, 2009 at 3.17 p.m.
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809698364/details as cited on May 27, 2008 at 2.45
p.m.
xciii
http://nerro.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/into-the-wild-depicting-the-life-ofchristopher-mccandless/ as cited on February 18, 2009 at 13.28 p.m.
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/Thoreau-Emerson-andTranscendentalism-Introduction-to-the-Times-Religious-Context.id134,pageNum-12.html as cited on March 5, 2009 at 1.52 p.m.
http://wapedia.mobi/id/Lord_Byron as cited on June 10, 2009 at 11.05 a.m.
www.en.wikipedia/Into_the_Wild_(film) wiki.htm as cited on February 18, 2009
at 13.53 p.m.
xciv

CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON MCCANDLESS

Transcription

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