Jacob Wind
Into the Wind Final Essay
May 5, 2018
Into the Stylized Moments of the Wild
Into the Wild is a movie Directed by Sean Penn in 2007. The movie depicts the story of Chris a young who graduated top of his class but once graduating instead of pursing a degree at Harvard law decides to cash out his college fund and donate it to charity guiding him to his next adventure moving out into the Alaskan wilderness. This movie shows the epic journey of Chris and his travels around the country while saving money for his last ultimate journey to the Alaskan wilderness as well as what happens during the duration of his time in the wild. Thought-out the movie the director uses many examples of Stylized moments as well as literary moments to build a stronger plot.
The first sequence that I am going to analyze begins at minute 26:58 with the screen reading, “Pacific Crest Trail, Northern California, August 1990”. At this point you can see the subtitle over the picture as a crane shot pans from left to right. According to the textbook, “A crane shot is achieved by a camera mounted on a mechanism adapted from farm and building construction machinery known as a crane, which can extend vertically several feet to several stories. Helicopter or other air flight-mounted cameras can accomplish “super-crane” effects as well.” (Stylized Moments, 24). This type of shot is used here to reveal the Pacific Crest trail, in order to fully show all parts of the mountain a helicopter or airplane must have been used based on the height and angle of the shot. The camera is ascending from the base of the mountains alluding that Chris is running away not only from his family and life at home but from society as a whole. The textbook also states, “In general an ascending crane shot away from and object, person, or scene can confer to a viewer’s sense of effortless, privileged from superiority, escape, or alienation.” (Stylized Moments, 24) This statements backs my previous statement about Chris’s intentions he wants to become immersed in the wild to never be found unless he wants too. For the entirety of the movie Chris’s family and friends do not know his whereabouts, however in this scene by using a pan from left to right which according to the text, “often confers revelation of the unknown”(Stylized Moments, 22) allows us the viewers the insight as to where he is by the message presented on the screen. The textbook also states that “a right to left pan communicates corroboration of what we already know” (Stylized Moments, 187), this occurs when Chris is walking along the base of the tree. It allows us to confirm that we know where Chris is at when no one else does. The camera then moves to a close up of an insect appearing to be a caterpillar. According to the textbook, “An insert shot is often a medium or close-up shot that clarifies detail and punctuates meaning from a previous master shot.” (Stylized Moments, 65) This image of the caterpillar walking along the twig just as Chris was walking along the fallen tree clarifies detail and punctuates meaning of the previous image. The camera then blurs only leaving the image of Chris walking out from behind a tree to stop and look around examining his surroundings. Once the camera comes back into focus we can see a deer standing and looking around just as Chris has stopped to look around and observe. This reveals that Chris is alone in the wild with only wild organisms just like he is becoming. This is followed with a choker close-up, “extreme close-up from the neck to top of the head or closer, conferring intensity of emotion, etc. (Stylized Moments, 24) of the deer as it becomes alert to Chris’s presence around him. As the deer turns his head a graphic match is used, “A graphic match consists of two or more shots linked by similar visual elements. The significance of this stylistic choice visually links the meaning of the two objects- they are a pair of parallel signifiers contributing meaning to each other.” (Stylized Moments, 64) The camera quickly focuses back to the deer and we can hear a diegetic of a plane passing by above. Diegetic being described by the textbook as, “Film sound is best described according to its source: any “natural” sound source that originates from within the scene including Foley effects and automatic dialogue replacement (ADR also known as looping, dubbing) unless used as a voice over is called diegetic” (Stylized Moments, 22) Diegetics in this shot are also used that let the audience hear water flowing, and birds chirping all things that are occurring near where the deer is standing. Then the graphic match shows Chris and the plane flying over his head. Chris having found his inner alertness makes this moment significant because just like the deer he has become aware of his surroundings the plane flying overhead, the water, and birds chirping. Chris then looks down from the sky and walks over to find a straw hat laying on the ground. The camera in this shot moves vertically towards the ground, “A vertical movement of the camera and, depending on the speed of the tilt and from whose perspective we are seeing it, can give the impression of hope, inquisitiveness, or dread (tilt up), or meekness, melancholy, or at times a search for hidden meaning (tilt down)” (Stylized Moments, 23) The downwards tilt in this shot implies that Chris is going to find a hidden meaning.
For my second sequence of the film I decided to analyze the fourth sequence listed as I believe it has the second most meaning out of the sequences listed. This sequence begins right after Chris checks into the homeless shelter for the night and put his belongings in locker number 4. At this point you can see and feel some of his worry leaving his belongings in a fairly unknown place with people he doesn’t know, they might get stolen or damaged. A close up was used to display those feelings, and when he goes to lock the locker an insert shot is used. The next thing we see is Chris walking down what appears to be an alley or abandoned street. In the background you can see the Los Angeles skyline and other homeless people around. The camera then moves to another insert shot of Chris’s head, during this show you can see the pan from left to right. As we know a pan from left to right shows the unknown, while Chris walks alone down this seemingly deserted street what is to come next is not known. We then see a transition to a montage of choker close-up shots of Chris while we hear a diegetic sound in the background of a car horn. The close-ups help us to better understand Chris’s mindset and emotions and he wanders alone thought-out the streets, he seems irritated and nervous like he doesn’t want to be where he is at. According to the textbook. “point of view or POV shot-a shot from a particular character’s subjective perspective as if seen though that character’s eyes. A director grants a particular character’s view of the world. Most POV shots indicate that the subject is the center or protagonist of the film.” (Stylized Moments, 87) The POV shots that we see here and the choker close-ups are all in slow motion which according to the textbook means, “The common effect of slow motion is a dream like experience and often it allows the viewer to savor the moment” (Stylized Moments, 169) Slowing down the scene and adding the POV shots allow the viewers to become more personal with Chris in this moment. We are able to see the situation he is in wandering around sketchy people and experience it with him, feel the lost feeling he is experiencing. At the same time the choker close-ups let us feel the isolation and constant edginess feeling he feels from his surroundings. It its clear to the audience that this is not where Chris wants to be or end up, stuck in the city with no exit plan because he is simply not like the rest of these people. He knows he has a purpose to his life and where he wants to be. Eventually he ends up walking into a restaurant at which point in time we see a couple lap dissolves when Chris is watching a man sitting with a group of friends who is enjoying dinner and drinks. According to the textbook, “lap dissolve-an editing technique whereby one image is gradually substituted by another image that immediately follows, the two overlapping for a brief moment before the second image is alone one the screen and the first image has disappeared. A lap dissolve often confers the passing of time while forging a strong connection between the two momentarily co-existing images.” (Stylized Moments, 185) This series of lap dissolves was meant to show us what Chris was going through in this time of feeling lost in a place he doesn’t want to be. In the moments where his face is suddenly switched with the man in the restaurant he is looking into what his life would have been like had he never left. He would have been successful in law school going out to fancy dinners with friends and family, not stuck looking through on the other side of the glass. The scene then cuts to Chris opening his locker number 4 back at the shelter grabbing all of his things in a hurry and rushing out of the building. While he is rushing out the camera pans from left to right reinforcing what we know that he feels uncomfortable in the urban environment and is leaving. Once Chris has left the shelter we are presented with a lap dissolver and a choker close-up of him standing over the highway with a look of determination and disapproval for himself for ever coming to this place. This scene ends with the blur of traffic lights being used as the main lights or key lights, “the main source of illumination for a shot often supported by fill lights which will help fill unwanted shadow created by the key light.” (Stylized Moments, 185)
The last sequence I am going to analyze is sequence 3 which begins with Chris sliding down the mountain at 38:25. According to the textbook, “sound from outside of the scene, such as the soundtrack score is called a non-diegetic.” (Stylized Moments, 187) This non-diegetic is found as he slides down the mountain to an up-beat song. This up-beat song playing adds a sense of adventure to Chris’s adventure into the wild. Next we see a choker close-up shot while he is walking down the road. This is meant to confer a sense of his freedom. According to the textbook, “Montage, or the cutting, splicing, and editing together of several shots, pioneered at the beginning of the 20th Century by Russians Sergei Elsenstein and Dziga Vertov, is the filmmaker’s way of pasting together images to form an argument of sorts.” (Stylized Moments, 29) This relates to the part where Chris is eating the apple and choker close-up shots are used. The director is trying to show how alone one can be in the wilderness and how as human beings we have the urge to be social and interact with others. After the montage of Chris eating this apple we are presented with a stare from Chris into the camera. According the textbook, “In the theater the fourth wall is that invisible line between actors and audience. Everything that happens behind that imaginary line is virtually real for the duration of the performance.” (Stylized Moments, 130) When Chris looks into the camera he is breaking the fourth wall presenting the audience with the interpretation that he knows he is being watched the whole time.
One of the most important literary aspects of this movie would be the title itself Into the Wild, throughout the movie we learn about the tale of “Alexander Supertramp” and how he in fact runs off into the wild. The title itself mirrors the movie events and details included. However at the end of the movie it is shown that Chris dies from starvation after eating Wild Sweet Pea a plant that is not edible and causes starvation by making food indigestible. This plant can be hard to distinguish based by the lateral veins. According to Jon Krakuer’s book Into the Wild, “At the time of the autopsy, McCandless’s remains weight sixty-seven pounds. Starvation was posted as the most probable cause of death.” (Krakauer). This is a literary component the differs between the movie and the book. In the movie it states the official cause of death was from ingesting the plant when during the autopsy as provided by the book there was not a way to prove this after death. While I did not read the entirety of the book I did find a list online of some of the most common differences between the movie and the book. This is where the directors creative side must come in and why this literary moment meant so much. Keeping each event just as how it had happened in real life would create a movie that could lose the audiences interest and while keeping it as close to reality as possible was the best thing to do, on occasion the director needed to add or create a more cinematic moment.
In conclusion, the movie Into the Wild had many stylized moments that not only added purpose to the film but a chance to connect with the main character Chris on a deeper level. It allowed viewers to see the trials and triumphs that Chris went through on his journey to become a freed person, someone not controlled by the man, someone trying to become at peace with himself. We also were able to see how the director took the true life story and added twists and turns to add interest to the story line.