Survival of the fittest illustrated

Rating: 7/10 (2 April 2008)

I just rented this film on DVD and saw it for the first time today. What a wasted life! Yes, I realize that he had "Toxic Parents" (book by Susan Forward) but other children have had worse. His sister suffered in the same home environment and survived. Chris McCandless was an intelligent, healthy young man but so lacked common sense that he put himself in a situation which killed him in a most cruel manner. He could have died many times along his reckless journey, starting with the flash flood (I was 14 when I saw my first flash flood). He could have died in the Colorado River rapids (no helmet, no experience!), riding the rails, or wandering on skid row.
If he wanted to get his head straight, he could have kept the 24 thousand dollars to finance a spiritual journey across the back roads of America, meeting people and figuring out life. He did some of that while he worked on the farm. The problem is that he had a hatred of materialism (which seemed to drive his parents). By trying to eliminate all aspects of society, his chosen economy de-evolved from industrial, to agricultural, and finally to hunter-gatherer. That life is hard and requires special knowledge passed on from generation to generation.
I have 16 years of backpacking experience and am very aware of both the beauty and the danger that exists in the wilderness. The author of Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer, is an adventurer himself and knows the subject. He also wrote Into Thin Air. In both books, foolish decisions lead to tragedy in the wilderness. If a person decides to explore such places, they need to be prepared, not just with equipment but with knowledge. Some of that knowledge can be gained from books or other people, but experience is essential. That experience shouldn't be gained from a first ambitious trek. You need to take baby steps. Learn your limits and try out your equipment in a safer environment. Chris talked to the experienced hunter but I think the moose was the first animal from which he tried to preserve meat.
One also needs knowledge of the specific wilderness. I think at one point in the film he realized that the river was higher than when he first crossed it in the winter because the snow on the beautiful Alaskan mountains was melting. People who live there know these things.
If you want to see an excellent film about another idiot who actually survived alone in the northern wilderness, watch Never Cry Wolf. I never backpacked alone.
It was hard to give this film a score. In general, I considered this film to be very well done but the subject is depressing. I probably won't watch it again. I am aware of the accusations that the film, and perhaps the book, deviated from some facts (http://www.tifilms.com/cw-sub/debunked.htm).
Chris was a city boy who probably thought he was smart enough to survive on the road or in the wilderness after graduating from Emory. You could almost say that he died not from starvation but from resentment of his parents, hubris, and irrationality. Darwin was right.