Lauren's Lala Land

Into the Wild: Visual Rhetoric and Style
By Lauren Perkins-Fields

Into the Wild is the parable of Christopher McCandless who is freshly graduated from Emory University. While the 22 year old could enjoy a promising future, he instead decides to abandon his family and worldly possessions and head "into the wild". Sean Penn, the director of the film portrays the character as both a "heroic adventurer" and a "naïve idealist" (Metacritic.com). By using visual rhetoric, constantly shifting the tone, and using all three appeals, Penn presents the audience with his ideals about freedom and happiness, and what it means to witness them, while also sharing his interpretation of Chris McCandless' poignant story.
The main purpose of the film was to expose both the positives and the negatives of absolute freedom, independence from all materialism and society. However, Sean had other ambitions for sharing his version of Into the Wild. He wanted to provide a concrete definition of happiness, which, as the audience finds out, is "only real when shared".
Sean Penn uses juxtapositions in his adaptation of Into the Wild to compare and contrast places, people, and scenes. The major example is, of course, Alaska. It is juxtaposed with many different things: Chris' home life, the desert, and society in general. The McCandless parents are compared to all of the other characters that serve as temporary parents to the young man, such as Jan and Rainy, and Ron Franz. There are scenes that are juxtaposed as well. The God's light scene, where Chris, or Alex, and Mr. Franz are sharing a loving moment is put beside a terrifying moment where, in Alaska, Chris can't find animals for food and is yelling an assortment of curses. The juxtaposition helps the audience to understand the difference between Chris' life with his family and the secluded, "happy" life that he desires.
The structure of the film was very important, because it had to be logical and keep the audience from getting confused. While A.O. Scott of The New York Times claims that "the film's structure may be tragic%u2026", most others believe that the kinetic arrangement keeps the storyline interesting. By going back and forth from past to present, we witness Chris' life in Alaska as well as his journey towards Alaska. Through the movie Penn includes many flashbacks to the McCandless family, which provide a context for Chris' rebellion against his parents; they reveal why he is unhappy with his life with them and why he wishes to be free of civilization.
Penn enhanced the style of Into the Wild with cinematography. As Pete Vonder Haar said: "[the] cinematography is breathtaking." There were many different motions used by the camera: slow, fast, spinning, close-up, and far away. In a piece of writing, the camera operation would serve as the sentence structures.
Sean Pen used many rhetorical strategies to support his purpose, which was to portray the positives and negatives of absolute freedom, and to define the idea of happiness. The endless application of symbolism, including the bus that represents home/comfort and God's light which symbolizes love and forgiveness, force the audience to think about each and every object or place. Penn's script also creates brilliant metaphors and similes spoken by Chris' sister in a voiceover such as "Red tiles glinting like blood", and "Like a river suddenly reversing its direction". Chris' sister, Carine, played by Jena Malone, also provided context with the voiceover that Penn weaved into the script. She narrated by telling stories of her brother's childhood. Props and costumes acted as the diction of the film; Chris has two hats throughout the movie, a straw hat which shows his "back-to-nature" philosophy, and a knit hat made by Jan which symbolizes the love that he found in each character.
Penn used many tones to support the story of Chris' life, including sadness and freedom. Sadness was portrayed in all of the scenes showing the family, but also when Chris was alone in Alaska. There was a tone of freedom throughout the film as the audience see's Chris on his adventurous journey. The music created distinct tones in the movie; when the song was sad, the characters were sad, but when it was an upbeat rhythm the tone was generally happy. Overall the melancholy tones contributed to Penn's purpose by exhibiting the seriousness of the story and the depression that each character had faced throughout their life.
By visiting, as well as filming in every place that Chris stopped at during his journey, Sean Penn could accurately portray the events that took place. He also made sure to provide the exact dates of when things happened. After doing all of this research he could make sure that the movie was believable and accurately followed Chris' journey both chronologically and geographically. Penn not only appealed to the audience with logic, but he also appealed the emotions of the audience. Viewers really feel for Chris and his sister after you watch scenes where there is constant family fighting and unhappiness. Penn also appeals to the audience's emotions by quoting Chris' journal which focused on words like "lonely" and "scared". The Washington Post praised Penn's "sweeping, sensitive, and deeply affecting adaptation of Jon Krakauer's book" for its emotional imagery. But even with all of the meticulous research and emotion put into the film, it wouldn't have been taken seriously if Sean Penn didn't have the credibility to make the film. He is a highly acclaimed actor as well as a filmmaker/director. Having directed everything from award winning movies to Shania Twain music videos, Penn has unmistakable talent in many areas. He has also guest starred in comedy television shows such as FRIENDS and Two and a Half Men. Currently, Penn is playing the lead role in the movie Milk. Since he has been both an actor and a director for many years, Sean Penn knows what he is doing when it comes to the film business.
So, did Sean Penn, director of Into the Wild, accomplish what he set out to do? Of course, there are some critics who didn't enjoy the film, such as David Edelstein who criticized the arrangement by saying "With all of the narration fits of slow motion, the movie seems like the work of a nervous chain-smoker. It lacks concentration%u2026" However, others greatly appreciate the film. "Sean Penn delivers a compelling, ambitious work that will satisfy most admirers of the book" is one of the compliments it received (Metacritic.com). The movie won such awards as the Environmental Media Award for best feature film in 2008, and Penn was nominated for a Writers Guild Award for best adapted screenplay in 2008.
Penn served as both Chris' biographer as well as his traveling companion, as he followed the characters footprints through the amazing journey to Alaska, and the movie truly portrays the world as he saw it. While it didn't touch every person in the audience, Into the Wild unquestionably accomplished its purpose, to show that "happiness is only real when shared with others" and that absolute freedom comes with consequences. The majority of the audience would agree that "Sean and the whole crew put their whole hearts into making it what is has become, a perfect reflection of what Chris could have been like." (Metacritic.com)