What I never understand..

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Well it's not really supposed to be a sad movie. It's supposed to be inspiring. Chris knew that there were things wrong with the world, and he took initiative to break free from them to live a happy, meaningful life. That's the beauty of his story. You too can break free from the shackles of tyranny, and live an enlightened simple life. He showed people it is possible. Yes it's unfortunate that he only realized on his way out that part of the fun is enjoying life with other people. But his journey as a whole is still better than most people's lives nowadays anyway.

He wasn't selfish, he knew that you can't live your life for anyone, and that nobody is going to live your life for you. He had to go and live his own life. This is usually what people don't understand about the movie. He can't live his life for his parents. His parents needed to learn to respect Chris' life choices, even if it meant distancing himself from them.

All in all, he was wise beyond his years and bold enough to chase his dreams. His death was tragically clumsy. But oh well, what he's lost in years he's made up for in experience.

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You have to read between the lines and know where Chris came from in order to fully understand the reason he did what he did. You also have to really know what people were like in the 1980's in order to understand why he did what he did.

First off, Chris came from a privileged background. His family was well to do and they lived an affluent suburban life. In the affluent suburban life style image and wealth were everything. People were constantly trying to upstage their peers in order to get ahead. In the white collar world, more time was spent kissing the bosses ass and backstabbing their co-workers in order to get that promotion than actually doing the job. Women especially the beautiful ones jockeyed and aimed for the richest guy they could find to marry. Love had little or nothing to do with it. Men tried for the best looking women they could afford in order to be part of this image of success. Love had little to do with that. If the husband made a professional gaffe which destroyed his career, the wife quickly filed for divorce in order to get what she could out of the man before he hit rock bottom and they were(GASP!) poor and penniless and living with the middle class. Both parents spoiled their kids by showered them with the best toys, clothes and tried to send them to the best schools not out of love but because it all befit the parent's image. Ironically, this meant that this suburban family were one pink slip away from bankruptcy in order to finance this image of success.

In the high schools, it was the same thing. Image, style, money, social standing were the keys to popularity and social success. Everyone was always checking everyone else out looking for any sign of weakness, any flaw that could be exploited to eliminate the competition. Since Chris wasn't at the top of the social food chain as a kid, he was very eager to leave that life style. College was the same as high school in that the student with the best prospects, good looks, social skills were the ones the women gravitated towards. So he came to reject the trappings of suburban success.

With his mind filled with the writings of Henry David Thoreau, he left the rat race to pursue a life free of the mind numbing social pressures of Affluencia and drifted around the country mooching off the poor. Eventually he prepared for his time of quiet contemplation in the wilds of Alaska. But he hadn't anticipated how rough in was out there and made some honest mistakes which eventually led to his untimely death. Before his passing, he wrote of realizing the value of family and friends and how he was ready to return to their bosom. What he actually meant was that his Alaskan experience didn't go as planned and he was returning to civilization and a collect call to mom and dad would have meant he would be back home in the Jacuzzi within a day or two. That's an advantage he had over the friends he made during his trip. He could leave the under privileged life style any time he wanted.

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He was not wrong.. and the characters shown were also not wrong.

The essence was the last that 'Happiness is real when it is shared'
The film never propagated some agenda thing that this is good and this is bad. It showed every person in the same light-
1) The couple who went to Las Vegas- They too were happy in there life, exploring enjoying
2) The couple who gave him that hat- Happy, enjoying
3) Ron- Happy even alone, enjoying his hobby
4) That farmer(Mr. Happy)- same all jolly and happy
5) Kristen stewart - all happy singing songs
...
) Even the main character- looked so happy always

BUT everyone had one problem. But they didnot ran from it like Alex. And that is what the movie tells- no matter what lifestyle you choose- a hippie or a corporate professional life will be same. nd the Happiness one is searching for- one will achieve with others.

Well said. If he had made wise decisions, there wouldn't have been a movie. The way I look at it, Chris pursued the American dream. Not the materialistic American dream of a house and a couple cars and stuff, but the true American dream of self determination, of forging your own path. Yes, he was woefully unprepared for an indifferent wilderness, but he did what, deep down inside, we all want to do: our own thing in our own time.

I'm reading Carine McCandless's book right now. It's quite a revelation. His dad was a philanderer, and fathered children with two women at the same time. Chris had a half-sister born within a month of him. Plus, his dad was physically abusive to his kids and wives.

Thanks for saving me a bunch of typing... I think he might have had a sort of psychological disorder, for lack of a better word... I too feel that longing to go into nature and live off the land, I think all men do at one point or another. Many places where I live offer this great freedom in the Western US.

Well, guess what, its fantastic but try doing it for just 3 months alone, watch the documentaries, I think Discovery did one where a guy went into the wilderness to live alone, with a camera to document it. If I recall, He couldn't even finish it, this guy was an avid, very experienced outdoors-man too, he cut it short and used his satellite phone to come pick him up, from loneliness. The other one that used to air about 10 years ago on the public channel about how that guy goes and builds his cabin in Alaska and lives off the land, that was a good short mini-series.

What I've learned, and this movie has validated more for me is that, for me at least the way to get away from the things he was running from are short trips, hikes, skydiving, I like adrenaline activity, and no matter how you stiff it or hate it, you have to play by the rules, nature's and man's. Man's rules consist of huge articles of documents but we can mostly agree it boils down to money/power. You need money or something equitable to trade in order to achieve your own goals and happiness, that's man's rule, nature's rule is -among other things- don't eat poisonous stuff, lol... Hard learned lesson many people have died to bring us, and if he really had the book, and such, well, yeah he was extremely foolish in his quest, paid the ultimate price.

I know I could never make it alone out in the wild for more than a month, particularly a harsh environment... Without a lot of reading and hands-on experience before jumping in head first. Right now, I think I could, that's my arrogance talking, but I've never actually done it, just read books and seen shows, and camped, etc, so the realist in me knows I'd likely perish, even with a magic bus.

Guess I did a bunch of typing anyway, my bad.