This blog is in response to a thinking activity given by Megha ma'am. In this Blog I am going to write about my understanding of "Transcendentalism".
New England Transcendentalism was a religious, philosophical, and literary movement that began to express itself in the 1830s and continued through the 1840s and 1850s. For several reasons, Transcendentalism is not easy to define. Transcendentalism encompasses complex ideas; its beliefs are tinged with a certain mysticism; and significant differences of interpretation existed among people who considered themselves Transcendentalists.
The movement known as transcendentalism began in the 1820s in the eastern United States as a rebellion against the common intellectual and spiritual beliefs of the time. Influenced by Eastern religions such as Hinduism, European art, and the philosophical movement known as Romanticism, transcendentalists believed that individuals were basically good but had been corrupted by society. They believed organizations like churches and political parties had poisoned people's inherent goodness and that humans must transcend this state by turning inward and focusing on individual reason and self-reliance.
The movement began with a group of writers and thinkers in Massachusetts, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederic Henry Hedge, and Margaret Fuller, who published their philosophy in the journal The Dial. They attracted many followers, some of whom even attempted to set up communal living colonies based on transcendentalist principles.
Literary Legacy
Though these colonies and the transcendentalist movement itself died out by the mid-19th century, transcendentalist ideas would have a lasting influence on American thought and literature. Credit is due to the writings of Emerson and his disciple Henry David Thoreau, who would become two of the most important American literary figures of the 19th century. Transcendentalist ideas are discussed in Emerson's essays, most famously ''Self-Reliance,'' and Thoreau's beloved book Walden, an account of his time spent living alone in the woods. Transcendentalist ideas had a major influence on later movements that attempted to rebel against society and return to nature, including the counterculture and environmentalist movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
The core beliefs of Transcendentalists generally include the following: The importance of a direct relationship with God and with nature.
Belief in a kind of cosmic unity between mankind, God, and nature sometimes called the Oversoul which is a divine spirit or mind present in each and every person and in all of nature.
A sense of dignity and importance of human activity as expressions of the divine. And a belief in an individual's power to bring about personal improvement and social change in harmony with God's purposes.
The belief that truth is innate in all of creation and that knowledge of truth is intuitive.
Thoreau's life and writings are a great example of Transcendentalism. You may have studied about his decision to move away from the comforts of modern life to live alone in a small cabin in the woods of Walden Pond. He did this in order to get more in touch with nature and to test his beliefs. He believed that by being alone with nature, away from outside influences, he would better be able to understand universal truths present in nature and find wisdom for everyday life. Other people might turn to a religious leader or political figure for guidance, but Transcendentalists put the highest value in discovering truths for oneself.
Some movies based on Transcendentalism:-
1.Dead Poets Society:(1989)
As you watch Dead Poets' Society, look for characters who share some of the beliefs outlined above. How would someone who believes in a personal, intuitive path to truth approach poetry? Rather than being handed a book with step-by-step instructions for how to understand poems, a Transcendentalist wants to read and interpret the poems for himself just like Robin Williams' character when he rips the instruction section right out of the textbook. Take a closer at his character and the influence he has on his students and you'll find more examples of the Transcendentalist world view.
The movie, Dead Poet Society, was a very well made movie. The film was about teenage boys that are inspired by their teacher, Mr. Keating, who makes them think for themselves, and find their own way in society. This film has many different ideals of transcendentalism including non-conformity, excelling, and open mindedness. One of the most prominent aspects of transcendentalism in Dead Poet Society is non-conformity. In “Self-reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, whom is a transcendentalist author, he converses about conformity. According to Emerson, conformity takes away a person's individualism. This quote from Emerson’s “Self Reliance” explains his thoughts on conformity, “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members…. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs” (Emerson Self-Reliance)
Dead Poets Society Transcendentalism is about life in which nature and the soul connect. In the movie Dead Poet Society, one of the characters who shows transcendentalism in Neil Perry. In the movie the students quoted poems and had their alone time with nature. They also relied on themselves and sought the spiritual side of things. Throughout the movie, Neil went to a cave away from people. Furthermore, Neil’s friends joined him to have fun with the Dead Poets Society, a group Neil recreated after hearing that his professor, Mr. Keating, had been involved in when he was a student at Welton. Overall, Neil Perry was a great example of transcendentalism throughout the entire movie. One transcendental quality Neil possessed was his love for the beauty of words. Neil Perry was a good student; he wanted to do what was best for him and not what his mom and dad wanted.
For example, Neil loved words and acting. Neil quoted poetry and felt poetry was the highest form of creativity. At the beginning of every Dead Poets meeting, Neil would recite the following: “I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life” (Leonard). This quote from Henry David Thoreau, the father of Transcendentalism, was a true testament to the type of person Neil was.
2.Into the Wild:(2007)
Into the Wild is author John Krakauer's 1996 nonfiction account of the life of Christopher McCandless. In 1990, after graduating from college, Chris McCandless got rid of most of his possessions, left his friends and family, and began a two-year odyssey across the United States. His journey ended with an attempt to hike the formidable Stampede Trail in Alaska and live off the land. Unable to find food, McCandless died alone in the wilderness in 1992.
John Krakauer is a mountain climber who spent time exploring the Alaskan wilderness alone. In Into the Wild, he retraces Chris McCandless' steps through interviews with his family and the people he met on his journey, attempting to better understand his motivations and the circumstances that led to his death. As an adventurer himself, Krakauer feels a bond with McCandless.
Both Chris McCandless and John Krakauer were heavily influenced by the philosophy of transcendentalism, a 19th-century movement believed in the goodness of the individual as compared to society and championed a return to nature and self-reliance. Many literary critics have argued that Into the Wild is a modern example of transcendentalist literature which should take its place alongside classics such as ''Self-Reliance'' by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walden by Henry David Thoreau.
Finding oneself has always been an important discovery that everyone must experience in their lifetime. In the book, Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless abandoned all he knew and set out on a journey across the country. Along the way, Chris’ beliefs about the spirituality and sacredness of the natural world, led him to find himself. Following these ideals and morals, Chris McCandless was a transcendental idealist who was able to fulfill his dreams.
3.Wild:(2014)
Nature is an elusive entity; an aspect of life that has mystified us with its insurmountable beauty, promised us peaceful solitude and transcendental freedom for those willing to attain it, and has served up harsh realities due to its unforgiving changes that prove that underestimating its force can be a tragic downfall. It seems nature falls into two varying spectrums, the first being a romanticized acceptance of nature as an Eden that grants us salvation from our first-world industrialized lives and the second serving as a warning that nature is not only uncontrollable, it’s a struggle that takes you to the very edge of death itself. It’s a point of view that has the pioneering thoughts of Thoreau, Emerson, and Worsdworth on one side and the real life experiences of Aaron Ralston and Christopher McCandless on the other who in 127 Hours and Into the Wild respectively represent how nature can conquer the self instead of revitalizing it.
This isn’t the intention, though, behind Jean-Marc Vallée’s latest film Wild which seeks to show that although the struggle with nature is very real that in itself can serve as a transcendental rebirth of self. Based on the true memoir of Cheryl Strayed, Wild is an Augustinian confession of personal acceptance rather than moral salvation, where the sins, resentment, and mistakes of the past are cleansed through a thoroughly risky, unbearably painful, and exceptionally beautiful journey of rediscovery. Unlike Ralston and McCandless, Strayed knows the dangers that lie ahead, knows she’s completely unprepared, and is daunted by the impossible task of trekking the entire Pacific Crest Trail. And yet that’s the poetic, soulful point of this beautiful, tragic, and slightly flawed film, that life itself is a journey no one can prepare for whether it’s the sudden craters of losing a loved one, the cracks and deviations on the path of relationship foundations, or the temptations of leaving the path you’ve chosen for easy fixes on the journey.
It’s an emotively potent yet slightly aimless in messaging film that shows the maturation of Vallé even if Wild shares the same elusive flaws as his previous film Dallas Buyers Club as they both adopt a congenial and inoffensive tone to portray a pseudo-psychological fable about the fall from grace and the rise to redemption.
Cheryl Strayed’s memoir is sort of like the demented cousin of Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat Pray Love” in the sense that while they both share a familial root in presenting an entirely intimate feminine portrayal of what it’s like to be confined in a defined societal trap “Eat Pray Love” is entirely masturbatory and whiny in its self-congratulations while “Wild” is a tale of authentic grit and honest self-reflection. This personal redemption story of a flawed individual accepting those mistakes as markers in the path of life is a befitting topic for screenwriter Nick Hornby whose own novels ranging from “High Fidelity” to “About a Boy” are about unfocused, disillusioned, and damaged characters seeking to set their paths straight. Hornby’s adaptation is one of honest guidance where Strayed’s original novel in all of its painful occurrences, grief centered motivations, and obtained through suffering revelations are captured with a sympathetic, nonjudgmental, and naturally blemished presentation. We first meet Cheryl (Reese Witherspoon) about to embark on her 1,000 mile hike with a bag so gargantuan in hilarity that it’s clearly a symbolic metaphor towards the baggage she’s carrying from her previous life onto the trail which eventually becomes more compact as she becomes more confident, learned, and accepting of what she actually needs in her journey and symbolically her life.
It’s a story of isolated solitude and a self-induced detox from the pain, mistakes, and torments that reality brings with it as Cheryl’s random encounters with strangers along the way both pleasant and potentially dangerous and her physical environment interactions bring with them flashbacks of those worldly weights that are freed from her shoulders every time they emerge from her subconscious. Hornby balances these heavy moments of tragedy and the tarnishing of self-help clichés with some witty moments and humorous breaks, such as the impromptu interview with Cheryl from a traveling reporter of the Hobo Times that makes you laugh in all of its absurdity. All in all Hornby’s adaptation of Wild is a serviceable and agreeable interpretation of Cheryl Strayed’s words and experiences that only occasionally gets frayed from its montage heavy flashbacks, convenient voice over heavy ending, and its rather simplistic themes that could have used a tad more nuance as was exercised in Strayed’s original novel.
But Wild’s flaws aren’t entirely noticeable in its elegant and straightforward filmic style that Jean-Marc Vallée has developed over the years with similar invisibly flawed films from The Young Victoria to last year’s Dallas Buyers Club. All of these films have earnest intentions, credibly emotive deliveries, and appropriately paced running times that make their beautiful moments shine far brighter than the canned, prepackaged sentiments that reside at the core of their seemingly significant surfaces.
This might seem like an overt and callous criticism, but in fact it’s an acknowledgment of Vallée’s talents as a Robert Zemeckis, Ron Howard, and James Cameron like filmmaker that allows the manipulation of emotion to be the core driver of his films making them resoundingly relatable and heartbreakingly resonant despite the fact that they may not ever enter the realm of timeless relevance. It’s a style of simple histrionic tricks aided mostly by pristine cinematography, effective editing, and of course a centerpiece performance that brings the film’s expressiveness to an inspiring whole. Throughout Wild Vallée utilizes the gorgeous cinematography of Yves Bélanger (Laurence Anyways, Dallas Buyers Club) that captures the wonders of nature through its digital lens just as authentically as it lingers on painful images, such as Strayed removing a damaged toenail from her bloody foot. It’s this blend of beauty and pain that makes it such an effectively manipulative experience of overwhelming determination and desperate resilience in the face of doubt showing that Vallée comes ever closer as a mature filmmaker to bring us slightly into the psyche of his subject instead of relying on our preconceived notions of sympathy towards stories of struggle.
There’s some beauty to be found in the momentarily sporadic editing from Martin Pensa and Vallée himself, but there’s also a missed opportunity to paint an entire portrait of a character where certain characters of influence get left behind and a thorough understanding of them and their impact on Cheryl would heighten the impact of why she must leave all that behind. However, flaws within a story about a flawed individual seem almost necessary to the process and though Wild doesn’t feel in the end as a completely thought out film from Vallée it certainly shows us a filmmaker maturing in his talents, especially in directing his core subjects in the realm of acting.
Certainly the pilgrimage theme of walking to find something more has been a cultural interest for centuries and Strayed’s memoir follows this idealistic insight whether she considered its hackneyed origins or not in her own travels. And yet, Strayed’s account goes slightly beyond that convention because it’s a thoroughly reflective and moralistically vague confession of self which Vallée’s film only approaches on its surface of importance instead of treading into the artistic depths of challenging thematic potential.
Wild might be in the end a feel good Hollywood production of typical three act generalities and the pop-psychology slant towards the typical fall from grace and found in redemption tale that has been done on numerous occasions before. However, Wild has an emotional grounding that is clearly sought out through the maturing direction of Vallée and the effectively condensed script of Nick Hornby making the audience sympathetic in Strayed’s resilient spirit, daunting determination, and flawed desperation.
It’s a film filled with minor flaws reflecting on the subjective experience of an equally flawed protagonist that borders on the edge of being an instruction guide while having momentary hints at a higher end of being a thought-provoking experience on what it means to really be free. Wild might not change your life, but it certainly has enough to be discovered in its typical existence to make you think there might be more out in the world to be experienced and more within yourself to be engaged and that’s an important takeaway to note.
That's it for today's blog. Thank you so much for reading this blog. I know this blog is very long but I choose to write more and more about movies which are somewhere connected with Transcendentalism. Another movie connected with transcendentalism is “Eat Pray and Love”(2010). You can watch that movie to understand transcendentalism.
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