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Revisiting Into the Wild
In 2020, How do the Movie and its Subject Hold Up?
Felix Quiñonez Jr.
This past June, the Alaska Army National Guard decided to airlift the “Magic Bus,” immortalized by Into the Wild. (the book and movie) As I read the news, my indifference genuinely surprised me. There was a time when I was a card-carrying member of the Chris McCandless cult. But did I still idolize this tragic figure and the movie that introduced me to him?
Who Was Chris McCandless?
There are few figures in our time, who inspire as divisive opinions as Chris McCandless. Almost from the minute, hunters found his body in what he referred to as the “Magic Bus” people have vigorously debated whether he was a tragic, romantic figure or a dumb, arrogant kid who may have had a death wish.
Born in California and raised in Virginia, in 1990, McCandless graduated from Emory University. After graduating, he donated his savings of $24,000 to Oxfam and set out on a journey to leave behind modern society’s restraints that would culminate in Alaska.
He lived a vagabond lifestyle and took odd jobs here and there to fund his journey. Then in April 1992, he hitchhiked from South Dakota to Fairbanks, Alaska. He was last seen alive on April 28, by the man who gave him a ride to the start of the trail on the outskirts of…
