Contemporary Escapism: Is it Still Possible?
Introduction
Escapism, which is an abstract concept, may mean distinctive meanings for different people and various contexts. Some people view escapism as a negative philosophy or principle simply because it urges an individual to neglect facts or reality and believe in something unreal or fantastical. Escapism may further be defined as an act of dismissing the facts to live within whimsical or fancy ideals of life. (Storey, pp. 510-512) This assumption is taken from the context of nature – that is, what are inherent in man and his environment – which is inescapable and unalterable. For instance, one of the primary points of discussion in Tuan’s book is the inherent instincts for survival in human beings, which rationalizes why man cannot possibly survive under situations or conditions that are detached from reality. (Tuan, pp. 5-6)
However, despite the many criticisms that some individuals and institutions in society have against escapism, it is still an inevitable phenomenon that happens because man is not only slave to his instincts for survival but is also influenced by his ability to think and to act according to his culture. (Tuan, 5-7) Furthermore, due to man’s ability to create and interpret constructs, adhere to distinctive ideas, and so on, he is able to make decisions even if it goes against what his instincts tell him to do. (Storey, pp. 510-512) Under these pretexts, we are able to establish the argument of the possibility for man to escape from modern life, which we call contemporary escapism.
By and large, contemporary escapism is man’s response to the nerve-racking and demanding nature of modernity, which eliminates our conception of time and breathing space. (Maida, p. 207) The fast-paced transformation of life under the force of modernity and technological development is driving people to escape from the reality they know of and go to places that offer the opposite nature and climate of an avant-garde lifestyle. With this in mind, the remainder of this text shall focus on discussing the possibility of contemporary escapism primarily through man’s own will, with consideration to some texts and real-life events that took place in the past, which ushered the attention of people towards the responses towards modernity and causes of escapism in general.
McCandless’ Journey
Christopher Johnson McCandless – a man who grew up in a well-to-do family and has accomplished many academic and non-academic achievements in school – may be regarded as one who had everything he needed in life. He had nothing to ask for, and had a bright future ahead of him in terms of personal growth, career, as well as accomplishing anything he might want to achieve. However, after his college graduation, he decided to give away everything he had in order to live a different kind of life. He donated a hefty sum of money to charity and burned up all the money that was left with him, changed his identity, and travelled to the North by hitchhiking. His body was found soon after in Alaska. Apparently, McCandless’ desire to escape led him to his death. (Krakauer)
In Krakauer’s book, he provided a narrative of McCandless’ journey “into the wild” by basing information on McCandless’ journal. By and large, McCandless’ journal has provided Krakauer with insights on what was going through McCandless’ mind as he travelled away from the life that he knew to live a secluded and simple life. As Krakauer put it, McCandless was mostly a fan of Leo Tolstoy. It was Tolstoy’s idealism, which influenced McCandless to seek a life that was not bounded by extravagance and inconsequentialities but by the fundamental nature of life and genuine meaning of living. Apparently, Leo Tolstoy was one who deserted the good life that he had to become a significant figure that helped out people who were in need.
In addition, through Krakauer’s exploration of McCandless life prior to his quest to the wilderness, he was able to look into McCandless idealistic perspectives. Despite McCandless fortunate life, being raised by parents who were able to luxuriously provide for his needs, he believed in being prudent and unpretentious. It was a difficult struggle for McCandless to live out his ideals in the kind of life and environment he was living in that was why he decided to go on a journey to the wilderness. McCandless’ depicted the “man of means by no means, king of the road.” (Miller) According to Krakauer, McCandless’ ideologies and perspectives in life did not seat well with the challenges, demands, and nature of the modern life that we see today.
Although some people were inspired by McCandless’ ideals and story, setting an example for many men on how life should be lived and valued (Brown) some people were irked by what he did. Many critiques have said that McCandless needlessly wasted his life for his impracticable dreams and ideals. For some, his death was caused by his will to escape reality, and because he abandoned reality to believe in something unreal, he ignored everything that he had to do to live (warnings on animal attacks, map directions, weather conditions, etc.) for his flawed beliefs of the kind of life he was supposed to be living. Because McCandless was unable to accomplish his dreams of learning the true meaning of life and becoming something more than a slave to modernity, many people argued that he died in vain. (Simpson, 2002)
Despite the many arguments not only on the life and death of McCandless but also on escapism, the single idea that remains to be rational is that contemporary escapism represented by McCandless ideologies and decisions, is possible even in the structure and conditions of the twenty-first century. However, the possibility is dependent on the beliefs, ideals, or in general, the culture of man, for in analyzing the life of McCandless and the discussions of Tuan (2000) in his book, we put together the idea that man’s human instincts may be the driving force to face reality, but the ability of man to choose what he believes in and observe a distinct culture propels his actions, way of thinking, and decisions in life. Therefore, if man desires to escape reality and puts his heart into it, the realization of contemporary escapism is definitely possible.
Furthermore, making sense out of a man’s decision to try and escape civilization and the confines of a modern life is subjective to the culture and ideologies that a man observes and believes in. The value or significance of contemporary escapism may go two ways, that is, for individuals who are threatened by the challenges and demands of the modern life or find no meaning in their present lives, contemporary escapism does make sense. However, they do have to come to terms with what their instincts tell them in order for them to survive despite their quest for a solitary life to avoid the unfortunate thing that happened to McCandless. On the other hand, for individuals who are satisfied with their lives, contemporary escapism is regarded as nonsensical.
Conclusion
Overall, by examining McCandless life and going over the various factors that support and go against escapism as a phenomenon, we have gained insights on how contemporary escapism is possible. It all depends on the will and motivation of a person to do so, as well as how he takes his instincts for survival in stride. Perhaps, McCandless life is not only an inspiration but also a good example for individuals who believe in the ideals that contemporary escapism presents to them.
Works Cited
Brown, Chip. I Now Walk Into the Wild, The New Yorker, 1993.
Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor Books, 1997.
Maida, Carl. A. Sustainability and Communities of Place. New York: Berghahn
Books, 2007, p. 207.
Miller, Roger. King of the Road. Mercury Nashville, 1965.
Simpson, Sherry. I Want To Ride In The Bus Chris Died In, Vol. 11, Ed. 6. 07 Feb. –
13 Feb. 2002. <http://www.anchoragepress.com/archives/documentb965.html>
Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader, 2nd Ed. Georgia:
University of Georgia Press, 1998, pp. 510-512.
Tuan, Yi-Fu. Escapism. Baltimore: JHU Press, 2000, pp. 5-6.