About Man Versus Everything

Post 485:

            Let’s keep it light today. I want to talk about stories of people lost or trapped in the woods.

            Those always go well.

            I think “To Build a Fire” is probably one of the creepiest stories about surviving in the woods… or of freezing to death. Sorry. Spoilers. There’s a vague memory I have, reading it as a tyke. Things just never got better for that guy. He froze his frigging knickers off, and… the end.

            Whenever someone tells me I end a story too abruptly, I always think back to that one. And then I realize that I ended my story too abruptly.

            Kidding.

            I want to talk about The Edge, written by David Mamet. I didn’t know he wrote it until now, and it shouldn’t matter, but it makes sense considering some of the dialogue. Glengarry Glen Ross, The Untouchables, all the movies and plays. And books. The guy is good.

            It’s a 90s movie. Not a masterpiece, but it’s always fun to watch. I was coerced by fate the other night when I saw it was on. There’s so many good scenes, it’s hard to avert my eyes.

            It’s got all the elements built in.

            Man v. Man.

            Man v. Himself.

            Man v. Nature.

            Man v. Giant Bear.    

            These are the themes taught in every lit class across the country, with a special emphasis on Man v. Giant Bear.

            There’s a couple of quotes that are awesome. Anthony Hopkins is the main dude, trying to prod the others to take heart and carry on and all that. He’s a billionaire in the real world, and we get to see why he’s so successful. His character (Charles) doesn’t stand on ceremony or get caught up in the tall grass. He just soldiers on. Not full of a lot of philosophical speculation when he’s trying to get from point A to B. He says, “What one man can do, another can do.” He says it over and over, until even I start to believe it.  I mean, why not?        

            This part pumps me up, even though it’s true and not true at the same time.

            There’s also a thing about the reason why people die in the woods. It’s not the weather or the bears. They die of shame. There’s something really deep about that sentiment. Like giving up seems logical, considering the pain ahead and the pain you’ve already endured and caused.

            Something like that. Speculation!

            Watch it. It’s better than that one movie you saw that one time. See you after.