A Final Critique to Up in The Air

       

           Hello and Welcome to the Final Movie Review before this blog possibly go into extinction. I would have said that I would want to keep this blog and continue in it. However, according to the transient philosophy of the movie, holding any attachment to object only serve to keep you even more grounded and stuck in your own life. Thus, this has been a significant chapter of my college life but I shall let it go with one last hoorah, so let's take off.

            First of all, let's talk about the transient lifestyle that he has going on. Now, Dr. Goh explained it occuring more and more during the new era where people joining the workforce are expected to leave and have multiple jobs throughout their lifetime. This lifestyle is by no means anything new and have already occured way back during our pre-evolved stages. Men were transient creatures and desire moving from different mating location to meet up and procreate. Settling down wasn't engraved in their DNA. However, as we evolved we realized that the chances of survival are higher if we stay together and commit ourselves to a specific community and job roles. Ryan in the movie simply have the capacity to do so and finds meaning in doing so. Now, he CAN do it, does that mean that he SHOULD. At the start of the movie, he has no one to commit to. He has no loved ones, friends, or belongings that he loves. However, as the movie was advancing, he found someone to love and miss over. I felt that this is what was differing from our ancestors was the fact that we are now wired to live with a significant other. That although our jobs can be transient, our identity and place in this world can't. Nevertheless, the transient lifestyle is still a lifestyle choice, but one that is rare and frankly, not to my liking.

           Secondly, it is unavoidable at times that some people live these kinds of lifestyle. For example, my uncle is a top manager at an multinational company and frequently travels overseas, sometimes on a weekly basis. However, when I asked him, "how was it?". He simply said, "it's not what it seems". Now, this indicates that there is some kind of loss. In the movie, the man lost the woman that he loved for example. That is because you can't form lasting relationships if the proximity difference is huge. That is why the woman in the movie regarded him as an escape, a parenthesis. His sister even said that when he practically don't exist to them. The painful reality of this lifestyle is knowing that nothing, not even something as impenetrable as family can be forgotten. This is his philosophy really. Travel your life so light that you can carry it within a backpack. However, can we humans, that elicits loneliness and social belonging do that? If we coop someone in the asylum, the quietness alone is more than enough to make the man insane. The only thing that kept him with his lifestyle was his goal of reaching a million miles. However, he realized once he achieved it that there is something way more important.

         Ladies and gentlemen, a wise man once said, "find a job tha tyou will be happy to go to work and a house  that you will be happy to come back to. I really enjoyed this movie and I will see you in the next movie. Psych! of course, I will keep on writing. The transient lifestyle is not for me.