Thursday, August 27, 2009

One example

At the beginning of the film About A Boy, the central character, Will Freeman,
says:

In my opinion all men are islands. And what’s more now’s the time to be one. This is an
island age. A hundred years ago for instance, you had to depend on other people. No-one had
TV or CDs or DVDs or videos or home espresso makers. As a matter of fact they didn’t have
anything cool. Whereas now, you see, you can make yourself a little island paradise. With
the right supplies and, more importantly, the right attitude you can be sun-drenched,
tropical, a magnet for young Swedish tourists. And I like to think that perhaps I’m that kind
of island. I like to think I’m pretty cool. I like to think I’m Ibiza.

This is the creed of individualism. As the film progress, however, he learns that it is
not true. And the film ends with him celebrating Christmas with an associated
group of disparate people who form a community in which he finds belonging and
identity.

Blog Archive