Cast Away: A Film of Great Humanity

Human beings under extreme amounts of stress will engage in some of the most fascinating behavior, though behavior that exudes a certain commonality emerging within the human condition. Scholars of human behavior manifesting within extreme circumstances have looked at survivors of the Holocaust, refugees, war prisoners and others in comparable situations and examined how common patterns of behavior will emerge when a human being is under extreme stress. This paper will discuss some of the major themes of the human experience as demonstrated in the film Cast Away by Robert Zemeckis (2000).

The film Cast Away revolves around a work-obsessed executive at FedEx named Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) whose plane crashes over the Pacific Ocean when he is on his way to Malaysia for work (Zemeckis & Zemeckis, 2000). Noland ends up being the only person who lives through the plane crash, ultimately washing ashore on an island, vacant of all human life. The bulk of the film chronicles Noland’s adventures and discoveries as he navigates life alone on the island, coming to grips with both spiritual and physical discoveries (Zemeckis & Zemeckis, 2000). Noland’s initial attempts to sail away and find help are futile, so he reconciles himself to learning how to survive on the island, via building fires, fishing, and even removing a rotten tooth with an ice skate among other survival tasks (Zemeckis & Zemeckis, 2000).

One thing that Nolan does while he is on the island is that he keeps the final gift from his girlfriend, Kelly Frears, (Helen Hunt) in a prominent position, and constantly refers back to it. This gift is a pocket watch with a picture of Kelly on the inside (Zemeckis & Zemeckis, 2000). The motivation of the character in this instance is clear: he is using the photograph as a means of providing comfort and memory to himself. This is something commonly done during the process of grief or bereavement and is well documented. The purpose of the photograph is to help the person remember, and to help the person looking at the photo better develop a more comfortable relationship with their current absence and lack. The photo helps in maintaining a sense of the continuing bond, despite the distance between them (Riches & Dawson, 1998).

Another similar dynamic at work throughout the film, is the creation of “Wilson”, Noland’s “friend” which was created by inscribing a face in blood on a volleyball that survived the crash (Zemeckis & Zemeckis, 2000). Just as the constant looking at the photograph of his girlfriend helps Noland to better cope with these sense of isolation by reconnecting with his past, the anthropomorphization of the volleyball serves a specific purpose as well: it helps to mitigate the encroaching sense of loneliness that Noland feels. Creating a “friend” out of an inanimate object is a specific attempt to help fight for his own survival, as it means he will likely feel slightly less overwhelmed by his circumstances. Humans commonly anthropomorphize inanimate objects and it is a well-documented reaction to stress (Luczak et al., 2010). In fact, some scholars have posited that the tendency to talk to inanimate objects as if they were thinking beings is a means of expressing the human’s perception of their lack of control over a given situation (Barrett et al., 2003). In this case, Noland’s lack of control over his circumstances is profound.

Interestingly enough, Noland’s decision to not open one particular Fed-Ex package represents a subtle promise he made to himself. During the film, the spectator watches Noland pick open all of the FedEx packages in an attempt to find tools and other items that will help him survive his time on the island (Zemeckis & Zemeckis, 2000). He opens all of the packages except for one. Noland has no idea what could be in that package: there could be a Swiss Army knife or some other tool that could make his life on that island easier. By not opening one package, Noland is committing to the idea that someday he will make it off the island and be able to deliver that package. He is making a promise to himself that in some way and in some form, he will be able to return to his old life. Committing to this promise is comparable to Kant’s duties to the self (Paton, 1990). A failure to keep this promise means that there would be a sense of betrayal to the self.

In conclusion, Cast Away by Zemeckis (2000) demonstrates common human behavior within extreme circumstances of stress. Noland’s attempt to connect to his past love via her photograph, his anthropomorphization of the volleyball, and the refusal to open up the final FedEx package represent methods of coping with the intensive stress he was under. Noland’s behavior demonstrates classic human reactions to stress. Working on this type of paper has been exceedingly illuminating for me as the film forced me to confront aspects of the human spirit that I had not considered in a long time. The film is movingly inspirational as it demonstrates the resilience of the human spirit and the commonality inherent within the human condition. In demonstrating Noland’s reactions to the stress and threats of his environment, including his solitude, the filmmaker is able to express some of the eternal themes that connect all of mankind. Emotionally it was a deeply enriching experience for me.




















References

Barrett, J. L., & Johnson, A. H. (2003). The role of control in attributing intentional agency to inanimate objects. Journal of Cognition and Culture, 3(3), 208-217.
Luczak, H., Roetting, M., & Schmidt, L. (2003). Let\\'s talk: anthropomorphization as means to cope with stress of interacting with technical devices. Ergonomics, 46(13-14), 1361-1374.
Paton, M. (1990). A reconsideration of Kant\\'s treatment of duties to oneself. The Philosophical Quarterly (1950-), 40(159), 222-233.
Riches, G., & Dawson, P. (1998). Lost children, living memories: The role of photographs in processes of grief and adjustment among bereaved parents. Death studies, 22(2), 121.
Zemeckis, R. (Director). (2000). Cast Away [Motion picture]. USA: Fox.