MovieChat Forums > White Water Summer (1987) Discussion > Catching the fish....`

Catching the fish....`

posted 15 years ago by ispamforfood
8 replies | jump to latest

Catching the fish "the right way" shows that Vic was more interested in teaching Alan how to "be a man" than anything else... Alan made a trap for the fish, and Vic said it wasn't the way it's done. In reality, if you got stranded on some island or lost in the wilderness, Alan's home-made trap would absolutely save his life, as "wrong" as it may have been.... It's an example of how obtuse Vic was being. Look, I'm not saying Alan wasn't a sissy, but who cares? Does every boy need to grow up to be "a man's man?"

I'm not disputing that Vic was trying to teach Alan and the rest of the kids how to... well thats just it, what IS he trying to teach them? Because if it's survival in the wilderness, he sure effed up with Alan and his trap... That's what I just don't get.... Maybe it wasn't "adventurous" enough of a way to catch fish... Again, not "manly..." That's really the only reason I can think of that Vic would be so mad at Alan...

I'm not saying Alan should learn that there will always be someone there to save him, but at the same time, he's a minor (looks 14 at most in the movie, thought he may have been slightly older)... And some guy who isn't Alan's parent or legal guardian should NOT be so cavalier about an underage boy's safety. That's just asking for trouble.

[–] ispamforfood 15 years ago

Furthermore... Another example of hypocrisy by Vic, and general lack of concern for the kids' safety: He left Alan hanging on the mountain, and he had said at the BEGINNING of the mountain climbing scene "We're on this line together" meaning we're a team... Yet he left a team member behind. Yeah, great leader. He's really making "men out of boys"....

[–] soco-81 14 years ago

Vic was a sadist. I don't buy his epiphany's in the movie, I think it is just clever behavior from a sociopath.

It's a sad thing that your adventures have ended here

[–] AwesomeWonder 11 years ago

I like what McFly-31 said:

"Without Alan, there's no film. Vic had obviously done this a few times, and the other three kids didn't have cooperation or attention issues. Alan presented a challenge to his patience and guidance. Vic's into yoga, nature, physical endurance, a few things I've actually developed an appreciation for. But Vic seemed to feel the need to channel these things to the young in an effort to show them it will make them better people, too. You have a kid who doesn't wanna listen, it makes it grueling.

Alan humiliates Vic (the fish trap), beats him at chess, questions his sanity ("You must be crazy!"), and actually accomplishes turning the rest of the kids against him. That there is especially hard for him to accept, that his sense of power has been compromised. Once the kids physically turn on him, it's of course, the kid he was the most threatened by that enables his rescue through the same ingenuity that Vic so eschewed before."

[–] TheBeardedWonder 13 years ago

I think it was more a lesson of 'do what I said, as I said to do it exactly' kind of thing. As in, how to follow directions from a higher-up, even if you find them illogical...

"dude i dont care i just love this movie you guys have a realy taste in movies what wrong with you"

[–] Kuato_and_George 12 years ago

Alan's way of catching the fis would absolutely save their lives if they really needed to eat. I don't disagree with you on that.

However, there was nothing "wrong" about it. You said "as wrong as it may have been", stop right there. The kid did nothing wrong. He caught fish, that's all he needed to do. Vic wanted it done his way, that's all there is to it.

For my latest movie reviews and news:http://www.hesaidshesaidreviewsite.com/

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] trishd525600 9 years ago

Vic was a nasty human being. After Footloose, Kevin Bacon played a lot of different roles in a lot of different movies but they were all characters heavily rooted in "Vic." A guy who acts as though he has mentally and physically transcended. He's "over" pretty much everything unless he likes it. Then I met him in real life and guess what? Vic. So I guess it's not so much acting as it is a great agent getting him a lot of parts in movies where the scenery and plot changes but essentially he plays himself. Poor Kyra.

[–] Ridley_Scott 9 years ago

Most of you guys are missing the point ^

Vic was trying to teach Alan a lesson by the way he caught fish.

Vic's method takes a little skill and some patience, and it was the natural way.
But Alan once again tried to introduce technology into the mix by creating a trap to catch fish in an industrial way.

It was the same with Alan's radio, the boy just couldn't leave modern society behind for a short time to get in touch with nature.

That's all Vic was trying to teach, though he should have explained his intentions to Alan in a clearer way.