MovieChat Forums > The Beach (2000) Discussion > Did anybody else get this from the film?

Did anybody else get this from the film?

posted 15 years ago by movie_nazi
18 replies | jump to latest

I have read some posts on here about people mentioning how the film illustrates the down side of utilitarianism of which it does but I think it goes beyond that. One of the points made in the film was how they were fed up with cities and the tourism industry in general. Nobody wanted to be part of what has been affectionately called here in the States "The Rat Race" which basically translate to paid slavery in which we are a slave to the comforts of modern life. It did not really delve in the point how we can be slaves to commercialism like let's say Fight Club did but that may have been too much for people to swallow. Many people didn't even get the point this film was trying to get across hence the low rating but I digress. The basic attitude of The Beach was that they didn't need modern society or the hustle and bustle of the rat race was just too painful to bear. Basically they still were children at heart and just wanted summer vacation to last forever. However, when Sal announces that they must return for supplies Richard is bombarded with basic everyday household products such as tampons, toilet paper, deodorant, soap, bleach, etc.

The point being that their decision to become part of The Beach was based on their disdain for the rat race but as many of us tend to do upon analysis we focus on the negative. Yes the rat race sucks. Yes cities can be abhorrent. However we cannot ignore the accomplishments man has created to ease and extend our lives. The situation that arose with the character Christo and what appeared to be a rather nasty shark bite would have (in modern society) at the very least been able to save his life and maybe his leg altogether. What did they do when a situation like this arose? The same way they handled it when the time to become part of society arose: they ran away. Out of sight out of mind.

Anyways I like to close this post off with I believe this is a real thinker's film. You can use it to gauge people's intelligence(joke).

...I still believe in paradise. But now at least I know it's not some place you can look for, 'cause it's not where you go. It's how you feel for a moment in your life when you're a part of something, and if you find that moment... it lasts forever...

p.s. The soundtrack for this film is EXCELLENT!

My vote history link:http://imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=5504773

[–] Myliecad_the_apotropaic 15 years ago

I didn't think it was a great movie, certainly not. But I agree that was the point it was making. The beach wasn't paradise because they were all running away from responsibility, from reality. None of them deserved paradise. They were all so immature. I'd say it more clearly and more eloquently, but it's nearly 5 in the morning and I need to get to bed .

Nothing but light! . . . Nothing but light!

Charlie (Requiescit in) Pace

[–] jor30 15 years ago

I agree with that, but then you should definitely read the book. When Richard and Jed go on the rice run, Richard decides he will get presents for everyone, like the soad for unhygenix, or some toothpaste for francoise cos a while ago (may have been months) he heard her expressing a desire for some. When he comes back, he gives her the toothpaste and she spits it out in disgust as she no longer needs bitter tasting goo to make her mouth clean. In the book they have truly let go of commercialisim and it is also very good that the only thing they have on the island which represents this, is Keaty's gameboy.

[–] CarpeDiemFilm 15 years ago

I agree with almost everything you said, but we have to remember that that was the film. The book had the film in every single way except the soundtrack and the actual visual of The Beach.... What am I getting at, alot of the bad points in the film both in the plot line and the more philosophical approach to life are answered much much better in the book by Garland, as it was said "The first great book for Generation X..." The book showed The Beaches flaws too but it showed why The Beach was so great and so much more special than the film for the same reasons you've described. Not to mention the same conflicts in the film that were in the book, most did not only exist, but the ones that did were handled much better... and the ending result showing that Paradise is possible in both mental and physical enviroments~

Normality is incredibly weird.

[–] movie_nazi 15 years ago

I have been wrestling with the idea of buying the book and reading it and perhaps I will.

My vote history link:http://imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=5504773

[–] mark6785 15 years ago

I dont think wanting toothpaste and soap really qualifies as "commercialism".

To think so betrays the meanings of the words
"commercialism", "consumerism" and "materialism"

Which basiclly means we are filling our lives with unnecasary crap like plasma TV's, xboxes and george forman grills and a million other things.
the least of which is soap and toothpaste

[–] iBug 15 years ago

I agree and disagree with the OP. Yes civilization has certain benefits, but you gotta question whether the benefits outweigh the price of unhappiness you pay.

You mention that the shark attack wouldn't be fatal on main land. Yes possibly. But I'm gonna quote one nice William Wallace on this :)

Every man dies, not every man really lives.

Those people chose the beach not because they'd survive there longer than they would in civilization. They chose it so they could feel they are living.

The movie is not about utopias. Life was never an utopia. It just was better and we *beep* it up with civilization.

[–] unsilentdawn 15 years ago

The movie signifies how we as humans cannot run away from the rat race. All though the ending is not the strongest points of the movie, it showed how desire can ruin us. As Richard narrates in the movie,

Desire is desire. Wherever you go, the sun will not bleach it, nor the tide will wash it away..

I think the movie showed this concept well

Who are you? I’m Death
http://unsilentdawn.wordpress.com

[–] sdfan3 12 years ago

"The movie signifies how we as humans cannot run away from the rat race. All though the ending is not the strongest points of the movie, it showed how desire can ruin us. "

I have a personal distaste for those seeking a life of no responsibilities or hardship, and just fun, fun, fun, fun.

I don't think that the "rat race" is an integral part of humanity. I don't think that humanity has only two options: the repressive rat race, or a fun and fancy-free fun in the sun fun-house.

Having responsibilities does not mean your life is a repressed rat race. Having responsibilities helps our growth.

In a way, the rat race, and the utopia where there are no responsibilities are one and the same thing. Both are based on instant gratification of base desires of pleasure.

The rat race exists because you think you must have the next plasma TV, and must go on a more lavish vacation than your neighbor, and have a fancy car.

The responsibility-free utopia exists because you want to play, you want to dick around, you don't want to worry about paying bills, feeding the baby, taking care of your wounded spouse. You don't want to deal with the inevitable pain of life.

They are both escapes.

The people in the "utopia" are there because they do not want to be a part of the rat race. But one does not have to go to an island and forsake all responsibility in order to escape the rat race! One can simply step out, and live one's life for oneself and for one's loved ones - NOT for the acclaim of society. Plenty people among the general population of Western society do this. It's called NOT CARING WHAT PEOPLE THINK OR WHAT THE TV TELLS YOU TO BUY. You don't have to be an immature hippie with the Peter Pan syndrome to get out of the rat race.

Desire is not intrinsically bad. Desire has led to great works of art, drama, music, literature, science, medicine, architecture, fashion, food, and technology. It is because of desire that we are alive and it is because of desire that we have waterproof shoes instead of some rawhide wrapped around our feet, and cars instead of having to walk to walk. Desire is what moves civilization forward, for better or for worse.

Can desire be bad, and have negative consequences? Absolutely. But the point isn't to throw your hands up and give up on life and go live in some ridiculous fairy-land; the point is to temper our natural and God-given desire with compassion, with morals, with ethics, with thoughtful consideration. That is the dance of life: two, often opposing, forces intertwined together to form the the complexity of the human condition.

Too bad this movie was so poorly made. It was a good idea, I suppose, but a good idea on its own does not a good movie make.

[–] Delmoreb 11 years ago

Interesting theories guys. What I took away from the theme was actually an elitist, somewhat anti-social message. The people on the island represent the people who 'make it', and it's a physically difficult journey. Also mentally difficult, as they don't even know if it exists, and they have to bypass armed guards. Living in such conditions wouldn't be possible for a mentally or physically weak person. Think about it, no technology, meds, no wheelchair ramps, etc.

The 4 other tourists that try to get on represent the weak, and are killed. They are dumber and more naive. I thought this was overplayed in those characters in the bar scene.

Then in the end, the guard getting mad saying, 'no more people, but more people come'. Well, that can be looked at as a message that only the strong should be allowed to live, and the weak are not welcome.

Not to mention when he has to go back to the city to get supplies. That scene was also dramatized to show his perspective of how he sees inferiors after being around his own kind. It's miserable for him and he's irritated.

[–] TriumphReq 11 years ago

Everyone keeps saying this is a bad movie to try and save some sort of intellectual face yet are able to analyze it on different levels. If it were bad it wouldn't be making you think about these things. It was a good movie. I haven't seen anyone suggest that it was the story of genesis. We had paradise and destroyed it but with the right temperament we can return to it.

[–] movie_nazi 11 years ago

Everyone keeps saying this is a bad movie to try and save some sort of intellectual face yet are able to analyze it on different levels. If it were bad it wouldn't be making you think about these things. It was a good movie.

I agree. I like the film and I thought it was very thought provoking. I even read the book after watching the film.

My Vote history: http://www.imdb.com/user/ur1914996/ratings

[–] proteus122 11 years ago

Well said.

[–] subtitullo 15 years ago

The movie is good but the book is fantastic. Alex Garland shouldve helped out in writing the adaptation for the movie cause it seems like this John Hodges guy kind of lost his way when he wrote it

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] mpyner 11 years ago

There were these kind of themes, but the point I got out of is that you can't escape being human. We have needs and any sort of imagined paradise can only be so in that moment in time when there are no needs, no authority and no responsibility - complete freedom.

Sounds a bit like being on your death bed.

Those moments in time last very briefly and trying to pretend that it is sustainable can be be destructive as all good things in one 's own life will eventually end in death. All good things I suppose.

Still, if you can find them, you might as well try to hold onto them.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] TriumphReq 11 years ago

They call it the rat race because it makes no sense, it is a horrible necessity (at the moment) and they hate it.