Comments on: The Disappointing Moral of “Up in the Air” http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/2009/12/15/the-disappointing-moral-of-up-in-the-air/ Travel stories, world music, travel books, and a close peek at unique destinations. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:10:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: patrizia http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/2009/12/15/the-disappointing-moral-of-up-in-the-air/comment-page-1/#comment-161179 patrizia Thu, 13 May 2010 23:15:42 +0000 http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/?p=3308#comment-161179 Hello, just came across your blog looking for references to "Up in the air". I enjoyed reading your post but I think you are missing the point or I dont agree and forgive me if I did misinterpret... What I was thinking when I walked away from the movie: Someone has a pace of life that grants him a gold card but not love! that is the message and it is not positive nor negative, because we all strive for different things in life -sad to admit for those who choose the gold card but nonetheless an alternative. The lover having a family at the end, was perfect -that's exactly how life works, beautiful metaphor. Regarding the traveling, we have to remember the reason why he travels -to go fire people, he is not traveling for pleasure. I did not perceive a negative profile about travelers. It was a great film ... (I travel a lot for work) Hello,
just came across your blog looking for references to “Up in the air”.

I enjoyed reading your post but I think you are missing the point or I dont agree and forgive me if I did misinterpret…

What I was thinking when I walked away from the movie:
Someone has a pace of life that grants him a gold card but not love! that is the message and it is not positive nor negative, because we all strive for different things in life -sad to admit for those who choose the gold card but nonetheless an alternative.

The lover having a family at the end, was perfect -that’s exactly how life works, beautiful metaphor.

Regarding the traveling, we have to remember the reason why he travels -to go fire people, he is not traveling for pleasure. I did not perceive a negative profile about travelers.

It was a great film …

(I travel a lot for work)

]]> By: Eric http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/2009/12/15/the-disappointing-moral-of-up-in-the-air/comment-page-1/#comment-110355 Eric Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:05:42 +0000 http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/?p=3308#comment-110355 I don't believe that the moral is to search for love and stability. Natalie and Ryan both gave up their dreams for love and end up with nothing. Alex apparently got love and a family and then cheats on her husband to find something else. Ryan's sister finds a husband and they both wish they could be doing something else. The people who want stability get hurt and the people who get stability don't want it. I don't see how stability can be the goal. The best I can see for a moral is: do what makes you happy and don't try to define your life by society's standards. Natalie gives up on storybook love and goes after the career she really wanted. Ryan goes back to travelling (I don't think he even goes back to work. He just walked into the airport and picked a destination off the board like Natalie told him to do.) Alex goes on being a whore. Ryans sister gets to travel. In the end, everyone is happy doing what they should have been doing in the first place. Just like when ryan tells the guy he fires to go back to cooking rather than working a job he hates to maintain an artificial lifestyle. The movie is pretty flimsy, but it definetly doesn't showcase the white picket fence and 2.3 kids. I don’t believe that the moral is to search for love and stability. Natalie and Ryan both gave up their dreams for love and end up with nothing. Alex apparently got love and a family and then cheats on her husband to find something else. Ryan’s sister finds a husband and they both wish they could be doing something else. The people who want stability get hurt and the people who get stability don’t want it. I don’t see how stability can be the goal.
The best I can see for a moral is: do what makes you happy and don’t try to define your life by society’s standards. Natalie gives up on storybook love and goes after the career she really wanted. Ryan goes back to travelling (I don’t think he even goes back to work. He just walked into the airport and picked a destination off the board like Natalie told him to do.) Alex goes on being a whore. Ryans sister gets to travel. In the end, everyone is happy doing what they should have been doing in the first place. Just like when ryan tells the guy he fires to go back to cooking rather than working a job he hates to maintain an artificial lifestyle. The movie is pretty flimsy, but it definetly doesn’t showcase the white picket fence and 2.3 kids.

]]> By: Sheila http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/2009/12/15/the-disappointing-moral-of-up-in-the-air/comment-page-1/#comment-109659 Sheila Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:55:45 +0000 http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/?p=3308#comment-109659 Husband and I just saw this movie last night (we're seniors) have 3 married children and grandchildren. Did not read the book but did know what the movie was about. To sum it up about this movie, see it and then discuss it among everyone. For me, it says a successful, married, family man of maybe 40ish should be very happy with his life. . And what did Bingham actually have to show for his years, 10 million travel miles and a gold card! It's a very depressing movie. Husband and I just saw this movie last night (we’re seniors) have 3 married children and grandchildren. Did not read the book but did know what the movie was about.
To sum it up about this movie, see it and then discuss it among everyone. For me, it says a successful, married, family man of maybe 40ish should be very happy with his life. . And what did Bingham actually have to show for his years, 10 million travel miles and a gold card! It’s a very depressing movie.

]]> By: Alison Stein Wellner http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/2009/12/15/the-disappointing-moral-of-up-in-the-air/comment-page-1/#comment-107629 Alison Stein Wellner Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:18:40 +0000 http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/?p=3308#comment-107629 Hi Caitlin, well, you could certainly look at it that way, but in all fiction you can also take a particular character as example of a type. I agree that the reasons why Bingham travels are different from, say, the reasons that I travel, and and it did seem at the movie's beginning that he lacked relationships (although we don't really know that), but here's the thing: he was happy at the beginning of the movie -- he had goals that were meaningful to him, and he was living a life that he'd designed. Yes, it was routine, but how is that different from anyone's daily grind? But as this movie shows, it's just Not Cool by societal standards if the life a person chooses does not include traditional attachments and accouterments. And we're especially suspicious of people who are happy being alone. Hi Caitlin, well, you could certainly look at it that way, but in all fiction you can also take a particular character as example of a type.

I agree that the reasons why Bingham travels are different from, say, the reasons that I travel, and and it did seem at the movie’s beginning that he lacked relationships (although we don’t really know that), but here’s the thing: he was happy at the beginning of the movie — he had goals that were meaningful to him, and he was living a life that he’d designed. Yes, it was routine, but how is that different from anyone’s daily grind? But as this movie shows, it’s just Not Cool by societal standards if the life a person chooses does not include traditional attachments and accouterments. And we’re especially suspicious of people who are happy being alone.

]]> By: Caitlin http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/2009/12/15/the-disappointing-moral-of-up-in-the-air/comment-page-1/#comment-107601 Caitlin Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:57:22 +0000 http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/?p=3308#comment-107601 I didn't think that was the moral at all. I saw it as being about the George Clooney character's own choices and motivations, not about all travellers. He didn't travel to connect, he travelled to get away. He didn't seek out new experiences, he kept doing the same thing (firing people and staying in hotels) over and over again in different cities. He had no ongoing human relationships and even gave up having a home. Some who chooses a life of travel typically has different motivations and frequently they have someone to do it with. I didn’t think that was the moral at all. I saw it as being about the George Clooney character’s own choices and motivations, not about all travellers. He didn’t travel to connect, he travelled to get away. He didn’t seek out new experiences, he kept doing the same thing (firing people and staying in hotels) over and over again in different cities. He had no ongoing human relationships and even gave up having a home. Some who chooses a life of travel typically has different motivations and frequently they have someone to do it with.

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