This year for the holidays, I plan on flying with the family abroad for vacation for the first time in three years. I really wanted to try another state or country as a destination, but my mom insisted on Colombia. Usually the idea of a trip would be fun to anyone, a chance to escape the city life for a little bit of respite. But there is something about my family and packing that usually results in chaos. Either way, I love my family all the same. So as a break from all the working and packing, I decided to go with my brother Kevin to a limited showing of Up In the Air.
Now, usually I am not the type who’ll quickly say something like “omg this song’s about me” or “this movie’s about me”, but I had to admit, this movie reached out to me. I’ll do my best not to spoil the juicy bits even though a few points I want to make could possibly leak a little spoiler here and there by accident…again, i’ll do my best, but consider yourself warned.
…a corporate downsizer in his travels and follows his isolated life and philosophies, along with the people that he meets along the way – Wikipedia
A big theme of this movie is unemployment, and the way that the movie reflected life in an economically-torn America is accurate enough that people can relate to it. Myself, along with a majority of Americans have had to endure the near-eternal and sometimes hopeless task of repetitive job hunting. Why “hopeless”? Well, it’s bad enough to be laid off…that experience alone can have a “death in the family” like effect. In addition, when applying for a new job you’re always hopeful that you’ll have a chance at success…that kind of positive attitude is pretty much a prerequisite before every application or interview. However, the feeling of rejection can feel like bieng slammed by a ton of bricks with all those pent up expectations…now multiply that. Job rejection after job rejection can eventually leave the soul winded and at a certain point, we start feeling hopeless and ambivalent. What helps us keep going is that we aren’t alone…as Americans, we’re all fighting the same battle.
Another theme jet-setting. A lot of this takes place in airports or hotels. I personally love traveling, I believe it has it’s own personal code of conduct, yes I have American Airlines AAdvantage, and yes I’m a proud Hilton HHonors member (my late father worked at a Hilton nearby Radio City Music Hall). A few key scenes of the movie took place in a hotel I travel to quite often. Kev and I where like “dude I remember that spot” or “wow, they didn’t close that cafe by the pool?”. It was nice to reminisce. And sometimes when I need to just get my mind clear or be away from it all, I’ll swing by JFK and just walk…it relaxes me.
Another theme is companionship. George Clooney’s character does live quite an isolated life given his work ethic, always on the go. To some it may seem a little empty, but perhaps this quick living protects him from the fear of committing…or more specifically, falling in love. In a way, that’s the ethic I’ve trying to accomplish for some time: keep myself as busy as I can, always be on the move, so i can feel protected. And this movie doesn’t go the typical “hollywood” route and display love as something consistently fuzzy and continuous like something from a chick flick…it shows how brutal it can be when it wants to be in many ways. You just have to see it to believe it. Now, I can’t remember the quote verbatim, but Vera Farmiga’s character tells Anna Kendrick’s character something about the effects of falling for people who are spontaneous. It’s a wonderful quote that i’ll never forget…
But Up In the Air doesn’t portray all love as bad. It shows just how vital love between family is…that no matter how bad of a situation you’re in (layoffs, breakups, etc), your family and friends who you consider as part of your family will never leave you.
…life’s better with company, everybody needs a co-pilot – Up In the Air Trailer
My twin brother Kevin…I’ve called him the “trusting sidekick”, the “comedy relief”, my “2nd in command”, my “wingman”…but I think I can now best describe him as my co-pilot…it fits.
Another theme is technology. Again, doing my best not to spoil, but the movie focuses on emerging technologies taking over aspects of our life. And I’m a big techie, but there are just some things you shouldn’t replace with a computer chip. Human intuition will always supersede the complexities of artificial intelligence on a silicon wafer. I believe that auto-pilot on a plane isn’t as good as human reasoning, auto-tuning can never replace a good human voice, I prefer paperback books compared to e-books, and I’d rather shop or see someone in person if I could rather than resorting to on-line conferencing. Again, I’m not technophobic. If any I am the opposite…I just believe that some things can never be replaced by computer chips…and Up In the Air does a fantastic job in making that message clear especially in the end.
I have few movies or tv shows that I could relate a part of my life to (past or present)…but Up In the Air simply hits the sweet spot on a whole. After seeing it, I feel eager to see my extended family, I can keep myself busy yet more stable/protected, and next week I’ll be swinging by a tech conference/career fair at a Marriott in the city. Only this time I’ll be strong enough to carry all the weight in my “backpack” for a long time…or at least until I can empty some things with a sense of accomplishment. I encourage you all to watch Up In the Air, you wont be disappointed whether the movie relates to you or not.
Oh, and before I forget, do listen to the soundtrack as well (Amazon/iTunes)…the selection of music is simply amazing!
Oh hai there, my name is Jon. I use this blog to channel out my babbling in a neat way. I'm also founder of 
