The film, "Up in the Air" brings out different situations that different people face in life. Ryan Bingham the main character in the film has a different perspective about success in life. He does not have an office to serve his clients but visits them regularly at different parts in the town. Thesis statement
In a society, people have different definitions of success, to some; success is being able to achieve all the goals in life. As a result, one has to work hard regardless of the situations around him or her in order to achieve the set goals. Some view success as a force that propels one to live a fulfilling life. When a person succeeds in a project, he or she will tend to perform better in the other projects. Thus, the essay analysis how the message of success is portrayed and how the characters measure success. Discussion
The film "Up in the Air" brings out a different perspective on success. The main character in the Film, Ryan Bingham devotes his life in his job. He does not have a family and does not even think of having one. He believes that there is more to just acquiring good results. That is why he strives in order to become the best. His major goal is ensuring that he benefits from all what he does. To him success means working all things out without considering the people around you. Focusing on the goal and achievement of the goals is his main driving force. The film "Up in the Air" portrays Ryan Bingham as a person who loves his work more than family. He prefers succeeding in his work rather than having a home. In the societal setup, success is viewed by how many children you have and the capability to hold and provide for the family as a father. To Ryan that is not the case, success is only focus on achieving his organizational goals living out the responsibility of being a husband or father.
Having success in life is living a fulfilling life. Living a fulfilling life means doing what one loves most and to the maximum. Ryan Bingham in the film lives a fulfilling life by doing what he loves most. He moves all around the world giving lectures on how to unpack all the backups in life. The activity enables him to live a fulfilling life as he fulfills his goal in life. The movie demonstrates how social challenges that affect relationships and impacts on the success of a work related project. While some actors like Ryan seem happy in the life, through the work success and casual romantic escapades and wide corporate travels, others like Natalie are very depressed. When the boyfriend dumped through a text message, Natalie felt sad and wasted. However, the comfort offered by Ryan and Alex helped her to overcome the challenges. The director thus sought to show the fact that success in career does not stand for a happy and successful social life. Other than the case of Natalie, the issue of Alex and Ryan comes out. Natalie felt that Ryan ought to have a committed relationship with Alex as they appear compatible. The thought infuriated Ryan. The scene showed that love is a relative feeling and cannot be forced. Similarly, a causal relationship between Ryan and Alex show that some people prefer such arrangements that are devoid of commitments. The director thus attempted to draw the parallels between Alex and Ryan relationship on one side and Natalie and the boyfriends’ relationship on the other hand. The audience is left to decide whether a casual or long term relationship is better, more in terms of consequences during a breakup.
The director attempted to bring to the fore the issue of workplace relationship and how it affects work success. Attempts by Natalie to show concern in the relationship between Alex and Ryan almost threw the project into disarray. Additionally, there are women in his life that enable him to live a fulfilling life. Although the idea of family and rising up children does not click in his mind, he finds fulfillment when he spends his time with Natalie Keener and Alex Goran. Meeting with these women and going for trips with them, enables him to acquire the satisfaction he wants in life. He believes success is living a fulfilling life and doing what you love to your best.
Cinematic features
Editing
Editing of the film "Up in the Air" is divided into three main parts, pre-production, production, and post-production. The editing process took a period of 17 weeks. Dana E. Glauberman who was the editor of the film used to send the scenes of the film every day as he finished them. The editing period helped to shape the first meeting between Alex and Ryan. Love between Ryan and Alex rekindled during the editing period. It was evident by the looks they gave each other during the editing period. These looks and more others are important during the editing period as the characters can bring out their feelings and emotions. "Up in the Air" film was shot on location. Sound
Up in the Air song was composed by Kevin Renick. Renick on researching the song discovered that the film delivered the same message as the song. The song in the film is about loneliness, uncertainty, and disconnection. The song is a narrative song which gives you a direction in life. The song helped in transition from one song to another. Combination of the song in the film gives it life and the viewers can associate the occurrence of events in the scenes easily. It portrays the theme of success by helping the characters pursue their goals. Conclusion
The film shows how main character's perspective of success. While some people in the society may have a different definition of success, Ryan believes that success is doing what you want most to your best. Lack of having a family and the inability to socialize with the people around you may be viewed as failure, but to Ryan that is not the case. He does not have a family or at any case socialize with the members of the society. However, according to him he has achieved all what he wants in life.
