Hollywood Utopia

128 Hollywood Utopia
Critics may suggest that such evocation of family and blood ties equate with a
right-wing, conservative agenda which de facto serves to marginalise outsiders and
‘others’, as in Thelma and Louise. But the old man, while affirming his moral point
of view, speaks from a position of knowledge and personal experience rather than
abstract ideology or censure and therefore succeeds in influencing the pregnant
young girl. As a sign of her endorsement she leaves a bunch of twigs tied together
for Alvin to find when he gets up alone in the morning. In spite of his failing
eyesight, this unambiguous signal is telegraphed to him and to the audience.
The most ecologically friendly and helpful couple he meets, Danny Riordan and his
nurturing and supportive wife, allow him to camp in their yard and even offer to
drive him the rest of his journey. The couple speak of their enjoyment at crossing
the river, especially when the trees are in colour. Such classic natural beauty is
certainly foregrounded in many shots throughout the film but our hero perceives
beyond such ‘chocolate box beauty’. Alvin describes his hosts as ‘kind’ people
talking to a ‘stubborn’ man. His journey is most certainly now affirmed as a
pilgrimage where stoic behaviour as part of a Waspish ethic affirms that hardship
must be endured to achieve the full benefit of the trip. Watching Alvin head off early
the following morning, Danny appears envious of his pilgrimage. One could
suggest his witnessing helps to give him sustenance for his own metaphorical
future journey. Audiences are encouraged to accept the rationale of such
motivation, not as a form of selfish egotism but as a necessary form of selfexploration.
Space is no longer an obstacle as Alvin finally crosses the Mississippi over a manmade
bridge, which is attested by David Nye to be evidence of a form of
‘technological sublime’. Watching the symmetrical steel supports framing the
space while observing the moving water below, audiences are transported by the
human prowess of man’s ability to traverse landscape in all its forms. Even Alvin’s
lowly mode of transport becomes imbued with the heroic grandeur of an epic
adventure, as in the ultimate Quixotic story and primal road narrative.
Alvin’s last night in the wilderness is spent in a graveyard - with its heightened
symbolism - where he is welcomed by a priest who tells him that he is in good
company with the remains of French trappers making up one of the oldest
cemeteries in the southwest. Death is no longer the enemy but instead becomes an
essential part of the life cycle. Nonetheless, Alvin’s will to act continues as he
strives to fulfil his quest and reconcile himself with his Baptist brother. His
primary justification for his close bond with his brother centres on memories of
extreme cold and almost nine months of winter, which is finally revealed to the
priest. ‘We talked about the stars and whether anyone else was out in space.’ He
concluded that they ‘pretty much talked each other into growing up’. While he can