The Beach
I’m not a believer, but I’m on the road to being convinced that art finds us when it’s supposed to be found.
The first time I had ever heard the movie The Beach mentioned was in one of my college classes. It was International Politics Four-O-something and my professor (who had lived in Thailand for a number of years) had begun a unit on the portrayal of different countries through US media, and The Beach was one of the first movies she mentioned. The professor asked us if anyone had seen it, and from what I remember, everyone said no. That was 2–3 years ago.
Last week, I watched The Beach. It came out in 2000 and was directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days Later, 127 Hours). The Beach is about a young American named Richard (played by Leonardo Dicaprio) who goes on a trip to Thailand to seek out more adventure in his life. While there, he hears about a ‘paradise beach’ by a man at the hostel, and is given a map to find it. The next day, the man turns up dead, but Richard (along with two friends he made, one of who he has a crush on) set out to find the island anyway. Once they reach the island, they discover that it’s home to a full-fledged expat community — — And I’ll stop the summary there since everything after that is a spoiler.
The themes of faux paradise and seeking pleasure over all else are constant themes throughout the movie, and I couldn’t help but think ‘oh, I’ve done that’, ‘I’ve thought that’ ‘I’ve tried that’ while watching. And because I’ve written so much about travel throughout the course of this year, I’ll make this my final entry on it.
Even while watching my friends party on, travel on, and experience on, in countries I have or haven’t been to, on beaches I have or haven’t been to, coming home was what I needed to do, and so I’m glad I did it.
And in that same breath, I still find myself peeking behind the corner of what’s next after Arizona. Thoughts of going abroad enter my mind, but I’m still locked on LA. Regardless of where I am or the company I keep, I suppose the only real constants I have in my life are that of writing, creating, reading, and trying to align the life I see in my head with the one I’m currently living.
That’s all for this week.
Until Monday,
Solomon
P.s. Brief programming note, On Writing Thursdays will be discontinued until further notice. Thank you.
