Zach Wilson--General Topic 1

I recently watched the film version of one of my favorite books, The Road by Cormac McCarthy.  It is a post-apocalyptic story of a father and son struggling to survive.  The film stars Viggo Mortenson as the father, and utilizes many film techniques to communicate an isolated environment.  It communicates that the father and son are alone, and does all but state a Nietzschean death-of-God.  The father and son have no name, have little hope outside of one another.  In fact, none of the characters have names.  It reminded me of Paris, Texas, and the depravity of man within isolation and loneliness. There is a stated difference in both of these films between loneliness and  solitude.  Loneliness tortures the man and the boy, as well as Travis in Paris, Texas.  Loneliness is something which results or is forced, or is a consequence of actions.  Solitude in many cases is sought as a goal, for some sort of personal renewal or development.  The apocalypse brings about the loneliness of The Road, and Travis' traumatic experience in Paris, Texas.  The films portray the cold harsh reality of realism, as the man and the boy are hunted, and Travis faints after an arduous, tortuous walk through the desert.