Civil Disobedience: Movie Analysis

Thoreau emphasizes the importance of civil disobedience, and talks of its place within our culture; at the same time Emerson speaks on the ideas of self-reliance. Like Thoreau said, it’s best for one to protest when in attempt to emphasize a point or bring notice to a problem. If there is, the worst one could do would be to sit passively. “A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance.” (“Civil Disobedience”) Max did not wait for his life at home to get better, he actively expressed his feelings of neglect to his mother, though not in the best ways. He is introduced with a harsh temperament, destroying his sister’s room, and biting his mother, anything to get attention. He jumps on the counter and yells “I’ll eat you up!” to his

“There I feel that nothing can befall me in life … [nothing] which nature cannot repair.” (“Nature”) After a violent conflict with his mother, Max, a 9 year old, runs from his home and escapes to the woods. The film takes place in the imaginary space within his mind, and like Thoreau, he takes the time to think and self-reflect. Emerson wrote about the mind being boundless, like nature. Max’s imagination leads him to build structures as large as he can envision- and isn’t crestfallen by anyone else’s thoughts. These tenets of nature being healing don’t only reach out to adults, but aforementioned, to youth as well. Without the stress of the environment he faces at home, he begins to understand the mindsets of those around him. Why does his mother hate him? Why is his sister so neglectful? Maybe his mother deserves time to herself and her new boyfriend, and what’s so wrong about his sister having her own friends? In “Nature” Thoreau likewise lived in the woods, secluded, for a time of 2 years. He used this time to think for himself. Max returns home with a new mindset, and a new love for his family. Sometimes you need time for yourself, and nature is a great supporter for those times. This represents transcendentalist thinking, and it is still a significant aspect American culture. It is another reason why introverts are being shown in a better light in the present, and being by oneself is becoming more accepted.