There are a number of favorites of mine when it comes to movies. Art of travel, Into the Wild, The Motorcycle diaries and the list goes on. But one of the most underrated films that have a front row seat in my top favorite travel movies isn’t often included in most peoples travel movie list.
The Premise
In 2013, Ben Stiller starred and directed The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, a movie about a nerdy and introverted guy, one in the real world which would be considered, the little guy. One who doesn’t get noticed, gets talked over, made fun of, and looked down on. Spends his days spacing out and fantasizing about being the shit, stepping up to his dickhead boss, and having the balls to talk to his crush.
But in the end, it’s all in his head and comes back down to planet earth only to get picked on for it and goes about his day, living a life he can’t seem to take control of.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step
No matter what the external factors may be, the life of our dreams can only be lived by our desires. Walter Mitty goes off on an adventure to find world famous travel photographer, Sean ‘o Connell, for a final publishing of Life magazine. His crush tells him he should go to Greenland and makes every excuse in the book not to go, although in the end he goes.
He does the same with the drunk helicopter pilot in Nuuk refusing to go out of fear and doubt. But deep down, he wants and needs this adventure. He wants to break free from his self doubt and be in control of his life for a change. And so he does decide to go to Greenland setting aside his fears and doubts, and leaps onto that damn helicopter.
Next thing he knows, he’s skateboarding in Iceland!!!
(The most kickass scene ever!)
Storyteller
The moment Walter leaped onto that helicopter set off a chain of events leading him into a new chapter of his life. He rode a helicopter with a drunk pilot, became one of few people to dive into Gail force winds in the Arctic circle, skateboarded down an Icelandic highway, evaded a volcano, & went to Yemen to set course to traverse the Himalayan mountains.
Walter Mitty as an average joe at his office job
Walter Mitty world voyaging in the Himalayas
What I love about this movie, is the loss that is experienced. He and many others lost their jobs and for a moment, he lost his crush. But despite this, he had already become a storyteller with some incredible life experiences in a short time span. You can see that he hasn’t lost EVERYTHING, because of the experiences that changed him. Those experiences opened the door of possibilities all around him to the point of one loss is in competition with so much life gain. That right there is something I can resonate with 1000% and is in fact the beauty of travel.
Becoming an inspiration
What Walter Mitty experiences, changed him in the greatest ways within. His travel experiences allows him to positively impact everyone around him.
- He chooses to hand over his Iceland skateboard to Cheryl’s son.
- Catches his crush attention as she begins to ponder about his whereabouts.
- Todd, his e-harmony phone friend, even takes interest in his worldly endeavors.
I AM WALTER MITTY
That low toned, introverted, nerdy, spoken over, made fun of, unnoticed guy, that’s me.
At least it was me. I used to be that guy people paid no attention to, looked down on, and often made fun of. I was soft spoken, shy, and yes, I daydreamed and fantasized a lot when I was younger, especially about world travel.
But travel changed me in every way. It challenge my every being to its core and allowed me to reset and realize, what was important and what was not in life. Who I wanted to be and who I didn’t want to be. To fully step up to every potential and exceed my own expectations to be a better person by the day. To allow all those global experiences mold me into my own storyteller, a better traveler…a better man!
As much as i put my hands up and tell people, hey, I’m just your average humble guy. The truth is, people do look up to me, either in person or strangers across social media. coming to me everyday and asking me questions, for either insight or curiosity for my endeavors.
For the course of ten years, I have inspired people in ways I sometimes don’t even realize.
“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, to draw closer, to find each other and to feel. That is the PURPOSE OF LIFE.”
Final Words
So when I analyze The Secret Life of Water Mitty, I don’t just see a film nor a movie with beautiful destinations. But, I see myself in Walter evolving from a shy guy desiring some control and adventure in his life to becoming someone with purpose no matter the circumstances. I’m not sure if Walter off screen continued traveling or not. But that confidence he had going forward in life, I know that feeling. I get it every time after I successfully conclude a voyage.
And the feeling is greater each time.
Now I ask you, if you had the chance to hop on that helicopter, would you?
Have you seen The Secret Life of Walter Mitty leave a comment below and let me know what you thought of it? 🙂
Also: If you love travel movies, check out my review on The Motorcycle Diaries.
Wow. Great blog! I find myself coming back to that movie every so often. I first came across it on my mother’s laptop which she received from her sister, I decided to watch it out of boredom and I was blown away. Thank you for sharing what that movie meant to you. It is inspiring.
PS. That skateboarding scene down the Icelanduc highway was pretty awesome. So was the scenes when he was traveling to the Himalayas journaling about it.
Hey Jacob,
Glad someone else can relate! It’s about several years that go by between watching and it seriously gets better and better each time. But that “leap” was so symbolic and parallels leaping into world travel. 😀 Hope all is well on your end my good friend.