Victory over Natural Ordeals: A Study of Will Power in Alejandro G. Inarritu's The Revenant

Abstract

This thesis is a study of how the shipwrecked protagonist in The Revenant achieves triumphant sense of mastery over seemingly irresistible odds and ordeals posed by hostile nature and treacherous team mates.The inner will of the protagonist to transcend nature's adversity makes him a master of his own destiny. To probe this issue, certain theoretical insight of Nietzsche and some film techniques like cinematography are used. The protagonist in The Revenant does not lose a single moment to project his fervent determination to transcend all the mishaps and disasters that befall him. Glass struggles to develop his innate instinct to survive in the midst of tough challenges. The harm of this natural process is the resulting subjugation of particular experiences, objects and groups of people. The protagonist does his best to overcome all the hurdles and hazards that occur in their journey. No matter how hazardous and terrible their shipwrecked lives, he and his allies exercise their latent sense of survival instinct and come triumphant over each and every hurdle. The miracle arises from the technique of visual effect and incredible cinematography. Under the guise of incredible heroism capable of any feat of miracle, the protagonist gets glued to the notion of humanity. The protagonist's concern is that such a person embodies contradictory values, and so feels in conflict with himself. As a result, his idea of happiness will be tranquility. A stronger person, he continues, will exercise his will to power to make something productive of the tension within him.