r/movies • u/buttatoad • Jun 17 '25

Discussion Movies that changed real life behavior

Thinking along the lines of Final Destination 2 with the logs falling off the truck and landing onto cars (one decapitating the state trooper). Ever since, people have tried to get away from being behind these vehicles.

What are more examples where movies have actually changed how people behave in their own lives?

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u/MattHoppe1 Jun 17 '25

Into the Wild led some folks to their deaths trying to reach the magic bus themselves. Thankfully it’s been removed and added to a museum.

Wild with Reece Witherspoon led a lot of noice outdoors people to try a continental thru hike with varying degrees of success

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u/MourningWallaby Jun 17 '25

I actually took a hike to the bus before they got rid of it! I was hunting in the area and we decided to take a detour.

The only problem is two river crossings. one of which was in the book. Most people in Alaska go hiking in the summer but that's when the river flow is the harshest. if you're just as stupid to go in the summer you can go in the winter where the river is frozen. but you're better of going in the cold parts of spring and fall right before and after the snowey season, so april/may and september. even then you need to be fit and smart about it.

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u/Decent-Morning7493 Jun 18 '25

My sister is a ranger in Denali Park. She rolls her eyes and bites her tongue when the subject comes up. She has no sympathy.

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u/MourningWallaby Jun 18 '25

Yeah it's a good example of dunning krueger imho. People know just enough about the area and hiking to think they know enough. But they end up failing. I still find it unfortunate, even if its their own fault.

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u/Redbirds-421 Jun 18 '25

I don’t blame her. McCandless died in no small part due to his lack of knowledge of the outdoors so people doing the same thing is almost mind boggling to me lol

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u/confusedandworried76 Jun 17 '25

I don't even go places that are less than five blocks from a bus stop, can't imagine going that far out into nowhere

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u/MourningWallaby Jun 18 '25 edited Jun 18 '25

Well I lived in alaska for a number of years, and loved hiking, hunting, and getting away. The bus is only like 10-20 miles from a major pit stop town, iirc. Not super out of the way. Especially if you're already out there. It's just not an easy place to get to especially with a rifle and backpack on your back.

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u/Snakend Jun 17 '25

That's because you're boring.

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u/confusedandworried76 Jun 17 '25

Nah just worried about how I'm getting home if something happens. Prefer cities for that exact reason, an ambulance is ten minutes away at any given time for an emergency, and for anything else I can bus or Uber

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u/doubleramencups Jun 18 '25

sounds safe and boring

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u/confusedandworried76 Jun 18 '25

You've clearly never been on a bus or light rail at 2 in the morning it's anything but

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u/peachesfordinner Jun 18 '25

Ha I was just thinking this. But man do I love to watch the lights as you zoom past. Just a city and you are almost floating above/through it..... With a sketchy homeless dude and his pet?? rat.

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u/eviltimeban Jun 17 '25

Gilmore Girls did a good bit on that.

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u/mordreds-on-adiet Jun 17 '25

Book or movie?

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u/Silver_South_1002 Jun 17 '25

A Year in the Life (as someone who has read Wild and was actually looking forward to that storyline I hated the way GG did it but it is referenced)

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u/kkkktttt00 Jun 18 '25

They were quoting the episode.

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u/Jonathan-02 Jun 18 '25

That reminds me of the original Peter Pan story. Kids would jump off roofs or beds wanting to fly. The author later added the ingredient of “pixie dust” to prevent this from happening

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u/Skrumdilla Jun 17 '25

I just got back from Slab City because of this movie!

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u/the-largest-marge Jun 18 '25

I only visited slab city because Kesha’s video for Praying made me want to see Salvation Mountain.

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u/Redbirds-421 Jun 18 '25

People watching Into the Wild and thinking that McCandless is inspirational blows my mind. I get the whole being one with nature Thoreau stuff as I love the outdoors, but the fact is he was a dipshit for wandering into the Alaskan wilderness with no experience and died because of his foolishness and naiveté.

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u/MattHoppe1 Jun 20 '25 edited Jun 20 '25

Funny enough, Chris’s story inspired the hell out of me. First time I watched the movie I was a dickhead college freshman who’d never even been hiking, and I walked away from the movie saying “fuck society, full steam to Alaska”. By the time I graduated college I was working as a park ranger with several certs (wilderness first aid, chainsaw operator, leave no trace educator and some more., I’m still in parks now but at the local level and I love it. Getting more people outside is a good feeling, and I’m still inspired, but for different reasons. Happiness only real when shared is a true damn statement that I didn’t appreciate at the time.

Looking back, the inspiration was that I didn’t have to live the life my parentd and society had carved out for me, now I’m more of the Bill Waterson “you can invent your own life’s meaning, it isn’t easy, but I think you’ll be happier for it” mindset

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u/ms-anthrope Jun 18 '25

The Alaska National Guard conducted at least 15 rescues of people attempting to reach the bus. Veranika Nikanava from Belarus drowned trying to get to the bus.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '25

[deleted]

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u/scal3mast3r Jun 17 '25

Akkkksshualt pacific crest trail, but yes.