Searches for the Significant: Robert Zemeckis' Cast Away as a Late Twentieth Century Response to Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe

Authors

Catharine Walker Bergström, University College of Trollhättan-UddevallaFollow

Abstract

Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe has over the centuries become one of the most mythologized characters of Western literature. In the most recent adaptation of this novel, the film Cast Away (directed by Robert Zemeckis), Defoe's treatment of Crusoe's spiritual awakening has been highlighted. Postmodern man, as represented by efficiency expert Chuck Noland, is faced with a search for Meaning similar to that which Defoe's "economic man" embarks upon when isolated from humanity 300 years earlier. This essay examines the way Cast Away deals with the ever present paradox of faith in a Divine Plan and belief in individualism and the free will.

Recommended Citation

Walker Bergström, Catharine (2005) "Searches for the Significant: Robert Zemeckis' Cast Away as a Late Twentieth Century Response to Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe," Journal of Religion & Film: Vol. 9: Iss. 1, Article 12.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.32873/uno.dc.jrf.09.01.12
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol9/iss1/12

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

VolNum

9