Discussing Themes in Stephen King’s Adaptation ‘The Long Walk’
Written by Riley Carr. Graphic by Laura Garcia Gomez.
Hunger Games director Frances Lawrence takes on another dystopian adaptation, this time from best selling author Stephen King.
“The Long Walk” tells the story of a group of teens participating in a deadly competition. The competition requires participants to walk days on end at a speed of 3 mph (4.8 kph). To do so, means to live. To fail, means a bullet to the head.
Despite its recent film release, the adaptation of King’s story had been tossed around for decades after the book’s release in 1979. It originally gained attention from acclaimed directors such as George A. Romero (“Night of the Living Dead”), as well as Frank Darabont (“The Green Mile” and “The Shawshank Redemption”). Forty-six years later, “The Long Walk” still continues to echo important themes that are more relevant than ever in today’s society.
From the very start, “The Long Walk” is undoubtedly a pointless competition. It is said in the film that the walk helps keep society afloat. Yet from the desolate roads and plains the characters cover, it is obviously a falsified claim. Nothing in this dystopian world has vistas that create awe, thus proving that the walk doesn’t change anything, and instead adds a theme of mundaneness. The walk could represent the lifecycle of the average person — the nine-to-five wage slave as it were. The characters walk in hopes to find some greater purpose, to pay their contribution to society. But their sacrifices ultimately become meaningless as the world continues to turn.
The other big theme in the story revolves around teenage angst. In an interview with Vanity Fair, King states, “I was writing a kind of a brutal thing. It was hopeless, and just what you write when you’re 19 years old, man. You’re full of beans and you’re full of cynicism, and that’s the way it was.” Some of the characters in “The Long Walk” carry lots of emotional baggage and teenage angst. For instance, the main character Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) is motivated by vengeance. While other characters, such as Billy Stebbins (Garrett Wareing), seek acceptance. One of the more wild characters Gary Barkovitch (Charlie Plummer), displays both abruptness and angst. Barkovitch is the quiet hiss from a propane tank just before it explodes. But beneath the layers, Barkovitch explains how he’s never had a group of friends and has always been considered the outsider. In the grand scheme of things, he’s just a young kid trying to fit in.
There are many more themes worth exploring in “The Long Walk.” It is no doubt a story that will make your feet hurt, as well as invoke questions and generate analysis for times to come.
