Snakes...On a Plane | Melissa Erickson

There comes a time in life, when you spend time pondering the meaning of your existence. You spend hours, days, months even; and finally come up with the main focus points of your life:"Why am I here?""What is my purpose in life?""What happens after death?""What does balsa wood taste like?""Gee, that would suck if I was allergic to oxygen."

Yes, I have recently gone through one of these intense days after one of my friends brought home the smashing hit Snakes.....ON A PLANE. Now, if there are some of you unfamiliar with this title, it is a jam-packed action movie about snakes; on a plane. Of course it’s a lot more complicated than it sounds. First of all, there are people trying to avoid the snakes…on a plane. Secondly…well, that’s pretty much it.

However, one can take this movie as a learning experience. One just has to look deeper, beyond the surface. Deep down, this is a re-telling of the ancient story of man vs. nature, in the most extreme conditions. While some poke fun of, and mock the otherwise ridiculous and simplistic story-line of the show, others can only be struck speechless by its hidden beauty. An incredibly powerful and awe inspiring story of the modern re-telling of prejudice between two species. Nevertheless, while a whopping .000000002% of the population long to make this film an American Classic, the rest don’t seem to share the same feelings and rush of similar emotions.
It makes one want to question whether or not the film would have made a greater impact if it dealt with another species, or even another location. Was the utter failure of this movie based on a class that people felt no connection to? Would it have touched everyone’s hearts if the idea surrounded a group of animals that people could relate to more? Or a location that everyone felt more comfortable with? How about Elephants in New York, or Aardvarks, in Your Cereal Box, or perhaps we could even go so far as to create the chilling thriller: Fish…in Your Garbage Disposal.

Only a daring writer and director could team together to solve this critical problem. Until then, we are only left to wonder with suspense…and wait.