# Movies where nature equals sanity? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 22, 2006, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-nature-equals-sanity/381397 "2006-11-22T06:49:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Carnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carnick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnick)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-nature-equals-sanity/381397/1 "2006-11-22T06:49:28Z")
For some reason today I was trying to think of books or movies where the message is that urban civilized society equals insanity, and nature equals the sane, natural order to things. One example is at the end of One Flew Over a Cukoo’s Nest when Chief kills MacMurphy and runs off into the forest to the tune of tribal drums in order to escape the “civilized” sanitarium. Another good example is The Gods Must Be Crazy. I know there are more, but I’m drawing a blank. Can anyone help me out? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-nature-equals-sanity/381397/2 "2006-11-22T07:15:19Z")
In most of John Ford’s films, the good guys were the outsiders: the cowboys, the Indians. The bad guys were usually identified by their shiny hair and neat clothing. The closer a guy was to “nature,” in Ford’s universe, the more OK he was. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-nature-equals-sanity/381397/3 "2006-11-22T08:42:07Z")
[Koyaanisqatsi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koyaanisqatsi),\* from what I’ve heard. [1492: Conquest of Paradise](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1492:_Conquest_of_Paradise) doesn’t really condemn the civilized world as _insanity_, but there’s certainly a wistful theme of the loss of “Eden.” Then, of course, there’s [Quest for Fire](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quest_for_fire), which turns what you’re looking for here on it’s head. 😃 \*Not to be confused with the film _Urotsukidoji,_ which is a common mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-nature-equals-sanity/381397/4 "2006-11-22T15:12:02Z")
The first scene of my favorite-est movie ever, [Local Hero](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085859/), shows the protagonist driving a Porsche in Houston, Texas, where he is employed by an oil company. He is soon dispatched to a Scottish village to help broker a refinery development deal. Throughout the movie, there are several scenes of him spending time on the beach, including becoming fascinated with seashells and being starstruck by the Aurora Borealis. The movie’s final scene, after the oil development deal has been resolved and he returns to Houston (and he’s become visibly attached to a slower pace of life with a stronger connection to nature), makes the viewer wonder whether he stays in the big city. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-nature-equals-sanity/381397/5 "2006-11-22T15:29:03Z")
Dances with Wolves. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-nature-equals-sanity/381397/6 "2006-11-22T15:57:13Z")
_The Emerald Forest_ ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-nature-equals-sanity/381397/7 "2006-11-22T15:59:31Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] In most of John Ford’s films, the good guys were the outsiders: the cowboys, the Indians. The bad guys were usually identified by their shiny hair and neat clothing. The closer a guy was to “nature,” in Ford’s universe, the more OK he was. [/QUOTE] Same thing about Star Wars (original trilogy) Heros in earth tones and villians in black and white. Heros live in more natural envirionments. (farms, forests) Villians live in man made environments.