Katie D. Johnson
Professor Laura Cline
English 102
April 22 2012
The Deterioration of
Airworld
Walter Kim’s Up in the Air chronicles
the experiences of Ryan Bingham, a middle class businessman who travels the
country working as a career transition counselor. This book, published in July 2001, focuses on
the experience of the common businessman trying to succeed in the rat race of the
corporate world. In 2009, Up in the Air was released as a movie,
but with some minor alterations that reflect the changes in American business during
that time period. After the book was
published in 2001, America was plunged into a time of war and economic
downturn. In order to survive the
economic struggle of the times, the focus of every company became to increase
efficiency and cut costs. From coast to
coast, countless men and women faced the foreboding feeling of corporate
downsizing, foreign outsourcing and technological advances that would lead them
to the unemployment line. While the book focuses primarily on Ryan Bingham’s
experience as an individual, the movie focuses on the drive of the business
world at large to continually improve the bottom line.
The main focus of the novel is Ryan’s
way of life: his occupation and how he uses his business resources to support
his ideal unorthodox lifestyle. Ryan’s
job is to diffuse tense situations and prevent potential lawsuits. His presence and complimentary services are
meant to give the impression that despite the fact that a company is willing to
put its loyal employees out on the streets, it still has a heart and is looking
out for their best interests. Ryan takes his merciless job in stride. It is a man eat man world out there and he
does what he has to survive in the rat race, “Our role is to make limbo
tolerable, to ferry wounded across the river of dread and humiliation and self-doubt
to the point at which hope’s bright shore is dimly visible, and then stop the
boat and make them swim while we row back to the palace of their banishment to
present the nobles with our bills.”(242-243 Kirn). Ryan’s career requires him
to travel all across the country from company to company. He has grown accustomed to his nomadic
lifestyle and prefers it to time at home. “Last year I spent 322 days on the
road, which means I had to spend 43 miserable days at home.”(Film). All of his
time spent in what he refers to as “airworld” has given birth to an ambition
that has become a personal obsession: to accumulate one million frequent flyer
miles. The travel required by his career is the method to accomplish this feat
which seems to be enough motivation to ease his conscience. He enjoys his time
on the road, his hotel stays, and the courteous service he receives from his accommodations. To him, a day off at home is depressing. He avoids the close personal relationships
that most people enjoy. For Ryan, the good
life is a life of solitude spent on the road in pursuit of the next
destination. The only other aspiration
Ryan seems to entertain is an elusive job with a mysterious elite company
called Mythtech.
The movie version of Up in the Air was released in 2009,
eight years after the books was published.
During this time, the United States entered into a time of war and Wall
Street was hit hard. Statistics show
that the nation’s unemployment percentage had climbed from 4.2 percent in
January 2001 to 10.0 percent by October to 2009. (US Labor) The movie version is highly influenced by the drastic
change in the economic climate. America’s
unemployment rate skyrocketed as corporations looked to downsizing,
outsourcing, and technological advances to minimize labor costs. Even the
company Ryan works for in the movie is focused on optimizing its efficiency and
cutting costs. In the film, Ryan’s employer intends to overhaul its business
model to reduce travel expenses. Rather
than laying off employees in person, Ryan is now expected to handle these
delicate conversations via online chat. The company whose sole purpose is to
increase other company’s profitability by decreasing costs is looking for its
own ways to trim the fat at home. In the
book, Ryan was merely the instrument that brought devastation to the
individuals he fired, but in the movie Ryan himself turns victim to the
economic times.
Ryan’s transitioning company is ruining
his way of life. He prides himself on living without the normal things that
weigh you down like a house, a car, and relationships with others. These are the things in life that most people
find value in, but Ryan sees only the limitations of an average life. In the movie, Ryan says, “Moving is living.” When
Ryan’s boss calls him back to the office for a meeting that will prove to be a
real “game changer” Ryan says, “State of business needs me everywhere”, meaning
that his place is on the road because everyone is in need of his services. When he returns to the office for this
important meeting, Ryan discovers that the economic downturn has finally hit
home in an unexpected way. Ryan’s boss
emphasizes, “This is one of the worst times on record for America, this is our
moment.” Ryan finds himself grounded, his way of life brought to a halt and he
is outraged. This transition is being
led by his new co-worker, Natalie. Ryan
wastes no time confronting the source of his frustration, “Before you try revolutionizing
my business, I’d like to know that you know my business”, for him it is very
personal. When Ryan turns his outrage on his boss he is told, “Don’t blame me.
Blame the high fuel cost, blame insurance premiums, and blame technology.” This statement is very typical of the economy
in 2009. The excuses he had been taught
to feed others became his main course.
Ryan was now faced with the same message that he had hand delivered to
thousands throughout his career: the company has chosen to make changes which
will directly affect your way of life and there is nothing you can do about it.
This drive for ever-increasing
efficiency can even be seen in Ryan’s habitual patterns while travelling. The novel was published in 2001 prior to the
September Eleventh attacks after which drastically heightened the security
screenings required for all airline passengers.
The film highlights these added hassles and shows how Ryan has altered
his patterns to gracefully and efficiently overcome all of these obstacles. In
the film Ryan says, “Everything you probably hate about flying…. Are warm
reminders I am home” (film). The practiced and systemized way Ryan unpacks his
laptop and removes his shoes for the mandatory security screening could be likened
to coming home and kicking back on the couch for any other businessman. Ryan
notes common obstacles to avoid preventing any delays such as families, the
elderly, and Middle Easterners who are more likely to be “randomly selected for
additional screening.” His advice is to always
line up behind Asians because they pack efficiently and have an affinity for
slip-on shoes. This kind of racial
profiling became very common in airports after 911. He also insists that Natalie invest in a new
carry-on to replace her large luggage while travelling with him in order to
maintain efficiency, “Do you know how much time you lose by checking in?...
Thirty-five minutes per flight. I travel
270 days a year. That’s 157 hours. That makes 7 days. Are you willing to throw away an entire week
on that?” By 2009, efficiency became the
engrained motivator for every activity; efficiency had become the new heartbeat
of every businessman.
Corporate America evolved rapidly during this short
time period. The days previously spent
on travel quickly became an unneeded expenditure as the business world collided
head-on with the internet and other technological advances. The cost of hotel rooms and rental cars was
an unnecessary burden on the bottom line.
The World Wide Web replaced Airworld and our hero’s dominion was
down-sized to a domain name. The world
of Ryan Bingham was forever changed, along with every other American businessman,
in the interest of the corporate dollar.
Works Cited
Kirn, Walter. Up in the Air. New York:
Anchor-Random, 2001. Print.
Up in the Air. Dir.Jason Reitman. Paramount. 2009.
DVD
United States. Dept. of Labor. “Labor
ForceStatistics." data.bls.gov. US Dept. of Labor. April, 2012. Web. 21 April2012
