Visit Castaway, at the Crossroads

Created 23-May-13

7 photos

I watched the 2000 film CAST AWAY, starring Tom Hanks, for a second time in January 2009. The last scene of the film is titled "At the Crossroads".

The scene emotionally impacted me. The lesson that I learned from this scene is that after a hard knockdown in life, where dreams are shattered and you feel there is no reason to stay where you are, you must keep on going down the road of life. Tomorrow the sun will rise, and you must go on. So, you may as well do it with enthusiasm and a smile.

I felt compelled to find the both the crossroads, and the ranch house, in order to visit the location and recreate images for my own photo essay.

I located the ranch house name and owner by capturing still frames and zooming in on the scene where Tom Hanks writes the note to place in the door. He wrote it on the Arrington Ranch letterhead paper. The Arrington Ranch has been owned by the Arrington family for five generations and is located outside of Canadian, Texas.

I called upon Ashley (my production assistant at the time) to play the role of the character artist, "Bettina Peterson". Together, we drove 347 miles to the Arrington Ranch to place a FedEx box in a porch screen door and then stand at the crossroads and ask...where shall John go now?

In the following years I connected with the original artist of the angel wings, Andrea Broyles. Andrea is a contemporary figurative painter and sculptor whose work explores and is based on the human condition, specifically emotionality, mortality, and conflict. She is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

My re-enactment of a scene from the film

Copy of the note Tom Hanks wrote in the film

The 4th and 5th generation of Arringtons

Categories & Keywords

Category:Artistic

Subcategory:Metaphors

Subcategory Detail:

Keywords:Andrea Broyles, Arrington Ranch, Cast Away, crossroads