Written by Andrew Segman.
Autumn arrives like a surprise visitor at your door who quietly announces the stark fact that summer is finished. With the loss of summer and the holidays, other unsettling endings may sometimes occur, especially if we’re at a turning point in our lives. Following such endings, new phases arrive in short order. Each new phase of life usually pushes us to grow and expand our capabilities, resulting in us becoming more dynamic people. But, regardless of how we are travelling in life, we can enjoy the generally favourable surfing conditions autumn offers us.
In the cult classic, surf movie Big Wednesday, the surfer “Jack” (William Katt) reflects on the seasons in a retrospective, narrator’s monologue. He makes the point that he can’t remember the carefree summers of his youth anymore, but he still remembers the falls (i.e. the autumns) and the starts of winter. He further remarks that the cold swells of fall represent times of change for him and that surfers usually ride these swells alone.
It is interesting, for several reasons, that he made those comments, but it is necessary to understand the context in which they’re made. The movie, which is primarily set in Malibu, offers a nostalgic look at a particular period of surf culture in which longboards were surfed in southern California in the 1960s and early 70s. Jack, his surfing buddies and their girlfriends are depicted as being gradually displaced from this scene by the encroachments of changing times and the process of growing up. Their generation and its ethos are represented as being replaced by a new generation riding shortboards along a more regulated, lifeguard patrolled coast.
One reason why Jack’s comments are thought-provoking is because he was the first among his group of surfing buddies to embrace adult life. He began by working – for a time – as a lifeguard at the beach where he used to surf with his group. In the eyes of his friends, though, he became one of the enforcers of the rules that they despised. It is for these reasons that, when he relates the west swells of fall to change, it is implied that this current of change involves incrementally growing up and accepting more responsibility.
It is striking that, in contrast to his comments about autumn, his only remark in his reflective monologue about the summers of his youth is that he doesn’t recall them anymore. This remark was probably an overstatement, as any normal person can recall at least a few impacting events and highlights of such summers. The point that the script writers seem to be making, though, is that we tend to more readily remember the phases and events in our lives that challenge, impact and shape us. These happenings tend to stick more prominently in our minds than the times when we simply hang out and amuse ourselves in a carefree environment – unless you take plenty of selfies.
The final point Jack makes about surfers usually riding the west swell alone is also significant, even though one of the broader themes of the movie is the endurance of true friendship. Because this swell is being related to change by this character, the comment about riding it alone implies several things. Firstly, the process of growing up (which involves change) is mostly a personal journey. Secondly, we quite often have to face impacting events that change us on our own. Lastly, spending time with friends and social groups has its valuable place in our lives, but we also need time for private reflection and introspection.
Regarding my own life, I can relate to the points I’ve discovered as a result of analysing this movie monologue. With the retreat of summer, how many of us have found ourselves reflecting on life like Jack? Sometimes it becomes clearer how we can answer life’s current calls to action. At other times, we continue to ponder such recurring questions as: Where am I going? What do I want to do with my life? What are my dreams and goals? How can I achieve these things? But, as every surfer knows, the grand, old ocean is like a temptress, a siren that beckons us to ride just one more wave. “She also lures us with the silent enticement that she holds all the answers we seek.”
