Last time, we had a summary of Surf's Up. We went over the story, but I refrained from making any observations about it. Today I want to point out some things you may not have noticed and talk about the importance and significance of each scene.

Living the Moment

When Cody first talks about Z, he says "he lived so hard because he wasn't afraid to live. He wasn't afraid to die". Given how much Cody dreamt about his first encounter with Z, we should not take his word too seriously. But I think Cody has a point here. It would seem that what made Z the best surfer was just riding waves because he was intensely living in the moment. It really seemed like he didn't care if there was no tomorrow, or what had happened yesterday. He was just happy he was surfing a wave. That was enough.

I find it interesting that the movie decided to make it very obvious that Cody made up the details about how special his first encounter with Z was. He said... "he could have walked up to anyone... and he walks right up to me. He gives me this awesome one-of-a-kind Big Z necklace.".

Cody was the one to push through the crowd. And the necklace was not unique at all. Does that matter though? We each decide whether something is special for us or not. Cody made up that story to justify his passion for himself. But that is unimportant. Cody could just feel that surfing was for him. And that was all that mattered.

The Father Figure

When asked about his father at the beginning of the movie, Cody tries to convey that he doesn't really care about his father's absence. He says he was too young to remember. Later in the movie, when Cody can't make Z come to the competition we can see this is not true, as he says... "This is when I needed someone. I needed him. You know? It's hard enough losing one dad, but...". Perhaps Cody idealized Z even as a father because he never had one. Could this be the most important aspect of a father? To be looked up to by the young?

Not Giving Up

When Cody is about to be left behind by the talent hunter's whale he says... "I've never won anything my whole life. Just once, I want to feel like a winner" before chasing after the whale. Even though we could conclude this movie is an antithesis to the phrase Z tells Cody at the beginning of the movie "Never give up. Find a way, cause that's what winners do", Cody would have never helped Z if he had given up (specially at this point). It's not that you should give up. You shouldn't give up. And you should find a way. It's just that the way isn't always a straight path to victory, to "winning".

The Importance of Losing

It was really important for Cody to lose his first surf-off against Tank. If Cody had won, there would be no problem to solve. And it would not reflect life's true challenges. The hero (Cody) isn't almighty at the beginning of the journey. He has to discover places before having a chance to overcome his obstacles. Losing so soon was good for Cody, it brought him down to earth and allowed him to prepare for the real battle later on. Failing fast is a trait I seem to enjoy in the story of the hero, for some odd reason.

The Old One

There's a lot of significance when Z heals Cody after he hits the reef. Z represents the figure of the father, the experienced and knowledgeable one, but also the old one, the one who's tired of life. Finding Z under a tree in the middle of the island is a great way to introduce him. Cody gets one step closer to fully meeting his father figure and the viewer gets to see that he's useful and knows things. He's been around.

The Necklace

Cody's necklace represents the faith and idealization that Cody has put on Big Z's image. That's why he gets so depressed for losing it on his way back to the beach. At first, Z doesn't understand what's the big deal. For him, it's just another necklace. And he's right, it IS just another necklace, but he sees how much it means for Cody. When Z finds the necklace and returns it, Z is giving hope back to Cody.

Finding Passion

It's so interesting that Z and Cody had to stumble onto the beach as the Koa wood log rolled there. That secret beach seems to represent the place where the passion for surfing began. Cody finding out there's where Z had his boards is just another step in rescuing the father from the abyss.

But it's not like you get to voluntarily discover a place like that. It's like that place discovers you instead. It's a little bit like meaning, or love. If you try to find it, you'll probably get lost. But if you just roughly go in the right direction, it'll find you.

What is a Winner?

At some point, the movie shows various characters answering this question. The answers vary widely...

Cody: Winners fin a way no matter what, right?

Talent Hunter: They see their goals. They just go for it. They're not in it for the money or the glory. They're in it for the joy of it, and the rapture and the slow motion camera...

Lani: It's the surfer out there having the most fun.

Tank: Right, no. I get you. What's winning without the losers? Feels better when there's a lot of losers around. Was that your question?

Baby Penguin: A winner is somebody who doesn't knock me off my surfboard and break it when I'm trying to get some big waves. Specially Tank. He's definitely not a winner.

The movie goes on to make it clear that Tank is a loser, despite winning the competition every year.

The Hero & The Father

It's so interesting that Z says that if you want to learn how to surf, you gotta make your own board. Making your own board is the boring part and often that's where the young spirit gets things wrong. The young spirit just wants to go after it. It doesn't want to learn discipline and patience. But it's only when passion is tempered by these virtues that the true hero arises.

It's also interesting that Z takes a looong time to let Cody take the shaping tool. Like he doesn't trust him that he'll do a good job. And Z just won't let the tool go, he's too scared of failure. Of course, Cody messed up his first board. But that was fine. Why is it that the father figure is always so afraid of failure? And if fear isn't what was holding back Z from giving Cody a chance with the tools, then what was it?

Perhaps it's because failure is what left Z in this state to begin with, what left him astray. But it's the hero's duty to show the father that failure is a natural and often necessary part of the process of overcoming oneself. Cody wasn't aware of what he was doing when he messed up his first board. He got mad and wanted to quit, which takes us to the next scene...

The Lover

Lani is the one to comfort Cody after he couldn't craft his board. She was exactly what he needed at that time. She got quite excited that Cody managed to get Z down to the beach almost immediately after meeting him.

I think this was the exact moment where Lani started to feel something for Cody, mainly because she started respecting him. She even admitted to being jealous of Cody. Respect is a big part of love. Could we really love someone/something if we don't respect it first? It seems to be the trait of a hero to have what's most important come naturally to him/her. In this story, this is the beginning of the hero's relationship with the lover.

Lani seduced Cody into trying to have fun just for the sake of fun. Remember, when they were sliding down the volcano Lani said... "It's not a race!". This time to relax and her conversation about Z even had Cody admitting he had been acting like a jerk with Z all this time (which was partially true). Lani even encourages him to "go and not be a jerk". This is exactly what Cody needed to hear. Lani was the perfect pat on the back for Cody to breathe in, calm down, and go try again.

The Board / The Sword

In this story, the board is the hero's tool. Interestingly, other stories (like The Legend of Zelda ) also have the hero repair or craft their tool. It's as if the tool is really just an extension of the hero. Cody messed up his first board because he was crafting it from a place of insecurity, foolhardiness, and bravado. After Lani showed him he could relax and have a good time, Cody made the best board in the entire movie because he did it from a place of relaxation, dedication, love, and discipline. He crafted it through the entire night, falling asleep on top of it.

For as much as it's important to put one's good soul into our creations, it's also important not to be too attached to them. Cody's board was legendary, yes. But everything legendary about it was brought about by Cody and nothing else. In this sense, Cody's board is a much better artifact than the necklace.

The Tube

Once the board is ready, Z tells Cody about the experience of being inside the tube of a wave. Z describes it as the best experience one could have. In his words... "That's the best place in the world to be, in the tube. Yeah, better than winning, the trophy... all that stuff. Once you get inside, you never want to get out".

Some readers may look at that last sentence and associate the tube with sex. But... I think the tube is more like nirvana here. I see it as a place of detachment and ultimate pure happiness. This would also explain why Z "wasn't afraid to live.... he wasn't afraid to die". He practiced the utmost detachment every day.

The Lesson

In the movie, we only really see Z teach Cody one lesson: Have fun. He didn't let Cody get in the water until he had some fun and pranked Z back. Besides that, we only Z tell Cody the following when he was meandering through the wave...

Z: Relax! Looong.... slooow.... smoooth

Cody: Like making the board!

Z: There you go... Feels good yeah?

Cody: YEAH!

This is my favorite part of the movie by far. It's the exact moment when Cody finally rescued his father figure from the abyss. It's the moment that Cody gained all the experience necessary to overcome his obstacles. He now only needs to do it, now he CAN do it. Even Lani joins them and the three of them have the best day ever, surfing and having fun. The movie makes sure to let the viewer see Z saying...

Z: Lani.... thank you :)

And later...

Z: This is what it's all about. What could be better than this?

The soundtrack choice for the scene is top notch too! The song is called Into Yesterday by Sugar Ray. The lyrics are nothing short of masterful either, check'em out:

[Verse 1]
The sky turns to a different shade of blue
After the rain
My mind turns to a different point of view
After the rain

[Pre-Chorus]
Oooh... my mind x3
I know

[Chorus]
Like the ocean needs the moon to take the tides away
All we need's a little time to chase the blues away
Sun is out and it feels like it's always gonna stay
Let this last forever, turn tomorrow into yesterday

[Verse 2]
Now all those clouds have nothing left to do
After the rain
And all those doubts have drifted out of view
After the rain

The Divide

Z doesn't understand why Cody still wants to win the contest. Z had hoped that by being shown how to just enjoy surfing, Cody would have gotten the contest out of his head. Z tells Cody the story of how he became a hermit (or "Geek"). Z shows the viewer how hurtful disappointment in others can be.

And the thing is... Z was probably right about what he thought was gonna happen! People would have called him names and seen him as a "has been". Isn't this disappointment in others what seems to fuel a lot of people's actions nowadays? People study one major because the one they'd like would be disappointing in their parent's eyes. Heck, people sometimes mutilate their own bodies, performing surgeries on themselves just to avoid the "shame" of having their image look a certain way.

But what hurt Cody the most was realizing that Z had given up. The father was betraying the virtues he had set for himself. Ironically, this was the moment "Z" died for Cody. He realized there was nothing special or particular about his figure or his phrases. In the most fundamental sense, Cody was left alone here. And yet he went to the competition. What else was he supposed to do? It's not like he could keep surfing with Z now that the situation between them got this tense.

This part of the movie is critical. At this point, we have already been shown the moral of the story. But this scene portrays the hero asking the father to make things right, to set things straight. The way I see it, now that Z found his passion for surfing once again, he'd be guarding this invaluable treasure for himself if he didn't go back to the beach with the others. It's as if (in his own story) Buddha would have stayed in Nirvana instead of coming back to humanity.

The Competition

During the first wave, Cody is haunted by all his fears, reminiscing about all the people who've told him he could never make it. Cody would have most likely fallen from his board, but in the end, he makes it. In his words...

Cody: I thought I was gonna lose it, then I just... phew... I just let go, you know? I let go and there it was.

I think there's a part missing here. I think it would make the most sense for Cody to go from thinking about all these negative ideas (his brother, the talent hunter, Tank, etc.) to the good times and friends he made along his journey (Joe, Lani, Z). The movie should have a scene looking at Cody's facial expression as he lets go of his insecurities. That would be a much better way of justifying him getting to the finals.

What Really Matters

The crucial points about the finals are...

• Lani lets Cody know that friends are more important than the trophy or winning
• Tank falls off his board because he tried very hard to take out Cody
• Because Cody protected Joe, Cody and Tank ended up in the boneyard

It's because Lani had this conversation with him that Cody decided to help Joe the way he did. Cody did what really mattered in the competition.

Chicken Joe

This post wouldn't be complete without pointing out the importance of Joe as a character. He is the embodiment of this movie's moral. He has the most laid-back attitude towards life while still pursuing his dreams and goals. Heck, when he got to the finals he said...

Cody: We're in the finals Joe!

Joe: No way! We get to surf some more?

We should all aspire to be more like Chicken Joe. Check out the following video to see all his scenes.

Existentialism

Finally, I have to give credit where it's due. I would have never thought about watching this movie as an adult, had it not been for the following video. Check it out for more philosophical insights about the movie. Make sure to leave a like and subscribe!

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