Did you ever think that you could live everywhere at once? George Clooney plays a character that travels constantly for his job, leaving him without roots or a home.

Up in the Air follows Ryan Bingham as he travels the country firing people from their jobs. He feels perfectly content, until rookie Natalie becomes his co-worker. The young girl points out Ryan’s lack of human connection, the importance of family and love, and the awful consequences that his work causes others.

Is it causy?

Up in the Air is about the importance of personal relationships rather than material things, but there are some causes that make an appearance:

• Mental Health. Both employees struggle with the negative impact their job makes. Ryan disconnects from relationships in order to avoid depression, while Natalie becomes saddened and shocked by the fired employees’ despair.
• Women’s Rights is subtle but present in the film. Natalie is considered an equal to her male counterparts, never being denied leadership or equal pay. Ryan’s girlfriend Alex shows a woman who can define her relationships as she, not society, chooses.
• Labor Rights and Financial Education. The characters that are fired often go into a panic, explaining how they have no savings or benefits to fall back on. The movie seems to say that these problems could be prevented if saving and labor demands were more common in the corporate office.
• Energy Conservation. Ryan’s business, like most others, uses the internet to cut back on travel expenses. The good side effect is that employees have smaller carbon footprints when they don’t take planes or drive cars across the country.

Ryan’s struggle with relationships promotes positive mental health, but, sadly, the other causes aren’t too clear in this movie.