Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
http://kbm710.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=uk3Y5jYBAAA.eeEm9QfB9VAKvI81Kamx6Q.YbG9dcI3jeVICBKWyOYrhg&postId=3380207117787889244&type=POST
Serenity
“It's not my place to ask. I believe in
something greater than myself. A better world. A world without sin.” – the
Operative.
*Spoilers will be found*
Joss Whedon’s Serenity, based off his show Firefly
is an examination of the importance of free will, the greater good, and the
danger of true believers. Set in 2517, long after the earth was used up, the
film follows Mal and his crew. After being on the losing side of a war, Mal
works as a smuggler while evading the Alliance. After being an officer for the Independents,
he plays the hero, aiding those the Alliance ignores as a fugitive. The film
makes obvious attempts to stress the separation of classes with the dichotomy
of the lives of those on the inner planets and residents of out planets. Opening
with a robbery, Mal explains to the Alliance peacekeeper how to get in the
least amount of trouble for not stopping the robbery and how he needs to shoot
him in the foot for the least damaging but believable excuse. The man needs a
justification of his actions, as not to be labeled a criminal. Excuses are
created for the purpose of denying what he originally though was his duty.
If Sarte had an affinity for sci-fi,
Serenity would be right up his alley.
An avid Independent, his questioning of, “Who, then, can prove
that I am the proper person to impose, by my own choice, my conception of man
upon mankind?” would directly fall in line with questioning the Alliance’s
views on controlling its populace. In what acts as the culmination of the
Alliance’s wrongdoings, the crew of Serenity winds up on a planet void of any
life. It was terraformed like all the others, colonized, civilized, but nothing
remains. They find a message explaining that the planet was not destroyed by a
terraforming event, as taught by the Alliance, but a chemical designed to
pacify everyone on the planet worked too well. All affected either were too
passive and just stopped living, remaining still while others had the opposite
effect. They became the reavers. Those who would, “If they take the ship,
they'll rape us to death, eat our flesh, and sew our skins into their clothing
– and if we're very very lucky, they'll do it in that order,” were created by
the Alliance.
The film draws upon
the Satrtian assertion that not man is above any other. Mankind creates its own
conceptions of itself, not a single body.
This is what prompts the film’s most
climactic conflict. Freewill is too important too Mal to not get the message
out. The crew creates a battle between
dozens of warships, both Alliance and Reaver. During the crew’s flight through
the battle, Whedon sets up an incredibly chilling moment, which highlights the
absurdity and seemingly worthlessness of life. Wash, Serenity’s pilot repeats
his mantra to stay cool through the battle and chase. “I am a leaf on the wind
watch how I soar.” He repeats this phrase with little other dialogue from the
others. Then Whedon makes one of his trademark moves.
In less than half a minute, you are given a sense
of relief for your heroes making out alive to the crushing, instantaneous death
of arguably the most friendly character. He dies so suddenly that I processed
it slower than the Mal. This scene draws more from Camus than Sarte’s ideals on
absurdism.
Camus
was an avid opponent of totalitarianism. Another Independent. Mal risks his
life to fight for the rights of others to choose. After spending all of his
post war life as a fugitive he finds a cause he needs to fight for. “I know this - they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe
on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten? They'll swing back to
the belief that they can make people... better. And I do not hold to that. So
no more runnin'. I aim to misbehave.” This seemingly innocent and playful
finish lightens the suicidal nature of his mission. Mal looses a member of his
crew and thousands die in the battle, but the message they find is sent out to
every planet in the Alliance. The only thing left is to keep going as a fugitive
and a smuggler.
—Zach Wildstein
Monday, April 23, 2012
WWJPS?! Probably have a brain aneurysm...
About a month ago, I was blessed with the opportunity of attending the global premier of FOX's new T.V. show, Touch. I had seen ads for the show on T.V. and all around the NYC subways, but I never really thought too much about. I'm not going to lie, I've been pretty disappointed in television shows lately, and considering the downward spiral Glee is going, I've also stopped trusting FOX. Nevertheless, I went to the premiere (why pass up an opportunity right?) and I was pleasantly surprised. We watched the second episode of the first season called 1+1=3 - for those of you who aren't too familiar with how T.V. shows work, let me explain. The first episode of the first season is called the "Pilot." It's an episode where the characters are introduced and the plot of the show is laid out. It is essentially the filmmakers' pitch for the show to the production company. The second episode is really where the meat of the T.V. show begins.Touch is about a man and a single father whose name is Martin Bohm. His son, Jake, is severely autistic and therefore cannot communicate with his father. He is currently in custody of Child and Family Services at a special facility in New York. There, he is taken care of by Clea, his social worker who isn't the "bad guy" per say, but she does have to stand in Martin's way of getting to his son several times. She's not a total bitch though, she's just a social worker, doing her job.
Jake finds one way to communicate with his father: through numbers. Each episode, there is a different number that Jake constantly writes and he gives it to Martin along with a picture or some type of clue. Although Jake can't explain how he feels or what he knows, it said in 1+1=3 as well as the next episode, Safety in Numbers, "This is pretty clear, bad things will happen... not to mention what it does to Jake. Those numbers point to a disorder in the universe. Jake feels the pain of the people attached to those numbers... and until things get right, he suffers." (you can watch the full clip here) So it is Martin's choice to track down what the numbers mean and stop his son's pain. Throughout the episode, each event and situation is given equal focus and explanation before they all come together at the end. That is essentially the storyline of the entire show.
So now that I've bored you with... I mean, introduced you to the idea of the show. Let's get down to business - but not to defeat the Huns! (yes I know, I'm hilarious aren't I) (that was sarcasm by the way) - and figure out "What would Jean Paul say?"
To be honest, I think Jean Paul would be very confused. I think he would completely agree with some parts, but then double back and say in a very thick french accent, "but no! zis eez not right! c'est pas vrais!" So, for Jean Paul who is reading from above and for all of you guys, let me break it down for you by episode.
The episode 1+1=3 opens with Jake escaping from the Child Service's facility and his social worker coming to pick him up. We learn that this facility has a very strict structure for these kids - kind of like the strict, mechanical structure of Brave New World. No, they don't condition babies to run away from flowers and books, but they do have a very strict schedule for when the kids can play, when they can go to sleep, and when their parents can come see them. I suppose that would make Jake comparable to Bernard... or rather, early Bernard. The Bernard who questioned things, who did things out of the norm like hanging out on the roof or just talking. Jake tests the boundaries of the facility. In both episodes, he runs away at night to find his dad, he doesn't sleep when he's supposed to, he doesn't paint when it's "art time" and his abilities definitely identify him as an Alpha-Plus. Jake makes his own choices regardless of what his surroundings tell him to do. He is definitely his own person and despite the fact that he doesn't speak, he certainly does not practice quietism by any means. Instead, he uses his father as a surrogate to fix the disorder in the universe because he can't. In this episode, all the events don't just come together in the end and get resolved by one single fix. Each event is linked by this one character: an air hostess who misses her flight and ends up helping a foreigner get to Yankee Stadium, which cuts to her ex-boyfriend trying to pay back a Turkish MOB leader whose son was supposed to get a dog from the air hostess and meanwhile, that air hostess' dad is trying to commit suicide after realizing he has cancer. (This is all very confusing I know, that's why you guys should watch the episode!) Martin stops Beth's father (the air hostess' dad) from jumping long enough for her to happen upon them on the Brooklyn Bridge while trying to chase the dog she was supposed to deliver to the MOB's leader's son. All of this basically happens in the last seven minutes of the show, leaving the audience (including me) breathless and at the same time, going, "OH MY GOSH SHE'S HIS DAUGHTER!" It just proves Sartre's belief that all the decisions one makes - all of the choices - don't just affect one person, it affects everyone else around them in ways they wouldn't expect. Whether it has some influence on another person's decisions or beliefs, whether it gives someone the courage to do something they couldn't do on their own, or whether it's stopping a tragic event from happening, decisions and choices create a domino effect across the globe. One person's decisions and choices touch everybody else. (See what I did there?)
Safety in Numbers has quite a similar opening as 1+1=3. Martin comes to the Child Service's facility claiming that Jake called him. Clea says that's impossible because it's bed time and he's sleeping (really Clea? Haven't you learned ANYTHING by now?) and she opens the door to find an empty bed (SURPRISE!). While Clea and Martin are looking for Jake, she proceeds to tell Martin that he can't jump every time Jake calls. It doesn't look good, she explains to him. She wants to help him get Jake back so they can live together and be a family, but jumping every time he thinks Jake has a new number is going to make him look really bad. (I'm sorry, but isn't a good father SUPPOSED to be there for their child?) This is another example of existentialism (good job Tim Kring! You're making my job easy!), despite the fact that Martin thinks his actions prove that he is a good father, social services might perceive them as the opposite. His fate with his son doesn't just rely on his opinons, but of the perceptions of those around him. Luckily, Jake hasn't gotten far just down the stairs this time, so Clea doesn't have too much time to convince Martin to chill out on the number front. (On a side note: why the hell doesn't this place have security? Come on New York.) This time, Jake gives Martin a picture of a dragon along with the number 3287. The dragon refers to the tale of the "Invisible Prince." This episode really revolves around a seemingly homeless man who also has a special affinity with numbers as Jake does. His name is actually Walt King and he is the creator of a company which has currently been convicted of committing a ponzi scheme. As a kid, Walt's dad used to read the tale of the "Invisible Prince" where the prince must slay the dragon by using the magic sword. Walt explains that he "tried to give the king the magic sword but he thought it was a trick," the "King" being his family. Walt ran away in shame and his family assumed he was dead so, Walt uses Martin to uncover the loopholes - the "magic sword" - and present it to Walt's brother. By doing so, all the investors save their money and the company is proved guilty of fraud. At the end of the episode, Martin tells Walt to go back to his family, explaining that he's sure they will forgive him because his deeds now have made up for what he has done in the past. This is an example of Sartre's take on hero-ism. Walt's actions are definitely heroic, but he doesn't become a hero until he believes it in himself.
This is all good and well and this show seems to have many existentialist aspects. So why would Jean Paul have a problem with this show? Well, the ideas in the story are very existentialist, but the big idea, the umbrella of the show is not. Jean Paul does not believe in fate. He does not believe that there is a special formula to how the world works. The formula is basically the show's explanation for Jake's ability to predict the future. Touch takes the existentialist idea of choices and its effects on everyone else and combines it with the non-existentialist idea that the world works on some sort of mathematical formula. As an existentialist, I have no idea how to react to this so I can only imagine that Jean Paul is probably rolling around in his grave right now.
So this is my take on existentialism within the T.V. Show Touch. I would go on, I could go into so much more detail but I'm afraid it would just get really confusing because each one of these episodes is so complex and intricate that it's only really possible to analyze one aspect of an episode at a time. I hope I didn't bore you guys too much with my blog! I hope you guys maybe watch the show, it's really one of the few current shows that I think are good quality and original. If you guys have any inquiries about the show, the ideas behind it, or the theories behind the numbers that Jake comes up with, this is the link to the Global Premiere that I attended in NYC with the Q&A with the main cast, the executive producer, and the creator Tim Kring!
Good Will Hunting- A Genius and Boston Accents
Choices. Existentialism is all about choices and recognizing
the freedom one has to make those choices. This is exactly what Will (a very
young Matt Damon) in Good Will Hunting, a 1997 production, was experiencing.
He’s a genius living in Boston- but the catch? No one knows who he is. He is
from the slums of Boston. Orphaned. Abused in foster care. Criminal. Working as
a janitor at MIT. His skill is unrecognized until a professor catches him
solving proofs that have stumped mathematicians for years.
This professor becomes his mentor but before he can
introduce Will to all of his options, he must go through therapy with Sean, a therapist
who used to be the professor’s roommate (but in reality it’s Robin Williams!).
The two colleagues live opposite lives: one a successful professor with a
limited personal life and another a widowed and low paid therapist who believes
in love. A little cliché but the two men represent Will’s possible futures with
his extraordinary talent. Guess which one Will ends up choosing?
But enough background. Where is the existentialism?
According to Sartre, “It is not only one’s self that one discovers in the cogito, but those of others too.” Well,
Will’s cogito was recognized by the
professor but fully uncovered by Sean when he steps up to bat Will’s tough
exterior with his own background in the slums of Boston and his life lessons
through heartbreak and commitment. Not only is Will a genius but also he is drawn
to loyalty and afraid of abandonment. He only allows a select few in on his
true self. His friends know. The professor caught him. The Sean knows. Skylar,
the girlfriend knows (and yes, there had to be some form of a love story here).
But until the professor started pronouncing his abilities, he was anonymous.
However, the professor didn’t like this. He wanted the boy to be
famous for his accomplishments. Before Will’s discovery, Will had made the choice to refuse to choose whether or not to pursue his talent in mathematics. But once his expertise was revealed, that choice became much less attractive with everyone pushing him to make something of his life, which to them meant to go out and get a high paying job and be successful. This is exactly what the professor wants, but Will isn't sure. After spending a considerable amount of time with both men, doing sophisticated proofs with the professor and discussing pasts, futures, and love with Sean, Will chooses to follow the path of one of these wise men (but I can’t say who because that would spoil the ending!) However, one of the benefits that Will has is in that he can observe the two clashing potential futures in the professor and Sean. He overhears a discussion in which the two men argue over what is right for Will while actually debating and defending their own choices.
Lambeau: You're angry at me for doing what you could have done; but ask yourself, Sean. Ask yourself if you want Will to feel that way, if you want him to feel like a failure.
Sean: Oh, you arrogant shit! That's why I don't come to the goddamned reunions, 'cause I can't stand that look in your eye. Ya know, that condescending, embarrassed look. You think I'm a failure. I know who I am, and I'm proud of what I do. I was a conscientious choice, I didn't fuck up! And you and your cronies think I'm some sort of pity case. You and your kiss-ass chorus following you around going, "The Fields Medal! The Fields Medal!" Why are you still so fuckin' afraid of failure?
Sean: Oh, you arrogant shit! That's why I don't come to the goddamned reunions, 'cause I can't stand that look in your eye. Ya know, that condescending, embarrassed look. You think I'm a failure. I know who I am, and I'm proud of what I do. I was a conscientious choice, I didn't fuck up! And you and your cronies think I'm some sort of pity case. You and your kiss-ass chorus following you around going, "The Fields Medal! The Fields Medal!" Why are you still so fuckin' afraid of failure?
It was an intense moment and then of course Will walks in… AWKWARD!!! But between all of the f-bomb dropping, Will can clearly see the pros and cons of both choices that have been presented in front of him. but what he can no longer do is make the choice to refuse to choose.
So job interviews were made in which Will sends
his best friend Chuckie (played by Ben Affleck who also is extremely young) in to humorously reject the job while giving the high
powered men a hard time. Will resists these options because he hasn’t made the
choice to publicize his talents, someone else did. During a job interview that he actually
attends as himself, he justifies rejecting the job at the National Security
Agency.
Will later reveals that he wants to do something honorable but he hasn't defined what he deems honorable yet. But his best
friend is completely serious about having Will pursue the great opportunities
that he has in some form:
Chuckie: Every day I come by your house
and I pick you up. And we go out. We have a few drinks, and a few laughs, and
it's great. But you know what the best part of my day is? For about ten
seconds, from when I pull up to the curb and when I get to your door, 'cause I
think, maybe I'll get up there and I'll knock on the door and you won't be
there. No goodbye. No see you later. No nothing. You just left. I don't know
much, but I know that.
He wants the best for his friend but this can’t happen until
Will makes the decision to work towards it. This is directly in line with
Sartre when he wrote, “Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself.”
Will needs to actively shape his own future and not be a Sartre’ian’ coward and
let others decide. But Chuckie also paints a clear picture of an alternative
future for Will:
Chuckie: Look - you're my best friend, so
don't take this the wrong way. In twenty years, if you're still livin' here,
comin' over to my house to watch the Patriots games, still workin'
construction, I'll fuckin' kill you. That's not a threat; now, that's a fact.
I'll fuckin' kill you.
The depth of loyalty Chuckie displays helps defend Will's original decision to not choose. But ultimately Will does choose... and then switch his decision of his future and finally accepts the freedom he has to choose and also the responsibility which is exactly what causes humans anguish according to Sartre. We are condemned to freedom of choice and rather than attempt to hide from that responsibility by remaining anonymous (which doesn't work), Will finds himself at a crossroad of futures full of choices. The primary element of existentialism.
So there you have it. The story of the anonymous genius with the Boston accent. It's a great movie and I highly recommend it if you don't mind all of the f-bombs flying left and right. Good actors. Awesome accents. Intense decisions. Hilarious monologues. Existentialism. What could be better?
"First Child to be Legally Adopted by a Corporation:" The Truman Show and Existentialism
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always
wondered if I lived in a TV show. Is my life orchestrated by a group of writers
who get paid to figure out good plots and subplots for me to play out? Is there
a soundtrack, or a laugh track? Perhaps this is a human question. After all,
the concept of God is just a mythological version of both a director and a
writer.
The
Truman Show attempts to expose what existence inside a TV show looks like.
The concept is this: a completely normal man (Jim Carrey) is living his completely
normal life. He lives in a completely normal town, with his completely normal
wife and his completely normal friends, going about doing his completely normal
job. Little does he know, though, that since before he was born he has been the
star of a TV show. His town is the set, a huge dome populated by the cast and
crew and made up to look like a real town.
 |
| What his town looks like to him... |
 |
| ... And what his town actually is. |
His wife (Laura Linney) and friends (Noah Emrich, Peter Krause) are
actors, paid to pretend. Even the main formative trauma of his youth, his
father’s death while at sea, was designed in order to control Truman. His
entire life has been controlled, down to the very weather. His life is even
used for product placement; his wife seems to randomly, spontaneously become an advertisement for no real reason.
However, eventually this
all falls apart. During the 30th year of the show, he starts to
notice the strange coincidences of his world. A light falls from the sky, his
car radio picks up the crew’s frequency, and his father even mysteriously
reappears, dressed as a hobo. Truman finds out about how the world revolves around
him, his wife breaks under the pressure of his increasing skepticism, he
attempts to travel abroad, and his father (Brian Delate) is brought back; yet
Truman still does not stop trying to escape. In the end, he overcomes his fear
of water (which was brought on by the death of his father) and sails out to the
sea, only to discover that it is only a backdrop. The director, Christof (Ed
Harris), attempts to talk to Truman, but to no avail. The movie ends with
Truman leaving the dome and the viewers changing channels due to boredom.
But how is this existentialist? Let’s put it
this way: Truman is the ultimate Sartrean hero, at least in terms of quietism.
Truman’s entire life is controlled. He has literally no choice. Even his wife
is chosen for him, and when he attempts to pick a different woman, she is taken
out of the show. Even when he starts discovering that his life was a lie, he
has the option to sit back and let his life take its course. If everything is
controlled, he never really has to make a lasting decision. It is almost the
ultimate quietism, where everything is provided for him and chosen for him. If
he went along with it, he would never have to take responsibility for his
actions ever again. But he doesn’t. He actively attempts to take his own
anguish on himself and be free, no matter how much pain it might bring. In a
world where everything is scripted and planned, he is the only genuine, real
person. At one point, Christof says: “if his was more than just a vague ambition, if he was absolutely
determined to discover the truth, there's no way we could prevent him.” And he
does. Truman is not a coward, either, even when faced with the concept of
God—or in this case, a seemingly omnipotent “Creator.” You can see the scene
below:
In any case, even when faced with the Creator’s idea for his
life, Truman refuses to remain passive and inactive; instead, he takes himself
out of the show, ready to create his own destiny. "You are afraid," Christof tells him, "that's why you can't leave." Truman must decide whether to accept Christof's complete control, or to make his own life with his own choices, to become a coward or a hero. He chooses to be a hero.
Intersubjectivity is also a huge part of this movie. “The Truman
Show” itself has been “designed” to appeal to viewers, and that includes Truman
himself. A good example of this is his innate fear of the ocean. Created by
Christof as a way to keep Truman from feeling adventurous, it is the perfect
example of how he is conditioned to be the perfect star for the show. Bu, most
of all, it is important to note that he is the only genuine person in the show.
Every other person he encounters, from his “mother” to his “wife.” In a movie
about a man whose entire surroundings are fake, how can he truly shape the
world around him? Strangely enough, he seems to do so quite well. He is, as
told by Christof, the star of “a television show that gives hope and joy and
inspiration to millions.” We see people outside the show with clocks counting
how long the show has been running, people with “Truman Show” paraphernalia,
people watching at all different times of the night. Truman is the person that
everyone wants to be, and by seeing him, they change how they view themselves.
But Truman’s very goodness is merely the reflection of the fake people around
him, the reflection of a world that is not real. The real world, as described
by Christof, is “the sick place.” This disconnect between Truman’s life and the
life of those outside, and the effects it has on intersubjectivity, are
interesting.
So really, if you haven’t seen The Truman Show, go watch it! It’s a handy guide of what to do if
you discover you really are trapped in a TV show.
-Emma Sterling
Credits:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120382/quotes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkZM2oWcleM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZMZYrdXtP0&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwyVbvVtL6U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhIIPbO_6xg
http://thestygianport.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html
http://seldomtypql.com/257/david-lubars-thinks-youre-dumb
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Let me tell you about Jean Paul Sartre... And also Mean Girls
Eight and a Half, or Otto e Mezzo, is a beautiful Italian
movie directed by Felini, a famous Italian director, and is filled with
wonderful Italian existentialism. The main character, Guido, is a director who
has made eight and a half films and he is trying to finish the last one by
taking experiences from his life and his past to try to find an ending. The
themes in this movie are overtly existentialist, so writing a film blog about
this movie will be a cinch. Or it would be, if that was the movie I selected to
blog about...
Mean Girls is a 2004 comedy starring Lindsey Lohan, Rachel
McAdams and Tina Fey, and upon viewing it, it probably does not seem like the
most existential work one would imagine, but beneath the surface of one of the
most culturally relevant movies of my high school career (for some reason), it
has strong existentialist themes driving about as obviously as a bright yellow
school bus.
Let's talk about inter-subjectivity:
As Sartre puts it, "The subjectivity which we thus
postulate as the standard of truth is no narrowly individual subjectivism, for
as we have demonstrated, it is not only one's own self that one discovers in
the cogito, but those of others too... Thus, at once, we find ourselves in a
world which is, let us say, that of 'inter-subjectivity.' It is in this world
that man has to decided what he is and what others are." In plain English,
when discovering ones self, they also need to discover those around them, and
vice versa. People need to evaluate each other, and if the definitions of self
by self and by others don't line up, you do not truly know yourself. This theme
is perfectly exemplified by the two main characters in Mean Girls: Cady Heron
(Lindsay Lohan) and Regina George (Rachel McAdams). Regina George and the rest
of the Plastics (teen royalty, girls who are perfectly popular in every way,
for the 3 of you who haven't seen this movie) see themselves as the girls all
the guys want and all the other girls want to be. Although they aren't
incorrect in this thinking, there's one part that they seem to forget, which my
favorite character, Janis Ian (Lizzy Caplan) sums up nicely (for the record,
this scene is something I will return to later, because Janis very nicely sums
up a lot of the existentialist themes in this film, so please bear with me...):
"See?
That's the thing with you Plastics. You think everybody is in love with you
when actually, everybody HATES you! Like, Aaron Samuels, for example, he broke
up with Regina and guess what? He still doesn't want you! So why are you still
messing with Regina, Cady? I'll tell you why, because you are a mean girl!
You're a bitch!"
(-IMDB,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT8wMBeVffk&feature=related)
Eloquently
put. The Plastics' views of themselves are radically different from everybody
else's, which according to Sartre, means that they have not found (or at least
accepted) their real identity. Furthermore, if you look at all of the
characters portrayed in this movie, peripheral or not (I see you too, Glen
Coco), nobody in the school knows their own identity because they don't see
themselves the way others see them. Each character is like the Mirror of Erised
from Harry Potter: the mirror shows you what your heart most desires, but
that's not the part that I'm relating it to. When people look into the mirror,
they each see something different, and that's the way peoples' opinions of each
other are in the movie. One person could look at Cady and see a lovely new girl
who just moved here from Africa, and somebody else could see just another Plastic walking the halls, ruining lives (as life ruiners often do), and a
third person could see something else entirely. No character in the movie is described
the same way twice by two different characters. For example:
"Janis: Regina George... How do I begin to explain
Regina George?
Emma Gerber: Regina George is flawless.
Mathlete Tim Pak: I hear her hair's insured for $10,000.
Amber D'Alessio: I hear she does car commercials... in
Japan.
Kristen Hadley: Her favorite movie is Varsity Blues.
Short Girl: One time she met John Stamos on a plane...
Jessica Lopez: - And he told her she was pretty.
Bethany Byrd: One time she punched me in the face... it
was awesome."
(-http://www.moviemistakes.com/film4175/quotes)
There
are one or two other places in the movie where these lightning fast descriptions
take place about another character, and none of them are identical. No matter
how ridiculous they are, they show how differently people see each other, and
how removed from some specific and unique "cogito" each of them is.
The
other existentialist theme that really jumped out at me while watching the film
was Sartre's idea of what makes a hero and what makes a coward, or in this case
what makes a Plastic and what makes everybody who isn't a Plastic. Again, I
look to Janis Ian to basically sum up my thoughts on the subject.
Cady: You know I couldn't invite
you. I had to pretend to be Plastic.
Janis: Hey, buddy, you're not
pretending anymore. You are plastic. Cold, shiny, hard plastic.
Damian: Curfew, 1:00 AM, it is now
1:10.
(-IMDB,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT8wMBeVffk&feature=related)
Damian's last line is unrelated to my point; I just love him
so much. But I digress. Sartre says that a coward is not born a coward, they
become a coward by acting cowardly, and the same is with a hero. It also
doesn't just happen after one time. You can't be heroic once and ride on that
wave for the rest of your days; you need to live up to that title and continue
to be a hero to legitimately earn that title. Cady definitely earns the title
of Plastic because by the end of the movie, she's gone from sweet innocent
Cady:
To acting like a Plastic to the point where, as Janis points
out, she's not acting anymore:
The transition is apparent in her mannerisms, her vocabulary,
her clothing, everything about her screams Plastic, because she has become one.
She has ceased acting like herself and has taken up the mantle of acting like
somebody else. As Sartre states, "The existentialist says that the coward
makes himself cowardly, the hero makes himself heroic, and that there is a
possibility for the coward to give up cowardice and for the hero to stop being
a hero. What counts is the total commitment." And Cady gives that
commitment: blowing off her friends, hurting Regina George just as Regina hurts
others, acting just like a Plastic and probably most symbolically, writing in
the Burn Book (educate yourselves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrGGaKVesMc).
Cady abandons the mantles of a normal high school girl and of Cady Heron and
becomes a full blown Plastic simply by acting like one, almost like forcing
Alex to act like a "good boy" technically makes him a "good
boy." It's all about the attitude and all about the commitment, and Cady
has both.
I wasn't kidding when I said that Mean Girls was probably
the most relevant movie of my high school career, because without seeing it, I
wouldn't have understood about half of the jokes made by my peers. Its a
wonderful movie about what you should be, what you shouldn't be, what you can
become if you're not careful, and that there is a chance at redemption for
everybody. And yes, somewhere below that wonderful swath of comedy, there are
some existential themes, but I do recommend, before looking for these themes,
sit back, relax, and enjoy the movie first (also count the number of times they
make yellow school bus analogies... its quite amusing).
-ed rosini
Saturday, April 21, 2012
What Would J.P Sartre Say? Tenacious D, Failure Comedy or Existentialist Masterpiece?
Some works of art are truly misunderstood on a wide scale. Whether it was rock n‘ roll, impressionism or Clerks, some things were never really accepted in the way they should have been because each work was made out to be something it was not. I believe Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny easily falls into this category. Most film critics look at the film as some “low-brow-buddy-road-trip-rock-opera-comedy” that is only to be seen “through a thick cloud of marijuana smoke". While the movie takes on such an appearance on the surface, Tenacious D as a work of art has been misinterpreted. POD, or Pick of Destiny should not be viewed as solely a musical comedy filled with drug references and crude humor because while it contains these elements its deeper meanings and portrayal of life is nothing less than existential.
I will begin by admitting my bias. I am a huge fan of “the D” and their music and the first time I saw this movie I loved it, not surprisingly. However, not everyone who viewed the movie accepted it the with exactly the same feelings. By the numbers the movie cost 20 million to produce and since its release in November of 2006 has lost 7 million world wide (net grossing of 13 million). But this is not all bad because at its peak the movie was ranked #4031 in america. Well, despite these less than perfect numbers critics have called Tenacious D “tiresome”, “mildly amusing” and described the film solely as “one big gaseous emission.” Some film critics have famously said “I didn’t hate it” and “it would be against the law for me to recommend this film to anyone”.
Okay, so Tenacious D was officially a box office bust, but I would like to argue that none of the film critics, who thought highly enough of themselves to cast this movie down as one of the worst ever made, are all not very educated on the ideas of existentialism. I believe Jean Paul Sartre would watch Jack Black and Kyle Gass on this quest for rock n’ roll glory and think it was brilliant in its portrayal of existentialist themes and ideas. While he might not recognize the references to AC/DC and Van Halen he would easily notice some huge existentialist themes ranging from the power of choice to the abandonment of man as a whole. So take a seat O high browed all mighty film critics and prepare to have your socks rocked off as I bring out the true meaning of the D.
Lets start with the two main characters Jack and Kyle:
Jack Black, JB, Jables, call him what you will but his character is the epitome of Sartre’s argument that “existence precedes essence”. Jack is born to “a humble family religious through and through” with crosses adorning their walls while young JB sits with the rock gods lining the confines of his room. JB has chosen to side with rock n’ roll, instead of following in the path of his family, and so his family’s decision to be devote and religious has not stopped JB one bit. Just as Sartre puts it in Existentialism as a Humanism, his existence, or his choices to listen to rock music and dream to follow in his idols footsteps, precedes his essence which is a rocking songwriter, and he is free to be totally different from his family. Young JB also demonstrates his power of choice when he choses who to go to for advice after being scolded by his father for his music. He could easily go to his brother, his mom, his family’s pastor, anyone! Instead, JB makes the decision to turn to Ronny James Dio (or the poster of Dio in his room). Just the act of deciding to ask this classic metal god for help has already determined the advice JB will receive. His family or priest would tell him to quit his ways and turn his life around, instead Dio tells him to follow his dreams in Hollywood and so JB escapes his home. Later on Jack’s never ending quest for the Pick of Destiny leads him to master rock singing, acoustic guitar jamming and gig playing and make eternal friends with Kyle. Jack doesn’t realize it but his quest for this “supra-natural” pick leads him to make a series of decisions that paves a path for him to make his own destiny. Jack is not distracted from his quest by beautiful women, food, security guards, hallucinations of a CGI Sasquatch or a five mile hike through the woods. He has the internal strength to decide to endure all of this because he is promised some unbelievable outcome. However, Sartre would be quick to pint out that along the way he actually learns that his best friend Kyle is the most important thing and this leads him to jump in front of the Devil’s lightning and save his friend, his band and his future career as a song writer. Therefore, Jack achieves his dreams of paying his rent with his music by his own will, not by the use of some magical guitar pick.
Kyle exhibits some of the more negative views held by existentialsim. First off he is constantly trying to become something he is not. He wears a wig and tell lies about all the famous people he knows because he wants to believe it himself and because thats how he wants to be viewed by JB and the public. The audience gets a real peak into the character of Kyle at the “half way house cafe” when he meets some attractive ladies and tells them another set of lies he only wishes could be true. Finally Jack gives him an ultimatum. I don’t know if a more existential question has ever been raised. Because if you side with Kyle, then you adopt a sense that you have some kind of human nature that pushes you to make such decisions based on primal urges and a woman's appearance and you can't be held responsible for such decisions. However, if you side with destiny you make your own path in life and choose to be what you want. Kyle keeps true to his character and makes up an excuse because he truly believes that the decision he has made (to go to the party) is the right one for the duo. Sartre would point out that it was only after Kyle made the decision that he then adopted the mindset that it was right for the group because he has to logically defend his choice.
The film handles one existentialist theme extremely well, and this would be “Abandonement”. The motif begins with this scene here. Jack sings “Baby” about being out alone and “Daddy” is gone. Well Sartre would point out that Jack has discovered the human condition of abandonment because it would seem as though something has created all of us but we all have the choice to do as we wish. And wouldn’t you know it but this idea is physically represented with a visit from Alex and his Droogies from A Clockwork Orange. The gang shows their ability to exercise free choice by beating up the vulnerable JB and there is no rhyme or reason to the violence, its simply violence for violence’s sake. The real symbolism of the scene comes when Kyle happens upon Jack being beaten and just hides. There is absolutely nothing restraining KG from going in and trying to save Jables yet he chooses not too because all of his decisions leading him up to that point have been selfish. He was wearing a pompous wig, mooching off of his parents for rent money for a decade and a half and worst of all refused to give Jack a little guitar lesson. Kyle here may represent something larger such as the mass of people who consider themselves innocent bystanders and sit and watch as people like JB get beaten for no reason. Or if Sartre was making the argument, he may say that Kyle here represents a divine figure that puts Jack in this messed up and violent situation in the first place and then abandons him when he is most in need. Worst of all Kyle completely proves Sartre’s point by then taking credit for saving JB once the ‘malchicks’ have had enough. Kyle masks his abandonment of JB because he wants Jables to think very highly of him for accomplishing something that he took no control over. Jack is all on his own and worst of all, he believes that there is someone there to watch over him. For someone like Sartre it is way too easy to draw the connections between Kyle’s actions and a religious beliefs in a higher power. Both leave Jack (the worshiper in this case) abandoned and oblivious to their own independence.
This ties back into Kyle’s choice at the Halfway House Cafe because now both Kyle and Jack find themselves abandoned. The theme plays out with the song “Dude, I Totally Miss You” because yet again Kyle has abandoned Jack, but this time he knows its a mistake. Kyles decision to take Jack in, buy him an incredible guitar and train him in the ways of rock have lead him to stop believing in his own selfishness and instead believe in the band dynamic. This leads Kyle to make a conscious decision to go back and help JB and therefore actually DO something about both of their problems. Sartre would have to agree that the only way to deal with man’s abandonment on earth is to make your own decisions as though you know it will effect other people, just like here Kyle knows he can help Jack. Kyle’s selfishness seemed to be his total essence in the beginning but his selfless decisions to buy Jack a new guitar and then help him steal the magical pick become his new essence as lead guitarist for the band. Also, it was Jack’s devotion to Kyle as a pupil and a friend that he built up from the beginning of the movie that led him to instinctively jump in the way of satan’s lightning. They both made decisions that led to them becoming a strong band and escape the devils clutches. Therefore both members of Tenacious D carve their own destiny and its not the pick and some “supra-natural” power that saves them, but the power of choice instead.
If you haven’t seen Tenacious D, then stop reading this sentence right now and go watch it. If you have seen it already (or if you are back from just watching it for the first time) then go watch it again. But this time instead of just laughing at the foul humor, keep your eye out for how both Jack and Kyle make their own destiny and conquer abandonment, because that's what the movie is really about.
-Ben Stern
Sources:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tenacious_d_in_the_pick_of_destiny/
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=tenaciousd.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9f-SppJF84
Sartre, Jean Paul. Existentialism is a Humanism. 1946. http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/sartre/works/exist/sartre.htm
I will begin by admitting my bias. I am a huge fan of “the D” and their music and the first time I saw this movie I loved it, not surprisingly. However, not everyone who viewed the movie accepted it the with exactly the same feelings. By the numbers the movie cost 20 million to produce and since its release in November of 2006 has lost 7 million world wide (net grossing of 13 million). But this is not all bad because at its peak the movie was ranked #4031 in america. Well, despite these less than perfect numbers critics have called Tenacious D “tiresome”, “mildly amusing” and described the film solely as “one big gaseous emission.” Some film critics have famously said “I didn’t hate it” and “it would be against the law for me to recommend this film to anyone”.
Okay, so Tenacious D was officially a box office bust, but I would like to argue that none of the film critics, who thought highly enough of themselves to cast this movie down as one of the worst ever made, are all not very educated on the ideas of existentialism. I believe Jean Paul Sartre would watch Jack Black and Kyle Gass on this quest for rock n’ roll glory and think it was brilliant in its portrayal of existentialist themes and ideas. While he might not recognize the references to AC/DC and Van Halen he would easily notice some huge existentialist themes ranging from the power of choice to the abandonment of man as a whole. So take a seat O high browed all mighty film critics and prepare to have your socks rocked off as I bring out the true meaning of the D.
Lets start with the two main characters Jack and Kyle:
Jack Black, JB, Jables, call him what you will but his character is the epitome of Sartre’s argument that “existence precedes essence”. Jack is born to “a humble family religious through and through” with crosses adorning their walls while young JB sits with the rock gods lining the confines of his room. JB has chosen to side with rock n’ roll, instead of following in the path of his family, and so his family’s decision to be devote and religious has not stopped JB one bit. Just as Sartre puts it in Existentialism as a Humanism, his existence, or his choices to listen to rock music and dream to follow in his idols footsteps, precedes his essence which is a rocking songwriter, and he is free to be totally different from his family. Young JB also demonstrates his power of choice when he choses who to go to for advice after being scolded by his father for his music. He could easily go to his brother, his mom, his family’s pastor, anyone! Instead, JB makes the decision to turn to Ronny James Dio (or the poster of Dio in his room). Just the act of deciding to ask this classic metal god for help has already determined the advice JB will receive. His family or priest would tell him to quit his ways and turn his life around, instead Dio tells him to follow his dreams in Hollywood and so JB escapes his home. Later on Jack’s never ending quest for the Pick of Destiny leads him to master rock singing, acoustic guitar jamming and gig playing and make eternal friends with Kyle. Jack doesn’t realize it but his quest for this “supra-natural” pick leads him to make a series of decisions that paves a path for him to make his own destiny. Jack is not distracted from his quest by beautiful women, food, security guards, hallucinations of a CGI Sasquatch or a five mile hike through the woods. He has the internal strength to decide to endure all of this because he is promised some unbelievable outcome. However, Sartre would be quick to pint out that along the way he actually learns that his best friend Kyle is the most important thing and this leads him to jump in front of the Devil’s lightning and save his friend, his band and his future career as a song writer. Therefore, Jack achieves his dreams of paying his rent with his music by his own will, not by the use of some magical guitar pick.
Kyle exhibits some of the more negative views held by existentialsim. First off he is constantly trying to become something he is not. He wears a wig and tell lies about all the famous people he knows because he wants to believe it himself and because thats how he wants to be viewed by JB and the public. The audience gets a real peak into the character of Kyle at the “half way house cafe” when he meets some attractive ladies and tells them another set of lies he only wishes could be true. Finally Jack gives him an ultimatum. I don’t know if a more existential question has ever been raised. Because if you side with Kyle, then you adopt a sense that you have some kind of human nature that pushes you to make such decisions based on primal urges and a woman's appearance and you can't be held responsible for such decisions. However, if you side with destiny you make your own path in life and choose to be what you want. Kyle keeps true to his character and makes up an excuse because he truly believes that the decision he has made (to go to the party) is the right one for the duo. Sartre would point out that it was only after Kyle made the decision that he then adopted the mindset that it was right for the group because he has to logically defend his choice.
The film handles one existentialist theme extremely well, and this would be “Abandonement”. The motif begins with this scene here. Jack sings “Baby” about being out alone and “Daddy” is gone. Well Sartre would point out that Jack has discovered the human condition of abandonment because it would seem as though something has created all of us but we all have the choice to do as we wish. And wouldn’t you know it but this idea is physically represented with a visit from Alex and his Droogies from A Clockwork Orange. The gang shows their ability to exercise free choice by beating up the vulnerable JB and there is no rhyme or reason to the violence, its simply violence for violence’s sake. The real symbolism of the scene comes when Kyle happens upon Jack being beaten and just hides. There is absolutely nothing restraining KG from going in and trying to save Jables yet he chooses not too because all of his decisions leading him up to that point have been selfish. He was wearing a pompous wig, mooching off of his parents for rent money for a decade and a half and worst of all refused to give Jack a little guitar lesson. Kyle here may represent something larger such as the mass of people who consider themselves innocent bystanders and sit and watch as people like JB get beaten for no reason. Or if Sartre was making the argument, he may say that Kyle here represents a divine figure that puts Jack in this messed up and violent situation in the first place and then abandons him when he is most in need. Worst of all Kyle completely proves Sartre’s point by then taking credit for saving JB once the ‘malchicks’ have had enough. Kyle masks his abandonment of JB because he wants Jables to think very highly of him for accomplishing something that he took no control over. Jack is all on his own and worst of all, he believes that there is someone there to watch over him. For someone like Sartre it is way too easy to draw the connections between Kyle’s actions and a religious beliefs in a higher power. Both leave Jack (the worshiper in this case) abandoned and oblivious to their own independence.
This ties back into Kyle’s choice at the Halfway House Cafe because now both Kyle and Jack find themselves abandoned. The theme plays out with the song “Dude, I Totally Miss You” because yet again Kyle has abandoned Jack, but this time he knows its a mistake. Kyles decision to take Jack in, buy him an incredible guitar and train him in the ways of rock have lead him to stop believing in his own selfishness and instead believe in the band dynamic. This leads Kyle to make a conscious decision to go back and help JB and therefore actually DO something about both of their problems. Sartre would have to agree that the only way to deal with man’s abandonment on earth is to make your own decisions as though you know it will effect other people, just like here Kyle knows he can help Jack. Kyle’s selfishness seemed to be his total essence in the beginning but his selfless decisions to buy Jack a new guitar and then help him steal the magical pick become his new essence as lead guitarist for the band. Also, it was Jack’s devotion to Kyle as a pupil and a friend that he built up from the beginning of the movie that led him to instinctively jump in the way of satan’s lightning. They both made decisions that led to them becoming a strong band and escape the devils clutches. Therefore both members of Tenacious D carve their own destiny and its not the pick and some “supra-natural” power that saves them, but the power of choice instead.
If you haven’t seen Tenacious D, then stop reading this sentence right now and go watch it. If you have seen it already (or if you are back from just watching it for the first time) then go watch it again. But this time instead of just laughing at the foul humor, keep your eye out for how both Jack and Kyle make their own destiny and conquer abandonment, because that's what the movie is really about.
-Ben Stern
Sources:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tenacious_d_in_the_pick_of_destiny/
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=tenaciousd.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9f-SppJF84
Sartre, Jean Paul. Existentialism is a Humanism. 1946. http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/sartre/works/exist/sartre.htm
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Engineering Your Future the Way You Want it to Be: A blog on the existential ideas in the film Gattaca with a brief comparison to Bernard Marx
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk3jiCyjL6Q
Gattaca by Andrew Niccol, is a prime example of an existentialist film dealing with the idea that man alone is responsible for his destiny. The film stresses the importance of both human freedom and individuality. Gattaca is set in a “not-too-distant-future society where children are essentially designed through genetic diagnosis to make sure they inherit the best qualities of their parents. “Valids” are the humans that were genetically designed while “in-valids” were the humans that were born naturally. The different types of births form 2 distinct social classes. Valids are smarter, healthier, more physically fit and much more respected in society. In-valids on the other hand are the opposite and live to an average age of 32 while valids can live to their 100’s and beyond. These invalids have high risks of genetic diseases where as their compliments do not. The society has laws against genetic discrimination but valids tend to make up the upper class and have the best jobs while in-valids represent the lower class and hold menial jobs.
The main character is an in-valid named Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke). Vincent has very high chance of developing mental disorders, a heart defect, poor eyesight and is projected to live only 30.2 years. His parents realized the error in choosing the natural birth so on their next try they went the more genetic and safer route with their son Anton Freeman. Vincent’s brother Anton, being a valid, is everything Vincent is not. Anton is far more physically fit and healthier although the two brothers are pretty much equals with intellect. The two play a game of chicken throughout their youth where they swim out into the ocean and whoever turns back first loses. Anton wins every time until they are young adults, right before Vincent leaves home. They both swim out farther and farther but Anton begins to drown and Vincent, who wins, ends up saving his “superior” sibling. Vincent’s goal is to work for the space agency Gattaca and eventually fly into space but his genetic inferiority reminds him again and again that his dream is pretty much impossible. Why let an in-valid into space when you can use a much more superior valid?
****WARNING SPOILERS BEGIN BELOW****
The only way for Vincent to achieve his dream is to become a “borrowed ladder”. A borrowed ladder is someone who impersonates a valid with a superb genetic background. Vincent finds the valid Jerome Eugene Morrow (Jude Law), a valid with a genetic profile that is incomparable. Jerome was a swimming star injured in a car accident and paralyzed from the waste down. He is confined to his wheel chair for the centuries he has yet to live. Vincent moves in and purchases Jerome’s identity, using his valid DNA in blood, hair, urine and tissue samples to pass the mandatory screenings of everyday life. In their society, all it takes is a tiny prick of blood to determine if someone is an in-valid or valid so without this borrowed ladder, Vincent would have no shot of successfully achieving his dream. Everyday Vincent must scrub away as much dead skin, loose hair, etc. as he can and rub on some of Jerome’s genetic material to protect his identity.
After being accepted into Gattaca’s Space Program, Vincent (who is now technically Jerome) becomes the top space navigator and is assigned to the space mission to Saturn’s moon Titan. Just about a week before the scheduled year long mission, one of the administrators is found murdered in his office and an eyelash of Vincent (the real Vincent) is found on the scene, making him a prime suspect. While doing his best to avoid being discovered, Vincent becomes close to his coworker valid Irene (Uma Thurman) who can never enter space because of her slight heart defect. Vincent also learns that Eugene (what the real Jerome Morrow is called by) was not in a car accident but rather tried to commit suicide by jumping in front of one. After winning his silver medal in swimming, Eugene could simply not live with his genetic perfection.
Vincent eventually reveals his identity to Irene who accepts him for who he is. After many more close calls with the detectives, led by a mysterious chief detective, the investigation comes to a close after it is discovered the Mission Director murdered the administrator to stop the space mission to Titan. Vincent now feels free and in the clear until he discovers the chief detective that was pursuing him all along was actually his brother Anton. Anton is not happy with Vincent and accuses him of fraud and says Vincent will never belong in Gattaca. Vincent replies that he has done this all on his own and the two challenge each other to one last game of chicken. The two begin the game and history repeats itself, Anton begins to drown, Vincent saves him and is crowned the winner. Anton asks Vincent how he did and Vincent replies, “I never saved anything for the swim back” which reveals his motto, only strive to go forward towards your goals and hold nothing back.
On the day of the launch Vincent says goodbye to Jerome and Jerome says he has left Vincent enough genetic material to last 2 lifetimes as a borrowed ladder. Vincent thanks Jerome but Jerome wishes to thank Vincent for lending him his dreams and gives Vincent a letter but says not to open it until he’s in space. Back at the space center, Vincent is stopped for one last urinary test by Dr. Lamar (who has tested him for years) but Vincent does not have Jerome’s urine samples with him. Vincent’s identity is revealed on the machine but Dr. Lamar does not care and tells Vincent the story of his son who admires Vincent and dreams to be an astronaut but has a genetic defect. The doctor then removes the tests results and tells Vincent he better not miss his flight.
Back at home, Jerome takes his medal and enters his house’s incinerator and turns it on. Up in space, Vincent opens the letter and sees a clump of Jerome Morrow’s hair. Staring into space and a bit sad, Vincent leaves the audience with his final thoughts, “They say that every atom in our bodies was once part of a star. Maybe I’m not leaving; maybe I’m coming home.”
***SPOILERS END***
The existential ideas of the importance of human individuality and freedom among its characters can be seen easily. This society has lost its identity. The technology (mainly reproductive technology) has created a great loss in individual identity and a sense of authenticity. People’s futures are determined from the start limiting their decisions, dreams and desires.
Vincent, and all the other invalids are destined for a life of struggle and sadness from conception. Their genetic differences prevent them from doing what they want to do. At least that is how it appears to be. Vincent takes matters into his own hands and goes against the odds. He begins to form his own destiny, not the one predetermined to him before his birth. Vincent does whatever it takes to achieve his goal of becoming an astronaut. He becomes a silent spokesperson for existential ideology. The in-valid shapes his own destiny, even if it means uses someone else’s identity to achieve it. Vincent’s whole life demonstrates the idea that he left nothing for the “swim” back. All of his decisions were made in a forward direction. He did not plan or worry about a backup goal. His goal was to become an astronaut and that was that. Vincent took freedom and placed it under his control, defying his society. He cleverly fooled his world and revealed his passionate desire to do what he WANTS to do not what he was predestined to do.
Irene, unlike Vincent, was a genuine valid. She too dreamed of becoming an astronaut but she had the unfortunate luck of having a slight risk of heart failure. Because of that slight risk, she could not fulfill her dreams. Vincent essentially grabbed the bull by the horns but Irene did not have the strength to. Perhaps it was because she was already told by her authorities that she could never go to space but regardless, her society has shaped what she can and cannot do, robbing her of individuality and freedom. Just like Dr. Lamar’s son, I believe Irene also gains hope from Vincent’s actions and immeasurable desire to succeed.
Jerome Morrow is a unique individual. The man who connects Vincent with Jerome says that this guy (Jerome) could live to be 1000. Jerome’s genetics were the best, simply put. He was the ideal perfect human being. With perfection comes responsibility however. After dominating the swim scene, Jerome realized he found no joy in being perfect, in being the best. His perfection tortured him. Just like all those celebrities and people who have everything yet spiral into trouble, addiction and sadness, the perfection proved to be just to much more Jerome. By ending his life Jerome would be free of this burden, this birthright to domination. Evidently it was not Jerome’s time to go and his decision to commit suicide leaves him only paralyzed. In a way his choice allows him to become the borrowed ladder for Vincent, showing the existential idea that one mans decisions affect everyone. Since conception Jerome was destined for personal suffering. His birth would bring about a horrible burden that would eventually bring him much depression and anxiety. His parents and society designed him to be that which he did not want to be. His individuality was robbed from the start, for a grand portion of his life. He was not authentic, he was the perfect human, the ideal life form but not to himself. In a way, the wheel chair was the best thing that happened to him. Even though he may have wished again and again to be able to walk and swim, it allowed him to meet Vincent and successfully remove his own personal burden. His suicide at the end shows that he did not ask to be perfect, it was not what he wanted, he wanted to be free and be himself. Jerome epitomizes how perfection does not guarantee happiness, but rather indifference towards the world and its ways.
Vincent and Jerome work in tandem. They learn so much from one another and essentially live through one another. They exemplify the strong need for individuality and freedom. While one may have lived and one may have died, in the end I think its safe to say they were truly happy for once.
Now if we look at Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, I think a comparison can definitely be made between Vincent Freeman and Bernard Marx. Bernard was at the top of his society’s cast in name but not exactly in appearance. Marx had the physical appearance of a lowly Gamma, widely believed to be because of an accident when he was being bottled (genetically engineered). Bernard has trouble asserting authority over the lower castes, since he appears so similar to one. He is a part of a lot of gossip among the upper caste regarding his “creation”. He also does not harbor many of the same feelings his “brothers” do. Bernard does not look at women as simply objects of sex, does not enjoy taking the relaxing drug Soma, and enjoys peace and tranquility to community activities among other things. Like Vincent, Bernard is at a loss because of physical and genetic traits. While Vincent was predestined for menial labor, Bernard would be predestined for embarrassment and low self esteem due to his differences (despite being an Alpha Plus). Vincent takes matters into his own hands and does his best to achieve his goals. Bernard seems to just accept his life, until stumbling upon the savage John. The savage completely turns Bernard’s world and self esteem upside down. He becomes an instant celebrity and begins to partake in all the things he detested before. Bernard’s fame inflates and escalates him to new heights, but is that what Bernard stood for all along? Here is where the two differ. Vincent strove to achieve a genuine dream, a genuine future that was denied to him. Bernard all of a sudden becomes a completely different person. That which he hated before, he began to love. Vincent stays true to himself and leaves nothing for the swim back but Bernard seems to do the opposite. After Bernard basically tries to turn John into his VIP pass, denying him of his individuality, John obviously rebels. This causes Bernard’s balloon to pop, sending him spiraling back to where he started. Vincent carefully traced his steps while Bernard did not. Mr. Marx was so caught up in his newfound respect and power but it proved to be only fleeting. Had Marx respected John (his own borrowed ladder in a way) I think things would have definitely been different. While the two men seem to be similar, I think their differences definitely outnumber the similarities. Both had their differences that held them back but Vincent was more pure, more authentic then Bernard. Vincent proved to show compassion while Bernard showed hypocrisy. Vincent shows success while Bernard shows failure. Vincent carefully created his own future despite the odds while Bernard got too caught up in the excitement and doomed himself for failure.
Overall Gattaca was a superb film with a great cast and this course allowed me to easily see the existentialist ideas present in the film. I recommend you all watch it because it really is a great film. As Sartre believed, man must make his own destiny; I believe Vincent Freemon did just that and more.
- Nick Lordi
Gattaca by Andrew Niccol, is a prime example of an existentialist film dealing with the idea that man alone is responsible for his destiny. The film stresses the importance of both human freedom and individuality. Gattaca is set in a “not-too-distant-future society where children are essentially designed through genetic diagnosis to make sure they inherit the best qualities of their parents. “Valids” are the humans that were genetically designed while “in-valids” were the humans that were born naturally. The different types of births form 2 distinct social classes. Valids are smarter, healthier, more physically fit and much more respected in society. In-valids on the other hand are the opposite and live to an average age of 32 while valids can live to their 100’s and beyond. These invalids have high risks of genetic diseases where as their compliments do not. The society has laws against genetic discrimination but valids tend to make up the upper class and have the best jobs while in-valids represent the lower class and hold menial jobs.
The main character is an in-valid named Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke). Vincent has very high chance of developing mental disorders, a heart defect, poor eyesight and is projected to live only 30.2 years. His parents realized the error in choosing the natural birth so on their next try they went the more genetic and safer route with their son Anton Freeman. Vincent’s brother Anton, being a valid, is everything Vincent is not. Anton is far more physically fit and healthier although the two brothers are pretty much equals with intellect. The two play a game of chicken throughout their youth where they swim out into the ocean and whoever turns back first loses. Anton wins every time until they are young adults, right before Vincent leaves home. They both swim out farther and farther but Anton begins to drown and Vincent, who wins, ends up saving his “superior” sibling. Vincent’s goal is to work for the space agency Gattaca and eventually fly into space but his genetic inferiority reminds him again and again that his dream is pretty much impossible. Why let an in-valid into space when you can use a much more superior valid?
****WARNING SPOILERS BEGIN BELOW****
The only way for Vincent to achieve his dream is to become a “borrowed ladder”. A borrowed ladder is someone who impersonates a valid with a superb genetic background. Vincent finds the valid Jerome Eugene Morrow (Jude Law), a valid with a genetic profile that is incomparable. Jerome was a swimming star injured in a car accident and paralyzed from the waste down. He is confined to his wheel chair for the centuries he has yet to live. Vincent moves in and purchases Jerome’s identity, using his valid DNA in blood, hair, urine and tissue samples to pass the mandatory screenings of everyday life. In their society, all it takes is a tiny prick of blood to determine if someone is an in-valid or valid so without this borrowed ladder, Vincent would have no shot of successfully achieving his dream. Everyday Vincent must scrub away as much dead skin, loose hair, etc. as he can and rub on some of Jerome’s genetic material to protect his identity.
After being accepted into Gattaca’s Space Program, Vincent (who is now technically Jerome) becomes the top space navigator and is assigned to the space mission to Saturn’s moon Titan. Just about a week before the scheduled year long mission, one of the administrators is found murdered in his office and an eyelash of Vincent (the real Vincent) is found on the scene, making him a prime suspect. While doing his best to avoid being discovered, Vincent becomes close to his coworker valid Irene (Uma Thurman) who can never enter space because of her slight heart defect. Vincent also learns that Eugene (what the real Jerome Morrow is called by) was not in a car accident but rather tried to commit suicide by jumping in front of one. After winning his silver medal in swimming, Eugene could simply not live with his genetic perfection.
Vincent eventually reveals his identity to Irene who accepts him for who he is. After many more close calls with the detectives, led by a mysterious chief detective, the investigation comes to a close after it is discovered the Mission Director murdered the administrator to stop the space mission to Titan. Vincent now feels free and in the clear until he discovers the chief detective that was pursuing him all along was actually his brother Anton. Anton is not happy with Vincent and accuses him of fraud and says Vincent will never belong in Gattaca. Vincent replies that he has done this all on his own and the two challenge each other to one last game of chicken. The two begin the game and history repeats itself, Anton begins to drown, Vincent saves him and is crowned the winner. Anton asks Vincent how he did and Vincent replies, “I never saved anything for the swim back” which reveals his motto, only strive to go forward towards your goals and hold nothing back.
On the day of the launch Vincent says goodbye to Jerome and Jerome says he has left Vincent enough genetic material to last 2 lifetimes as a borrowed ladder. Vincent thanks Jerome but Jerome wishes to thank Vincent for lending him his dreams and gives Vincent a letter but says not to open it until he’s in space. Back at the space center, Vincent is stopped for one last urinary test by Dr. Lamar (who has tested him for years) but Vincent does not have Jerome’s urine samples with him. Vincent’s identity is revealed on the machine but Dr. Lamar does not care and tells Vincent the story of his son who admires Vincent and dreams to be an astronaut but has a genetic defect. The doctor then removes the tests results and tells Vincent he better not miss his flight.
Back at home, Jerome takes his medal and enters his house’s incinerator and turns it on. Up in space, Vincent opens the letter and sees a clump of Jerome Morrow’s hair. Staring into space and a bit sad, Vincent leaves the audience with his final thoughts, “They say that every atom in our bodies was once part of a star. Maybe I’m not leaving; maybe I’m coming home.”
***SPOILERS END***
The existential ideas of the importance of human individuality and freedom among its characters can be seen easily. This society has lost its identity. The technology (mainly reproductive technology) has created a great loss in individual identity and a sense of authenticity. People’s futures are determined from the start limiting their decisions, dreams and desires.
Vincent, and all the other invalids are destined for a life of struggle and sadness from conception. Their genetic differences prevent them from doing what they want to do. At least that is how it appears to be. Vincent takes matters into his own hands and goes against the odds. He begins to form his own destiny, not the one predetermined to him before his birth. Vincent does whatever it takes to achieve his goal of becoming an astronaut. He becomes a silent spokesperson for existential ideology. The in-valid shapes his own destiny, even if it means uses someone else’s identity to achieve it. Vincent’s whole life demonstrates the idea that he left nothing for the “swim” back. All of his decisions were made in a forward direction. He did not plan or worry about a backup goal. His goal was to become an astronaut and that was that. Vincent took freedom and placed it under his control, defying his society. He cleverly fooled his world and revealed his passionate desire to do what he WANTS to do not what he was predestined to do.
Irene, unlike Vincent, was a genuine valid. She too dreamed of becoming an astronaut but she had the unfortunate luck of having a slight risk of heart failure. Because of that slight risk, she could not fulfill her dreams. Vincent essentially grabbed the bull by the horns but Irene did not have the strength to. Perhaps it was because she was already told by her authorities that she could never go to space but regardless, her society has shaped what she can and cannot do, robbing her of individuality and freedom. Just like Dr. Lamar’s son, I believe Irene also gains hope from Vincent’s actions and immeasurable desire to succeed.
Jerome Morrow is a unique individual. The man who connects Vincent with Jerome says that this guy (Jerome) could live to be 1000. Jerome’s genetics were the best, simply put. He was the ideal perfect human being. With perfection comes responsibility however. After dominating the swim scene, Jerome realized he found no joy in being perfect, in being the best. His perfection tortured him. Just like all those celebrities and people who have everything yet spiral into trouble, addiction and sadness, the perfection proved to be just to much more Jerome. By ending his life Jerome would be free of this burden, this birthright to domination. Evidently it was not Jerome’s time to go and his decision to commit suicide leaves him only paralyzed. In a way his choice allows him to become the borrowed ladder for Vincent, showing the existential idea that one mans decisions affect everyone. Since conception Jerome was destined for personal suffering. His birth would bring about a horrible burden that would eventually bring him much depression and anxiety. His parents and society designed him to be that which he did not want to be. His individuality was robbed from the start, for a grand portion of his life. He was not authentic, he was the perfect human, the ideal life form but not to himself. In a way, the wheel chair was the best thing that happened to him. Even though he may have wished again and again to be able to walk and swim, it allowed him to meet Vincent and successfully remove his own personal burden. His suicide at the end shows that he did not ask to be perfect, it was not what he wanted, he wanted to be free and be himself. Jerome epitomizes how perfection does not guarantee happiness, but rather indifference towards the world and its ways.
Vincent and Jerome work in tandem. They learn so much from one another and essentially live through one another. They exemplify the strong need for individuality and freedom. While one may have lived and one may have died, in the end I think its safe to say they were truly happy for once.
Now if we look at Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, I think a comparison can definitely be made between Vincent Freeman and Bernard Marx. Bernard was at the top of his society’s cast in name but not exactly in appearance. Marx had the physical appearance of a lowly Gamma, widely believed to be because of an accident when he was being bottled (genetically engineered). Bernard has trouble asserting authority over the lower castes, since he appears so similar to one. He is a part of a lot of gossip among the upper caste regarding his “creation”. He also does not harbor many of the same feelings his “brothers” do. Bernard does not look at women as simply objects of sex, does not enjoy taking the relaxing drug Soma, and enjoys peace and tranquility to community activities among other things. Like Vincent, Bernard is at a loss because of physical and genetic traits. While Vincent was predestined for menial labor, Bernard would be predestined for embarrassment and low self esteem due to his differences (despite being an Alpha Plus). Vincent takes matters into his own hands and does his best to achieve his goals. Bernard seems to just accept his life, until stumbling upon the savage John. The savage completely turns Bernard’s world and self esteem upside down. He becomes an instant celebrity and begins to partake in all the things he detested before. Bernard’s fame inflates and escalates him to new heights, but is that what Bernard stood for all along? Here is where the two differ. Vincent strove to achieve a genuine dream, a genuine future that was denied to him. Bernard all of a sudden becomes a completely different person. That which he hated before, he began to love. Vincent stays true to himself and leaves nothing for the swim back but Bernard seems to do the opposite. After Bernard basically tries to turn John into his VIP pass, denying him of his individuality, John obviously rebels. This causes Bernard’s balloon to pop, sending him spiraling back to where he started. Vincent carefully traced his steps while Bernard did not. Mr. Marx was so caught up in his newfound respect and power but it proved to be only fleeting. Had Marx respected John (his own borrowed ladder in a way) I think things would have definitely been different. While the two men seem to be similar, I think their differences definitely outnumber the similarities. Both had their differences that held them back but Vincent was more pure, more authentic then Bernard. Vincent proved to show compassion while Bernard showed hypocrisy. Vincent shows success while Bernard shows failure. Vincent carefully created his own future despite the odds while Bernard got too caught up in the excitement and doomed himself for failure.
Overall Gattaca was a superb film with a great cast and this course allowed me to easily see the existentialist ideas present in the film. I recommend you all watch it because it really is a great film. As Sartre believed, man must make his own destiny; I believe Vincent Freemon did just that and more.
- Nick Lordi
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