July 31, 2007

allow me to get a little philosophical.......

i saw a movie last night that i loved. once again, it was a groundcat pick. (you think i'm bossy? that boy has selected 95% of the movies we've watched since we started dating!) but i digress....

the film was "lonesome jim", directed by steve buscemi. i wasn't expecting much, but it turned out to be a lovely little movie. it reminded me of "little miss sunshine" and "me and you and everyone we know", 2 recent films i've raved about in the past year or so. (go look them up on IMDB or wiki for yourself, i'm too fired up to put links!)

i am "fired up" because i loved "lonesome jim" and when i read the very brief description on wiki, i knew why i loved it so much.

"The film reflects an existentialist philosophy known as absurdism, and is based on Albert Camus's "The Myth of Sisyphus," which is summarized and interpreted by Jim towards the end of the film when he gives a failing girls' basketball team a pep-talk. From this point, Jim raises himself to a level of consciousness that allows him to live a fruitful life, regardless of whether he can win the "game" (succeed/make meaning in life)."

ok, i know that's a lot of big words and concepts. to sum it up, the film basically says that yes, life is gonna suck and you're going to lose most of those basketball games. but you can be aware of what you can control, be conscious and aware of your choices and find meaning in those things.

you can find meaning in life while losing!!!!

"absurdism" is the fancy term philosophers like camus and kierkegaard came up with to describe a very real and honest way of looking at life. i'll take the time to provide a link to this one. click here to see if you can wrap your mind around it. or see if my explanation makes sense.

my interpretation of absurdism: to search for meaning in life is futile. there is no great meaning. there is no god, no eternity, no karmic punishment for evil people, no great reward for the good and chaste. so if man's search for meaning is futile and meaningless, do i think we should give up? am i saying "life is pointless so kill yourself"?

not at all. i am saying it's pointless to try and find some "grand meaning" in life. instead, see that the struggle in yourself is more then enough. stop looking for the "big picture" and instead focus on your own picture. because if you can do that, you can decide what your own picture is. you give up following the rules of a certain religion, or society, and instead have the freedom to decide for yourself, exactly what is ok.

"everything is permitted" was always a favorite quote and now i know why. it doesn't mean go out and break laws for no reason. it just means, decide for yourself what is good and right, and in doing that you will find a passion about life (your own life.)

i read "the myth of sisyphus" by camus in college and thought i got it, but now it seems so clear... i'd be curious to know if anyone gets what i am trying to say.....

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

David makes the bottle tippin' (she's been drinkin') motion with his hand up to his mouth and rools his eyes. J

GLITTERGIRL said...

jennifer make the cuttin' david's throat motion with knife to throat.

hahahahaha!

glittermom said...

Much better movie pics than your Friday the 13th marathon...

Anonymous said...

Don't you get violent with me Jennifer! I'm calling the police on you right now.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scXVSqL_hsQ

GLITTERGIRL said...

am i special???? is that song about me??? LOL!

Anonymous said...

When I do good, I feel good.
When I do bad, I feel bad.
That is my religion.
-Abraham Lincoln