Filed under: Mental Well Being | Tags: existentialism, film theory, I heart huckabees, Jason Swartzman, nihilism, philosophy
Nihilism, existentialism or somewhere in between? Who knows? And even if someone stepped forward to answer my rhetorical question, how would they prove themselves?
I watched I Heart Huckabees today. It is a great film but it needs attention. I tried to watch it with some bum of an ex-boyfriend once, he couldn’t stand it. It was irrelevant to him.
But for me, tonight, the movie stuck a chord. It reminded me of the book, Celestine Prophecy and the idea that we’re all connected and all part of each others existence. And that there are no such thing as coincidences – they’re signs for us. Does that sound extreme?
Another side of me was drawn to the other argument: that none of us are connected. Just like in Donnie Darko when Grandma Death whispers to Donnie that we all die alone.
We need both nihilism and existentialism, like we need creativity and destruction. You need to believe in both to maintain balance. As Jason Swartzman’s character says, “You both need each other. Your too light and your not light enough.”
Regardless of what you think or what you follow, it all seems to lead to the same message: nothing matters – so let go and enjoy.
It’s an easy philosophy to understand. But how easy is it to apply to your life?
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Henrietta Maddox Webloner 