Existentialism, as defined by Luke Mastin, “...is a philosophy that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice.”(2008). There are multiple occasions in which an individual can encounter an existentialist situation without acknowledging it. For example, choosing to go to school one day or not would be considered freedom of choice, which connects with the philosophy of existentialism. In the context of existentialism, Søren Kierkegaard’s theory correlates to the movie, Before I Fall directed and adapted by Ry Russo-Young from the novel written by Lauren Oliver, due to the many movie scenes that involve an existentialist moment as exemplified through the main character in relation to Kierkegaard.
Before I Fall is a fictitious movie targeted
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Hamann, G.E. Lessing and his teacher of philosophy… Poul Martin Moller.” (William McDonald). Despite being one of the greatest philosophers, Kierkegaard had a simple, boring life which most humans can probably relate to; however, he also used his time wisely which resulted in his rise of becoming a very influential philosopher. Kierkegaard’s contributions to existentialism would be “the opening up by Kierkegaard of this terra incognita of man’s inner life will come to play a major role for later existentialist.” (Douglas Burnham).
The movie’s aspects endure on Samantha and how she chooses the way her life should go. In one of the beginning scenes, after Samantha and her friends leave the party, the head onto the road, slam into a truck and their car flips off the side of the road. The next “day” Samantha wakes up confused as to how and why she is still alive. She then realizes that the same day she lived previously, is again, the day she is living at that moment. Since she knows what is bound to come, she goes through her days events to change the outcome of her day. This heavily revolves around the existentialist philosophy of how an individual has freedom of choice, and Kierkegaard's philosophy of how life is a series of choices with regretful actions bound to come with those
Take a minute to relax. Enjoy the lightness, or surprising heaviness, of the paper, the crispness of the ink, and the regularity of the type. There are over four pages in this stack, brimming with the answer to some question, proposed about subjects that are necessarily personal in nature. All of philosophy is personal, but some philosophers may deny this. Discussed here are philosophers that would not be that silly. Two proto-existentialists, Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche, were keen observers of humanity, and yet their conclusions were different enough to seem contradictory. Discussed here will be Nietzsche’s “preparatory human being” and Kierkegaard’s “knight of faith”. Both are archetypal human beings that exist in accordance to their respective philosopher’s values, and as such, each serve different functions and have different qualities. Both serve the same purpose, though. The free spirit and the knight of faith are both human beings that brace themselves against the implosion of the god concept in western society.
Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher in the mid 1800s. He is known to be the father of existentialism and was at least 70 years ahead of his time. Kierkegaard set out to attack Kant’s rational ethics and make attacks on the Christianity of our day. He poses the question, how do we understand faith? He states that faith equals the absurd. In “Fear and Trembling”, he uses the story of Abraham and his son Isaac to show an example of faith as the absurd. The story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac signifies a break in the theory that ethics and religion go hand in hand. He shows how the ethical and the religious can be completely different. “I by no means conclude that faith is something inferior but rather that it is the highest, also that it is dishonest of philosophy to give something else in its place and to disparage faith” (Fear and Trembling, 12).
In conclusion, the story describes that life changes, and nothing stays the same throughout it. It is in the hands of the people to decide that how they want their life to be. They can make it as beautiful as they want to and they can also make it worse than it has ever been
Journal Of The Society For Existential Analysis 21.1 (2010): 76-88. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
The movie Ordinary People fits the definition of existentialism perfectly. A story of a boy who deals with the death of his brother from a boating accident and his recent release from the hospital after attempting suicide. Conrad struggles with death and the questions death proposes. He has difficulty dealing with the death of his brother compared to others; leading to his attempted suicide. Conrad will clearly struggle to build relationships, comprehend the meaning of life, and dealing with death.
In The Matrix directed by Lilly Wachowski and Lana Wachowski, existentialism and determinism are explored leading one to question what reality truly is through the use of various thematic techniques. Existentialists is the believe that an individual determines their own development through acts of free will whereas determinists believe that all events are determined by causes external to free will or fate. The main character Neo is presented with these conflicting beliefs when he becomes aware that what he believes is reality is merely an illusion, an alternate reality created by a computer program where laws of nature do not apply. As Neo becomes more aware of the glitches in The Matrix, Morpheus approaches Neo and presents him with a choice
Before the civil rights movement could begin, a few courageous individuals had to guide the way. Dr. Vernon Johns was one of those individuals. Dr. Vernon Johns was a pastor and civil rights activist in the 1920s. Johns became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama in the late 1940s. During his time as a pastor, Johns preached many sermons on how African American people were being treated not only in the community but in society. Johns on multiple occasions upset his community through his ideas on social change. Through a sociologist perspective, many sociological concepts were displayed in The Vernon Johns Story. Some of those concepts included: ascribed status, conflict theory, deviant behavior, alienation, and
Kamila Hilal Personality Journal 2 For my viewing of 12 Monkeys, I decided to incorporate what we have discussed in class about Existentialism. After watching the film, I did not necessarily feel uncomfortable but I felt a bit confused and uneasy in regards to my reaction to certain characters. The main character, Cole, meets a patient at a mental institution, Jeffrey Goines. At first, based on his sporadic behavior, verbal outbursts, and content of his speech, I understand that this man, is somehow mentally ill.
(Crowell). Ironically the authors, directors and poets would deny that they are existentialists, because they are existentialists. (Corbett) The authors continued showing features that furthered the belief of their movement. In their eyes, people are free and must take it upon themselves to make rational decisions in a chaotic universe. Existentialists believe that there is nothing more to life since life has no purpose. (Corbett) Life is just where we are right now but we have no real impact to others or this earth. It is all the same if we were dead as if we were alive. This often comes as a realization to existentialist people and often present in existentialist literature about the “reality” of life.The question comes down to, do all human beings believe that they matter in life? This question challenges existentialist belief since life has no purpose. (Corbett) How can we matter in this life if one of the main themes in existentialism is that we have no purpose, it is quite
Existentialism is defined as "a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining his or her own development through acts of the will”. In other words, existentialism it emphasizes individual freedom. Throughout The Stranger, the amount of existentialism views is abundant. The use of Mersault’s experiences covey the idea that human life has no meaning except for simple existence. The idea of existentialism in Albert Camus' The Stranger reflects through Mersault's life experiences with his relationship with Marie, the death of his mother Maman, the murdering of the Arab, and Mersault's trial and execution, all these events show that Mersault’s life of no meaning.
Another important existentialist concept is that everyone is completely accountable for his or her actions. “We have neither behind us, nor before us in a luminous realm of values, ...
Existentialism is defined as a philosophical movement that human beings are completely free and responsible for their own actions. Existentialists will try not to cause waves and remain completely uninvolved with anyone because they do not want to hurt anybody. There is absolutely no such thing as an existentialist because he would have to be so uninvolved to the point where he would not be able to live at all. Although the two stories: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and The Stranger by Albert Camus are very different in approach, their endings are similar in that they both support the basics of existentialism.
The movie Psycho, is one of the most influential movie in Cinema history to date. The director Alfred Hitchcock, wanted to test many of the conventions of movie making that was common at that time. Alfred Hitchcock movie broke many cultural taboos and challenged the censors. Alfred Hitchcock showed a whole bunch of at the time absurd scene, for example: Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) dying naked while taking a shower, Norman Bates with split personality disorder, and the first ever flushing toilet shown in a movie. Because from the late 1920's to the late 1950's, movies were made usually go around the story, and usually with a lot dialogue. This movie gives the audience an experience that was much more emotional and intuitive. The viewers were caught up in a roller coaster of shock, surprise and suspense based on image, editing and sound.
The first article for review by Viktor Frankl, an existential psychologist, Logotherapy and Existentialism, was written in 1967. Existentialism approach emphasizes the individual as being responsible for their actions and destiny by way of exercising
Existentialism is the epitome of the unknown. There is no straightforward explanation of what exactly it is, there is only certain characteristics and behaviors that describe existentialist views. Throughout today’s world, there are examples of it everywhere, it’s found in movies, books, songs, and just people in general. Existentialists are known to think and do for themselves only. They believe that to understand what it means to be human requires understanding of themselves first. Some very well known pieces of entertainment existentialism is found in are: Hamlet by William Shakespeare, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Stranger by Albert Camus, and The Breakfast Club by John Hughes. The Stranger is a book written about a young man whose mother dies, which soon leads him to becoming acquainted with the feeling of not caring about what his actions do to others or himself. The main character Meursault starts helping his friend Raymond, carry out ways to torment his mistress. Out of nowhere while at the beach, Meursault shoots Raymond’s mistress’s brother. He is thrown into jail and tried, but he seems to not be affected as much as he should about his actions. He first finds it hard to live without cigarettes, women, and nature, but he soon finds out he doesn’t need any of those. After being sentenced to death, he is suggested to turn away from his atheism but later realizes that human existence has no greater meaning. This realization and acceptance is what truly makes him happy (Camus). Next, The Breakfast Club is a very relatable movie about high school students suffering the consequences of their actions in detention. The kids are all of ...