I (") Huckabees: Externally Enhanced Awareness or Clash of the Titans?
The title refers to my 12/7/04 post, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Externally Enhanced Denial. Both these films came out last year and it's a mystery to me why Sunshine garnered so much more attention from the Academy than Huckabees... word is, it's too abstract and conceptual. Sunshine required viewers to remember only one abstract concept - people can forget. This one coughs up more philosophical theories than Will Durant. Anyway, the two films are like opposite sides of the same coin and scream for intervision comparison.
They also represent trends in films that analyze and explore reality like Memento & Being John Malchovich. More recently, as in Butterfly Effect & Big Fish, the trend is to use composing CG in more mundane backgrounds. I believe Forrest Gump was one of the first films to do this. In this one they had some great Picasso/Brach-like effects of reality breaking up into cubes that provided a great visual theme for the film. Film is the medium most like reality and suits this kind of exposition beautifully, visually showing the nature of reality.
So, in Sunshine, we have the Dr. Pangloss Protestant approach to life, the guy wants it all nice & superficial & goes in for the mini-lobotomy. Jason Shwartzman's character, Albert, is not looking for repression but answers. He wants to understand what connects these disparate experiences and feelings that compose his life. So he turns to the dynamic duo of Lily Thomlin and Dustin Hoffman, who demonstrates the interconnected nature of the universe as explained by almost all the Eastern religions by using a blanket. They then follow him 24/7 to find his answers.
The service is far more than most psychologists today provide, most of them require the patient to verbally expose their lives and only step in to observe if the law requires it to protect a child, as with social workers. However, patient reportage is highly subjective and the advisor is at the mercy of the exposition they receive. I went for counseling after my divorce, just to see if it would help. I knew far more than the counselor, at least about my own life, she spouted the usual stuff about helping me see what I wanted.
That's what they do, help people see what they want or need. Fortunately, my best friend of twenty years knows me well and is constantly upping herself, she's a noted psychologist herself, running a growth and leadership center. Thank God I have her because it is not easy for me to find people who can understand me. There's so much going on in my life and mind, it's too overwhelming for someone who hasn't been kept up to speed.
Anyway, back to the two films, I'm sure you're expecting me to compare the two approaches, and I will, but, only one is a philosophy. The other is a neurosis. The reason I compare them is that I believe most people employ repression and denial as a de facto philosophy because they've never bothered to develop a real one. They fail to understand the need for one. I've met so few people who can speak about their lives in such a way that shows an understanding of how their life experiences, particularly in childhood, affect their day to day decisions & positions or how all of that plays into a larger goal for their life, much less the world. Along with the gloss and denial goes a smallness of mind.
Now, don't think I haven't tried. I've put together a number of consciousness-raising type groups, including one at my church which lasted for years and dozens of women from the church attended at one point or another. We explored our faith as Christians and got pretty philosophical, and also revealed more of ourselves than we were typically allowed. Since this is a Congregational Church, "one step away from the Unitarians", it was very liberal in terms of the doctrine, barefoot & pregnant stuff, but still, I would say the primary focus for the moms was their families and not larger issues. It's the same with the men, only it's more about jobs, tech, sports.
I look at it like this. Cameras can have a close up lens or a wide angle lens. So do we. We need to pay attention to the daily reality, especially when we're driving cars, but, also when we're driving ourselves. There are kids, colleagues, demands coming at us constantly, endlessly... one thing after the other. Is each thing totally separate? In a way, yes, each probably demands a certain amount of our time. In other ways, no. It's all connected, if in no other way than it's all coming in to our mind. Because time is limited though, I like to use it efficiently.
When you take the time to construct the paradigms and understand the bigger picture, the wide angle lens, you know where to put stuff, so that it's there when you need it, but don't have to carry it around all day. You don't end up wasting your life looking at the small stuff only to get to the end and wonder if you chose the right course or what it all means. And when some challenge or issue or new idea comes my way, I know where to find the answer and connection that will give me comfort, direction and understanding... something denial can never provide. In my physical and mental homes, it's organized.
As to the last part of the title, Clash of the Titans, the Titans are the two basic world-views. There are six major world religions and as many philosophies as there are people. This film accurately portrays the thinking of many of the world's great philosophers. As you can tell by David Russell's commentary, they guy knows his shit. It's a virtual smorgasbord of ideas about the ultimate nature of reality.
But, there are only two basic views; God or no God, order or chaos, meaning or coincidental occurrences. This is different from denial, some people are more than willing to look at the unsavoriness of life, may relish it, but still not believe in any greater consciousness or interconnectedness. Where others see God, they see an absence.
Whereas the vast majority of us believe in a higher power, at least when asked about it, nihilists & existentialists are focused in the present and tangible. They can deal with some abstraction, but not as much as someone who can focus totally on the present as well as the theoretical superstructures at the same time. That ability is more like the gurus and yogis, monks and nuns, who attempt to do both simultaneously but often need very simple lives to do it. Zen also focuses very much on experiencing your life fully as you live it, but sees a higher order.
Anyway, I could go on like this all day, and used to. I spent many years very deep into philosophy, meditation, Eastern religions, communes, exploration of more conscious ways of living and thinking. In the 70's there was a big push into this self-help stuff that we now take as part of the landscape. Attention to Eastern thought in the West grew out of the music and drug scene, particularly when the Beatles got interested in the Kesey/Dead scene and went to India to visit Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. This was no dry philosophy class but very experiential in every way. Philosophy is useless as an academic exercise, which is how most people learn about it and continue thinking about it. An active philosophy is like what the Christians call the living Christ or living Bible. It's something that guides your everyday experience.
I liked the fact that the characters in this film, weird as they were, took the time to question and look at what was happening in their lives. The purpose of a good belief system is that it can provide great comfort, direction and inspiration. But, it's important to keep that belief system alive by paying attention to your feelings. Sometimes people set it and forget it. They've got the church, the structure, the routine going, but you have to keep resizing it or it can start to constrict.
Sometimes the bigger picture shows us who really supports and loves us. Often those closest to us want to keep us in a certain place, the place they found us, a place that is convenient for them. They know us and love us and we want to deliver... but, at what cost. Sometimes the cost is a compromise of who we are and what we need.
Other times, we seem to be at odds with someone, but realize ultimately that the conflict or itchiness spurred us to where we needed to be. In both cases, the picture looks very different depending on the perspective. That's why it's important to talk to others about ourselves, our lives, and get real with others... to get perspective.
They also represent trends in films that analyze and explore reality like Memento & Being John Malchovich. More recently, as in Butterfly Effect & Big Fish, the trend is to use composing CG in more mundane backgrounds. I believe Forrest Gump was one of the first films to do this. In this one they had some great Picasso/Brach-like effects of reality breaking up into cubes that provided a great visual theme for the film. Film is the medium most like reality and suits this kind of exposition beautifully, visually showing the nature of reality.
So, in Sunshine, we have the Dr. Pangloss Protestant approach to life, the guy wants it all nice & superficial & goes in for the mini-lobotomy. Jason Shwartzman's character, Albert, is not looking for repression but answers. He wants to understand what connects these disparate experiences and feelings that compose his life. So he turns to the dynamic duo of Lily Thomlin and Dustin Hoffman, who demonstrates the interconnected nature of the universe as explained by almost all the Eastern religions by using a blanket. They then follow him 24/7 to find his answers.
The service is far more than most psychologists today provide, most of them require the patient to verbally expose their lives and only step in to observe if the law requires it to protect a child, as with social workers. However, patient reportage is highly subjective and the advisor is at the mercy of the exposition they receive. I went for counseling after my divorce, just to see if it would help. I knew far more than the counselor, at least about my own life, she spouted the usual stuff about helping me see what I wanted.
That's what they do, help people see what they want or need. Fortunately, my best friend of twenty years knows me well and is constantly upping herself, she's a noted psychologist herself, running a growth and leadership center. Thank God I have her because it is not easy for me to find people who can understand me. There's so much going on in my life and mind, it's too overwhelming for someone who hasn't been kept up to speed.
Anyway, back to the two films, I'm sure you're expecting me to compare the two approaches, and I will, but, only one is a philosophy. The other is a neurosis. The reason I compare them is that I believe most people employ repression and denial as a de facto philosophy because they've never bothered to develop a real one. They fail to understand the need for one. I've met so few people who can speak about their lives in such a way that shows an understanding of how their life experiences, particularly in childhood, affect their day to day decisions & positions or how all of that plays into a larger goal for their life, much less the world. Along with the gloss and denial goes a smallness of mind.
Now, don't think I haven't tried. I've put together a number of consciousness-raising type groups, including one at my church which lasted for years and dozens of women from the church attended at one point or another. We explored our faith as Christians and got pretty philosophical, and also revealed more of ourselves than we were typically allowed. Since this is a Congregational Church, "one step away from the Unitarians", it was very liberal in terms of the doctrine, barefoot & pregnant stuff, but still, I would say the primary focus for the moms was their families and not larger issues. It's the same with the men, only it's more about jobs, tech, sports.
I look at it like this. Cameras can have a close up lens or a wide angle lens. So do we. We need to pay attention to the daily reality, especially when we're driving cars, but, also when we're driving ourselves. There are kids, colleagues, demands coming at us constantly, endlessly... one thing after the other. Is each thing totally separate? In a way, yes, each probably demands a certain amount of our time. In other ways, no. It's all connected, if in no other way than it's all coming in to our mind. Because time is limited though, I like to use it efficiently.
When you take the time to construct the paradigms and understand the bigger picture, the wide angle lens, you know where to put stuff, so that it's there when you need it, but don't have to carry it around all day. You don't end up wasting your life looking at the small stuff only to get to the end and wonder if you chose the right course or what it all means. And when some challenge or issue or new idea comes my way, I know where to find the answer and connection that will give me comfort, direction and understanding... something denial can never provide. In my physical and mental homes, it's organized.
As to the last part of the title, Clash of the Titans, the Titans are the two basic world-views. There are six major world religions and as many philosophies as there are people. This film accurately portrays the thinking of many of the world's great philosophers. As you can tell by David Russell's commentary, they guy knows his shit. It's a virtual smorgasbord of ideas about the ultimate nature of reality.
But, there are only two basic views; God or no God, order or chaos, meaning or coincidental occurrences. This is different from denial, some people are more than willing to look at the unsavoriness of life, may relish it, but still not believe in any greater consciousness or interconnectedness. Where others see God, they see an absence.
Whereas the vast majority of us believe in a higher power, at least when asked about it, nihilists & existentialists are focused in the present and tangible. They can deal with some abstraction, but not as much as someone who can focus totally on the present as well as the theoretical superstructures at the same time. That ability is more like the gurus and yogis, monks and nuns, who attempt to do both simultaneously but often need very simple lives to do it. Zen also focuses very much on experiencing your life fully as you live it, but sees a higher order.
Anyway, I could go on like this all day, and used to. I spent many years very deep into philosophy, meditation, Eastern religions, communes, exploration of more conscious ways of living and thinking. In the 70's there was a big push into this self-help stuff that we now take as part of the landscape. Attention to Eastern thought in the West grew out of the music and drug scene, particularly when the Beatles got interested in the Kesey/Dead scene and went to India to visit Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. This was no dry philosophy class but very experiential in every way. Philosophy is useless as an academic exercise, which is how most people learn about it and continue thinking about it. An active philosophy is like what the Christians call the living Christ or living Bible. It's something that guides your everyday experience.
I liked the fact that the characters in this film, weird as they were, took the time to question and look at what was happening in their lives. The purpose of a good belief system is that it can provide great comfort, direction and inspiration. But, it's important to keep that belief system alive by paying attention to your feelings. Sometimes people set it and forget it. They've got the church, the structure, the routine going, but you have to keep resizing it or it can start to constrict.
Sometimes the bigger picture shows us who really supports and loves us. Often those closest to us want to keep us in a certain place, the place they found us, a place that is convenient for them. They know us and love us and we want to deliver... but, at what cost. Sometimes the cost is a compromise of who we are and what we need.
Other times, we seem to be at odds with someone, but realize ultimately that the conflict or itchiness spurred us to where we needed to be. In both cases, the picture looks very different depending on the perspective. That's why it's important to talk to others about ourselves, our lives, and get real with others... to get perspective.
posted by Intervision at 7:34 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home