It is not the movie itself that impressed me but Mr. Bennet's qouting of the german philosopher. It goes "When you hear a close friend has died your first impulse is to laugh". When you first hear this it sounds as if Mr. Bennet is a crazed maniac that wants you to kill your closest friends but from Mr. Bennet's story and Paul's ecstatic joy you could tell that there might be some truth to this. It seems like you begin to appreciate life and a general euphoria washes over you and you are not glad for the death itself but you are glad that you are alive. It seems as if our humanity does not follow moral or logical emotion. Just think about it, why would a person feel the need to "LAUGH" above all else when a friend dies. We are indeed mysterious beings and as adolescents we still have so much to learn and discover about the human condition.
I am an existentialist because the concept of an underlying force micromanaging our lives and answering our pleas for help is ludicrous. Realizing this is essential to start to appreciate life in all its madness, randomness, and beauty.
The Philosopher I referenced is Arthur Schopenhauer. He tended to look on the dark side of things. I think the point being made in the film is that life is incredibly precious, and not to be thrown away in some stupid war.
ReplyDeleteMaybe humans laugh because they are just so blown away and confused. They almost can't comprehend the idea of life ceasing to exist in a single moment.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of what you told me about that "theory" that humans evolved to believe in God because they couldn't understand the concept of there being nothing after life.
ReplyDeleteSo when your blown away and confused you start laughing? Well... maybe it is. It is interesting that when we are happy we laugh but when we are EXTREMELY happy we cry and when we are sad we cry but when the shit rlly hits the fan we can do nothing else but laugh. Maybe the subconscious realization of the fact that we are all going towards the same end puts us into that state of hysteria. And i say subconcious because when Mr. Bennet talked about his experience he didn't have the faintest idea why he had a wave of euphoria in his car.
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