I'm going through an existential crisis
Is it a good idea to watch this movie?
Yes. Very good idea and I'm absolutley serious.
MovieChat Forums > The Meaning of Life (1983) Discussion > I'm going through an existential crisis
This is probably the most phenomenal film to watch for anyone who is going through an existential crisis. Be proud of yourself that you are going through this phase because this film was made specifically for you!
However it highly depends on the context you view the film in. From what I gathered from the film is that life is utterly meaningless! Any meaning that you apply to your life will be an illusion - Whether it's making lots of money before you die, worshiping God so you will end up in heaven, or even looking for the meaning of life. This is not a pessimistic or cynical perspective, because once you grasp the notion that life is meaningless, you will literally set yourself free.
You see, us human beings are constantly looking for meaning that we miss the entire freak show that is happening around us. Like the movie says in one powerful scene, "your soul has to be brought into existence by a guided process of self observation, however this is rarely achieved by mans unique ability to be distracted by everyday trivia."
Through self observation you will wake up to the fact that there is no "self" and that the real "self" is everything around you. Including the billions of galaxies and human beings in the universe. You see you are NOTHING and without NOTHING you would not have ANYTHING. Direct your attention to the nothingness that is looking through your eyes right now, look behind your trivial thoughts and for once you will perceive the beautiful creation that is yours right now in this moment and everything on Planet Earth will become a comedy to you!
It's a beautiful paradox - the meaning to life is that it's meaningless! And why should it have any meaning?
Socrates - "I know that I know nothing".
Indeed, there is no meaning at all. Life is what you make of it. The sooner you realise that, the better you'll feel about it. Many people search for answers through various religions and other beliefsystems. I don't applaud that, but go ahead if you must. The real answer, I think, is that there is no meaning to our existence, and this film shows that brilliantly.
shareThis is THE movie to watch if you have a life crisis!
For life to have "meaning" is to say that life is really a symbol or representation of something else. In that sense, most people can agree that life is not meant to point to something else- it is something that is in and of itself to be experienced.
However, there is another way to look at life: does it have any purpose? I don't think Monty Python or anyone else can answer that question. The players in Pythons appear to be atheists. However, many of us, including myself, are neither atheists nor dogmatic, know-it-all believers, and leave open the possibility that there may be other realms of knowing and consciousness beyond this life.
In that sense, I think the Python is overly pessimistic in its view. To state, as is done at the end of the "Meaning of Life", that Christian views of heaven are nothing but a fraud, does not leave room for any nuance. Perhaps there are no angels singing in the clouds, but perhaps there is something that could credibly be called an "afterlife".
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This movie is not going to help you or offer you any insights or perspective, and it's not funny so it won't uplift your spirits. It doesn't give you any information. It may deepen your depression or make your crisis worse or maybe even give you anxiety, who knows.
But .. hm.. well, at least it has horribly gory and disgusting scenes that may disturb you enough to make you forget your crisis for awhile.
I have one of those once a month. Usually the same time my wife has her time of the month. This movie helped me through one
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