Monday, February 21, 2011

Nature of Existence - Steven's Article/Movie

I didn't have a chance to see the whole movie before Megavideo cut me off, but I did read the whole of the article. Both the movie and article focus around life and death, and the nature of both. What comes after death? What awaits us? What is the meaning of our lives? And of course, any point of view that can be investigated {any within the scope of the director's imagination at least} in order to give insight on the various answers to these questions. Not everyone believes in a god, or that there is even just one of them. Everyone has their own opinions of what they'd like to see and what they'd rather not, or how they feel they should live their lives while they're still living.

I'd rather not talk about what I think, because I honestly try not to think about it. I'd rather just live, and as long as there's no hell I don't care what the afterlife is. If it's nothing, that's actually just fine. It's like when you go to sleep but you don't have a dream. I'm always tired and I always have that strong desire to go back even if there was nothing there. Nothing isn't BAD. It isn't paradise, but at the same time, there's no strife. I don't see why nothingness is such a dreadful thing. What, you want to be able to see all the ones you've lost when you died? You won't care when you get there. And why worry it about it now. Live! Live while /you/ still can. Because it won't be long before you reach the end. 

As for heaven, I felt pretty much like that one seventh grade girl felt about it. Going to a place that would constantly promote and support happiness is not my idea of paradise. I remember the first time I thought about it too. I was watching The Matrix and Mr. Smith talks to Morpheus about the matrix program, and how the first simulation they created was a utopia, but it was a total failure. No one in the program could be fooled by it. There had to be some strife in order for these people to be pleased; in order for them to accept it as reality. So the remade the matrix into the world it was there, which is supposed to be a reflection of pre-9/11 America or something. I think heaven would end up failing for the same reasons too. People there just wouldn't be satisfied with a picture perfect life. It would leave something undesired. Once you add any of the taint of strife to the picture, it's just not heaven anymore. It's not afterlife. It's 'Life - the Extended Edition'. 

1. I don't think a 2-hour documentary could ever cover the magnitude of the debate, to be honest. I'm not sure any length shorter than 24 hours could come close. There's a lot more to the picture. There always will be. But I'm not going to take offense to it or anything. It was a good try.

2. Sometimes I do, yeah. I try not to let it get in the way of my work though, because I try to remove any religious aspects from it. But I wonder what it is to make work about zombie invasions, alien attacks, forces of nature, nuclear war, and other man/nature end-of-the-world ventures when I'm a bit Christian. Am I...going to be in trouble with my beliefs because I'm investigating what isn't considered the 'true' apocalypse, according to the book? Isn't it okay to have a slightly different opinion on some matters considering that the bible was written by man, whether or not it is the word of God? 

3. It does. I've only watched enough horror movies to pass a horror-based game of Jeopardy with. A lot of my memories are reflected in my work, if not personal experiences but second-hand ones from watching films and such. 

4. I think everyone should think there's some humor to mortality. The fact that we're dying from the moment we're born is pretty ironic. I don't think life is worth living if you can't laugh at death once in a while, because being utterly afraid of the end is kind of silly. It's going to happen. Sometimes, you might accept it without really thinking about it, and you'll only struggle with it when you're so close to it. I think that's fine. 

My work deals with a lot of mortality, but I'm usually pitching a bit of humor the same way to make my work less grim. I don't want the end to be grim; I want it to simply be romantic. Like something tragic, yet ours at the same time. Let's not seek it out, but let us not spend our short time alive only fearing it.

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