I've been depressed lately. Beyond. And it mostly has to do with humanity and just plain existing. I hate current society and I hate people. I hate that everything we want revolves around people. That dealing with others is a barrier to personal desires.
Then I watched Netflix's Leave the World Behind and it's as if the Universe is speaking to me.. yet again. Or maybe I'm becoming more in tune to it. I haven't figured it out yet.
The movie, although eye-rollingly slow, eloquently put into words everything I've been feeling lately. That our little world is doomed. Maybe not immediately, but definitely eventually. It's only a matter of time.
Because here's the problem with American or dare I say it, Western culture of life: life here in the states is about the short game. When a culture focuses on individuals trying to climb over each other to pursue their own goals, for personal wealth, to "have it all", invariably misery will follow. Because not everyone can have it all. And no one is willing to work collectively in each other's best interest.
As Kevin Bacon's character, with the iconic shot of the American flag at his home and his hilarious Cowboys hat symbolically portrays this very typical American - someone who is only looking out for their own selfish interests and to hell with everyone else.
But this isn't how the human race has survived downfall after downfall..not because a few individuals isolated themselves from everyone and were the only ones who survived. As Mahershala Ali's character said in the movie, even during the darkest times in human history, people were still able to work together to bring themselves up again, collectively.
This is how much of Eastern culture operates. Less about the individual desires and more about the collective. They play the "long game". Humanity cannot be represented by a handful of people, it's about the whole of us. And in the long game, it means individuals make sacrifices for the future generations, so they can move forward together, not just individually. Otherwise we end up like Rose at the very end, watching the last F.R.I.E.N.D.S episode only worried about our immediate comfort while the world crumbles around us. Ignoring disturbing truths because we can no longer handle them. Because all we care about is "Breads and Circuses", the short term pleasure (sounds like a drug doesn't it?).
Because let's be honest - America is like a drug. It's a short term release of pleasure that doesn't fix whats really wrong, just masks it so we don't have to deal with the unpleasant things of life like war (which as mentioned in the movie, we've had hands in other countries), poverty (which we try to cover up and ignore because hey we want that fancy techy thing).
The funny thing is, I was thinking the same thing Julia Roberts's character was, that I hate people. And that right there I was being hypocritical to everything I am relating above. We need each other. But now I wonder.. do I hate people BECAUSE of what I wrote. Because I'm surrounded by people who could care less what happens to our collective race, as long as they get what they want in THIS life. Maybe. Could be.
areudirty
titsay
prguitarman