In Birdman, I notice many
themes of existentialism including authenticity, alienation, and absurd. What
interest me most are two themes in the movie, unexpected anticipation and
authenticity.
Many scenes in Birdman make
me frustrated because the scenes’ developments did not really follow my anticipations.
For example, when I thought Riggan Thomson was going to die when he jumped out
of the window, he survived and even flew on the sky. Furthermore, when I assumed
that Thomson would shoot himself and died on the stage, he survived with a new
nose. I think this theme is extremely important in the movie because it shows
the director or designer's opposition to mindset or to social norm. We, as human beings, often predict
what would happen next based on logics or certain clues. However, if we want to
continue exploiting, discovering, and creating, we have to accept unexpectations.
The German philosopher Martin Heidegger used to believe that reasoning and
logics are not good thing because they shut other explanations and
possibilities out of our minds. Life is absurd, so life is happy. I think one of the themes of
existentialism, absurd, could be interpreted well in this movie.
I love your statement that life is absurd so life is happy! Certainly, if I live without surprises, my life will be really dull. And I like your doubt about the ending. I think even though Riggan try's to be authentic to himself, he still clings to public opinions as a prove and reflection of his authenticity. So maybe he dose not have the freedom he longs for at the end.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the movie always gives me some surprise. For example, when we see he is flying in the sky of New York, he is actually taking a taxi. Also, it is also surprise me that he doesn't die after he shoot himself. Although he is desperate and struggling to find his identity, he doesn't give up his life.
ReplyDeleteYour question about riggan flying into the sky like a birdman but instead, you are thinking that he wanted to do was to get rid of the light of birdman, and became a real artist on the stage. I think your thought is really unique and I didn't thought about this. After reading your blog, I have different ideas about the ending.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea that we need to accept unexpectations in our life journey. Those surprises that we face in our life actually lead us to where we are now. We should not only limit our lives based on social norm or logic that people used to follow.
ReplyDeleteI thought your analysis of how art (Birdman) imitates life in that that the unexpected continue emerge and defy our ability to logically predict the future was insightful. This definitely fuels anxiety (both in Birdman and in our world). Excellent points.
ReplyDeleteI also notice that authenticity is an important theme in this film, and I also think that Riggan still did not find the authenticity inside his heart, since his inner battle continues towards the end of the movie. I think the last scene that he jumps out of the window reflects that he wants to escape from the bird an and tries to free himself from all those struggles, which means that the authenticity still need to be found.
ReplyDelete