Academy award winner

Remember, that’s life

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Remember, that’s life.

In 2019 film maker Todd Phillips released his psychological thriller classic movie titled “Joker” to much acclaim. The movie gathered 11 nominations from the Academy including Best Picture and Best Director for Todd. The film’s lead Joaquin Phoenix earned the accolade for Best Actor for his efforts. His performance was a masterclass on acting. The movie centers around the subject of nihilism. Arthur Fleck is a man in his late 30’s living with his mother in the hellish city of Gotham. When he was young he suffered a head trauma injury that affected the neuro-circuitry in his brain resulting in a cognition impairment that enables him to laugh uncontrollablely without his conscious doing. This mental disorder isolates him from society and it results in him being an outcast. With this being his default, he sinks into an abyss of apathy and depression. His loathes his life and fantasizes about and death. His hatred of life ultimately leads to nihilism and with that he begins killing people for the sake of it. The killing spree commenced when he shot dead three stockbrokers after they were assaulting him in the train. The action to kill those 3 stockbrokers comes after a history of apathy when confronted with life and people beating him up because his a “freak”. The killings change his outlook on life and apathy disappears forever, he finds a new release and for the first time in his life he encounters happiness, although sadistic, it comes from the action of interacting with the world and taking charge. Nietzsche states: “When an individual no longer feels like they are the collaborator let alone the center of becoming nihilism becomes a very real possibility.” This is what happens in the movie as Arthur’s dreams and prospects of being a stand-up comedian die and with the realization that his whole life has been a lie. With the quote of the movie he states before killing his mother: I always thought my life was a tradegy but now I realize it’s a comedy. This quote signals Arthur’s nihilism – the inference that there is no meaning at all. With this his reality changes and the mood of the film also changes from dark heavy burdensome strings serving as the score of the movie to uplifting golden soundtracks and Arthur dancing along with a big authentic smile on his face. It is as if his nihilism has triggered the button to live a fulfilling life. From this movie we gather that life is not fair. It paints Arthur as a victim and he is because his been dealt a bad hand from his inception. The movie is emotive, from the visuals, the setting, the camera techniques, the film score, soundtracks and the actors. This is a very good movie and will generate a cult following based on the subjects it explored. No one can really and fully prepare you for life. Nothing can prepare you for how difficult it is. How repetitive and passive it can get and how you can betray your heart with conscious intentions. Nihilism lurks in the shadows of every human being and if you give it an audience, it can consume you whole and lead you straight to hell.

Life is difficult. You wake up one day and the world tells you that you need to get a job and shed away your individuality. After all, you were in school for more than12 years, you had enough time to prepare yourself, you should know what you want to do. That’s how the world operates and so you get a job. You work hard to get a promotion but you are overlooked because the bosses niece just graduated. Feeling dejected but optimistic about the future, you keep your head down and keep working hard. Finally after 4 laborious years, you finally get ahead and earn a promotion. It’s that job you have always wanted and it comes with an office and a secretary. It’s bliss and you can see yourself working at this company for a long time and so you prepare. You have children, get married and buy a house with trees and high fences in the suburbs. You purchase that German car that you have always wanted and life is perfect. Tradegy strikes and the whole world goes into a recession resulting in you getting laid off from your job. But at least you get a settlement cheque and decide that you are going to start a business. It’s a good idea and you are excited at the prospect of being your own boss. The business doesn’t share the same enthusiasm though and fails spectacularly. The house and the German car gets repossessed due to failure of payment and you get blacklisted by the credit bureaus. Your wife divorces you without your knowledge and fleas with the children leaving you with nothing. Aged 44 with no savings and prospects do you have it in you to move on? Do you have it in you to start over? You thought you had forever and now you have nothing. You can’t even get a decent job because you have been blacklisted. What now? The future looks bleek. The world let you down. The order of the world is a lie, everything is a lie! To add insult to injury, the world doesn’t need you anymore, you are too old, young blood is coming into the fold and your are deemed useless, a fossil that occupied the land in the times of dinosaurs. Surely death is a better alternative to life because you have got nothing to live for. That’s life, sometimes bad things happen for no apparent reason and there’s simple nothing you can do.

What is the protocol for helping someone with suicidal thoughts? Is there something that can be done from preventing the inevitable? How do you persuade someone who suffers from nihilism that they have something to live for? It is a very difficult question. One that religion can’t solve because people who suffer from nihilistic thoughts don’t believe in anything. Besides religion regulates morality and people suffering from nihilism are victims of the very same morality. Just maybe nothing can be done, nihilism is the devils den, it is the place of no return. Not even Todd gave us an antidote in his movie. However, being an optimist I have a solution. Gratitude. Gratitude is positive energy and it enables one to reflect about life. Gratitude has reason. Gratitude is patience. Gratitude is life. Gratitude helps you see past today and makes you see tomorrow. Gratitude gives you courage, it is hopeful and at the same time provides assurity. Gratitude opens your heart. Gratitude gives you a reason to live, it gives you a reason to inquire and ultimately be a better person. For the gentleman who lost his job, wife and kids; the children will grow up and reunite with him. He can get a better confidant and work his way up again. He has reason to live. He should be grateful for the trails and tribulations and aspire to be better. Gratitude is what makes life worthwhile. Gratitude is the secret to a fulfilling life. Gratitude stops nihilism and gives reason. It is because of that that one should always be grateful. Grateful for our families, our friends and the fact that we have a roof over our head. Gratitude puts things into perspective. Gratitude is the only thing that matters if you are to live a fulfilling life.

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Underground Railroad

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Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad series by Barry Jenkins is a masterpiece. It is uncomfortable, disturbing, difficult and painful. The depiction of slavery is earth shattering! Its so raw, exposed and unapologetic. The imagery evokes the feeling of dread and fear. The oppression is heavy as a 10 ton truck and the situation is just hopeless – it is what it is. Slavery is the most horrific event that has ever occurred in our history. It’s so barbaric and lacks any conscience. Our ancestors had it bad. It was brutal. From the whips that devour your bloody mince meat back. To the fires that consume the body turning it to a coal. The total disregard for human life is heartbreaking. How are you better than me as a human being because your hue is diluted? Why are you offended by my melanin tone? Why do you have to humiliate me and disregard my right to life? Why is your God prejudice and so selective? We see characters lose hope – it’s difficult not to lose hope, optimism is like aircon in hell. We witness suicide, we see hunger devouring the very essence of a man leading him to his death. Cause what’s the use? Why eat? For what? For who? I am tired of laboring in the name of slavery. I have made my peace with the Lord, they can’t do anything to my soul no more. They don’t care about you, you just a nigger, an animal with no reasoning faculties, genetically built to serve the white man. You just mere property like tools and we need you to procreate so we can sell your children to turn a profit. Don’t tell me about love, niggers don’t have that capacity, this is strictly mechanical and a white man will be present watching you as you lay pipe. You can’t even run away, they chase after you and once caught punishment in the form of flesh eating whips awaits. Suicide is difficult, you are always monitored, all they want is a daily dose of your spirit like concentrated syrup until it runs out. The hangings, the violence, the killings, the hate, the ignorance, the fear, the horror, the suffering, oh the suffering, each scene was like a dagger to my soul. It never got better too, the good hearted characters who assisted the protagonist on her journey always died horrific deaths because slave owners always win and slavery is justified. The good and heartwarming scenes never last, there’s always a shadow that ultimately engulfs the protagonists present turning her world into disarray and scrambling for survival.

I was relieved when Cora shot dead Ridgeway, he was a bad man and I hated him like a recurring nightmare. I don’t understand the hate in his heart, his father did his best to show him the way. We are all one, we are one spirit, try to see yourself in another person. Yes, there is a order and everybody has a role but what about your humanity? Why do you have to conform to the norm when you are haunted by it’s conditions? Maybe I will never understand, maybe he had a slave catcher mentality and being an observer of the series, I will never quite understand that psychology. I would have shot Homer dead too. To many times in the story he has been the difference. He is a loose end, he knows too much. Granted he was under Ridgeway’s frame and had to serve him but he was complicit, he knew what he was doing. He even committed murder to save Ridgeway. Still I understand the decision to spare his life, Cora didn’t have any beef with him and if she killed him she would be hanged and this time around the killing wouldn’t be justified. I feel sorry for Homer now that Ridgeway is dead cause what’s he going to do now? He is just a nigger kid, how’s he going to survive? He was dependent on Ridgeway in more ways than one. He was like a father to him. How’s he going to navigate the world alone? He is going to have to regress to a slave to make it through, now isn’t that poetic justice? Isn’t killing Homer mercy? Maybe not, we all deserve a chance at life and he is resourceful, just maybe he’ll be okay. Cora has showed us its possible time and time again.

I salute the makers of the craft, Barry Jenkins and his team delivered an absolute masterclass. I imagine it was difficult creating that, the mental strength required to play the role of Cora cannot be underestimated. Full credit to Thuso Mbedu for delivering perfection. I am pretty sure she had support, a psychiatrist, psychologist or some sort of professional had to be on site at all times. Playing a character with so much depth can be scaring and psychologically distressing. Who knows what’s hidden in the deep recesses of your subconscious. She had to go to dark places and inhabit them. She had to disconfigure herself and willingly go under the sword. She had to combat the shadows that were well hidden by time. She faced the monsters in her closet. She captured the essence of being a slave. She was a slave. She is just an amazing artist. But it’s not just her, everyone performed at such a high level. Unbelievably there was no weak link, everyone was a solid 10. The visuals, the pictures, the camera work, the slow motion takes, the deliberate use of silence, the costumes, the score, music and soundtracks, the fire, the singing, the slaves, the sets, the characters, the actors, the brutality, the violence, the beats, the dialogue, the sequences and the overall story – it is content on another level. The genocide scene at Indiana was hard but expected now that we were so late into the story, you can never really trust these white folks, they have never been friends, I was disgusted but not surprised by their actions, nothing they did surprised me anymore. Watching the show I became pessimistic and cynical, I learned true human nature. It was a difficult story to tell and execute and they excelled with flying colors.

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