How come this movie hasn’t been mentioned as the modern image of absurdism.
After feeling the emptiness left by the death of his beloved, Forrest runs.
First, through the neighbourhood, then the city, the whole state and finally the entire country. Again and again.
After two years of running, people start questioning, why has a gardener been running non-stop for two years? Media starts to be interested, Is he doing that for world peace? For the homeless? For Women’s rights? For the environment? For animals?
Then a journalists asks the most fundamental question of Why
Why are you doing this?
I just felt like running.
When first watching the movie without previous knowledge about absurdism whatsoever, one might just consider it as a funny particularity about Forrest. His particularly low IQ tends him to do things without particular reason apparently.
What the bible told its followers was the following
Blessed are the simple in spirit.
Maybe this is the reason why Forrest seems to be so happy after all? He is not particularly bright and in return he is blessed by the world and is happy.
That is the fundamental takeaway of absurdism, if the simple in spirit are happy. Why not become one? After a long time of questioning, human start to ask why? And unless you believe a long time ago someone found a dupe bug and multiplied bread before getting patched by the admins, you won’t find the answer. That’s the essence of that question: it has no good or bad answer. The true answer it that there isn’t one. Tomorrow you can decide to run for the sake of running itself because you like it. Of course you will feel pain after some time. But your heart will be filled with contentment and maybe you will start again.
For the non averted readers, here is a quick summary on what absurdism is (thanks le chat)
Absurdism is a philosophical perspective that explores the idea that life is inherently meaningless and that the universe is irrational. It suggests that humans strive to find meaning in life, but ultimately fail because the world itself lacks any intrinsic purpose. This conflict between our search for meaning and the universe’s indifference creates a sense of absurdity. Absurdism doesn’t necessarily advocate for despair; instead, it encourages embracing this absurdity and finding personal meaning and happiness in the face of it.
If you try to ask ‘Why?’ of an absurd man he will certainly answer “because”.
Sisyphus was once punished by the gods to roll a boulder to the top of a mountain for eternity because before reaching the top the boulder always fell rock bottom. This might seem as the most painful of punishment, working hard everyday knowing that in the end it doesn’t matter because we will need to start again. Maybe Sisyphus could craft himself shoes and a rope to be more efficient at pushing his rock. So in the end at doing nothing. Sounds familiar?
Sisyphus doesn’t see it that way, he sees his punishment as a new life, this mountain isn’t so different from his previous life after all. He engages in pushing this boulder to the top knowing one day it will fall. Because he enjoys it.
‘One must imagine Sisyphus happy.’ — Albert Camus