INTFILO EJ

EXISTENTIALISM
Most individuals has that constant want to stand out and be important,
that want to do something that would distinguish them from the
others. People often try to prove their existence and significance to the
world. The simple thought of wanting to be recognized falls under the
subject of Existentialism. Its hard to give a comprehensive definition of
the topic,

but it basically centers on the importance of individual

existence. Its the philosophical explanation of why people want to

prove that theyre essential.

The movement has been introduced in the 19 th century, but its

prominence was not until after WWII, when they needed to reinstate
control and power over their lives.

Its philosophy emphasizes

individual existence, subjectivity and freedom of choice. Existentialists

share a concern of what life should be as a human being. Its starts
with the individual disregarding all the norms and rules that society
implemented and solely focusing on what he thinks is best for him. Its
selfish, it also may come across as reckless, but it is what the
movement is.

Jean Paul-Sartre, one of the famed figures of existentialism, defines it

as existence precedes essence. The idea is that there are no predefined characteristics that people should embody. If they were born in
a family of criminals, they do not have to be a criminal. If they were
born Christians they do not have to be Christians. People should put
their own value into their actions. They do not have to conform to how
society thinks they should be. Its the rejection of all encompassing
systems.

Religion is the most dominant encompassing system. According to

Friedrich Nietzsche, the nuns and the priests are the preachers of
death and enemies of the earth. Theyve given a standard of how a
person should morally act. Theyve established the concept of heaven
which makes it impossible for a person to truly enjoy living in earth,
knowing that heaven is the greatest place that they could be in. There
is no universal morality that governs us. The world has been led to
believe that every action taken has a greater purpose. Existentialism is
believing that life is like a giant web its filled with options and
scenarios that may or may not affect your life.

Existentialism in Signe Baumanes Rocks in My Pockets

Rocks in My Pockets is an animated film by Signe Baumane that

features the story of a Latvian family and their history of depression
and suicide. The film is an autobiography of Baumane and how she
fought depression.

The film features the story of all the women in Baumanes family who
committed suicide. They were heavily bothered about what other
people might say, and

pressured by their roles as women in the

society. They centered all their actions according to how society says
they should be, which is everything that Existentialism is not. In one of
the stories, the girl was forced to marry the man because she got
pregnant. The narrators cousin wanted to file for divorce but was too
scared of what her neighbors might think. The narrator is also led to
believe that depression runs in her family and she is destined to be
crazy.

Baumane, however, was able fight it as soon as she develops a better

understanding of what her life and her worth is. She acknowledges her
humanity and strays away from conforming she gets a divorce,
leaves her family, and goes off on her own. Although unaware (the
main focus of the film is depression), it was the ideology of
Existentialism that keeps her from suffering the same fate.

All of the women had a choice, but they were scared of how they could
fuck up. Humans live in a world where they are told what to do, what is
right or wrong. At the end of the day they are responsible for their own
actions and even if something bad happens at least it was a choice
that they solely made.

Man is nothing else than what he makes of himself Jean Paul Sartre

References

JEAN-PAUL, S.
Existentialism is Humanism
Jean-Paul,

Sartre. Existentialism

Is

Humanism.

1st

ed.

Fair-use

provisions, 2015.
http://homepages.wmich.edu/~baldner/existentialism.pdf
Web. 1 Dec. 2015.

Introduction to Existentialism
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~freeman/courses/phil360/03.%20Introduction
.pdf
Web. 1 Dec. 2015.