Defending Your Life Vs. Jean Paul Sartre's Existentialism in Humanism

If you say so dude. The only existential element to this film is the magic picture box in my hotel room had it on. Thats all the existentialism I saw.

I agree with Ignatiusthemad. I like the idea that Rip Torn's character offers Albert Brooks'....that we only use 3% of our brain on earth. "Once you've used more than that, you don't want to stay on Earth." I quite agree with that.

Also, I'm not sure that this is exactly existential, but it is in the realm. Specifially, I refer to the scene in which Rip Torn "buys" (I don't know if they use money in Judgment City) Brooks lunch, Brooks tastes it, and finds it awful. Rip Torn's character then talks about food and says that, in his world and in the opinion of someone with his "brain capacity", his food tastes much different and better than it does to someone on Earth. He's saying, I believe, that once you hit a higher level of thinking/self-actualization and/or approach your own nirvana, physical needs become fewer, including food. At the same time, I think that it is sweet that in Judgment City, a place where you land after you've spent some time on Earth and before you are judged as to whether or not you need to return or can move on to other levels, you get this chance to "eat all you want, and never gain weight". People in Judgment City aren't ready to try the "turdy food" that enlightened people eat. At the same time, they are released from life on Earth. Therefore, they don't have to worry about, and FEAR, calories.....they can eat all they want, and never gain weight. Another little touch of humor and brilliance all rolled into one....marvelous, Albert Brooks.

I just like the overall message in this film in that there is far more to life than what is here on earth, and that we can hopefully improve ourselves with each lifetime, as long as we learn from our mistakes with each one, instead of repeating the same ones over and over, thereby preventing us from "moving on" to a higher level of intellectual and ultimately spiritual enlightenment. I think that this film far exceeds "Chances Are", which I also love, in the area of promoting the idea that we can learn, and grow, and improve ourselves over several lifetimes. Chances Are was a bit more limiting in that it just focused on love, soul mates, etc. But, I still loved that movie as well....it makes me cry every time at the end.

Back to "Defending Your Life"....Brooks obviously uses "fear" as the element which holds us back. And, I believe he hit the nail on the head in highlighting this single most basic yet very broad element which universally does hold everyone back in certain/many areas of their life to some degree (whether we walk tepidly in our personal relationships, in our careers, in taking/not taking risks; etc.; whether we don't make any moves or do what we want because we're afraid we don't have enough money, etc.). Every time I think of other things we do which render ourselves from moving forward (overeating, smoking too much, taking drugs, not taking a vacation, not communicating enough with our partner, not speaking up for our rights, not helping our neighbors, etc.), I think that it is basically fear in not pursuing our dreams and in being true to ourselves which ultimately prevents us from enjoying so many of life's other gifts, and, prevents us from giving back to the universe. We're so frustrated in not really pursuing what we want to do in life that we use as a panacea all of the other "sins" of instant gratification that ultimately make us only more frustrated, depressed, and stagnant in the end, including staying at a job we really can't stand for the "security" of a "paycheck"....and even that, as we all know, is never really secure anymore, Corporate America being Corporate America. As the Beatles said, "And, in the end, the love you give is equal to the love you take". Also a very metaphysical line....you can't be all you can be to others and the universe when you're not feeding your soul what it really needs first.

Anyway, executionally, "Defending Your Life" was at times a little too cutesy for me (some of the signs in the hotel in Judgment City, the weather channel "70 degrees all day, every day"....paraphrasing, the tupas...but, he needed to use elements to "build" and define Judgment City...so, that's fine), but as for its overall message...Brooks was brilliant. I was very happy when he made this film. I always thought he was intelligent, and in this film, he showed himself to be very open, and brilliant.