A good depiction of a totally meaningless existence

Interesting point. I could live days like that — hell, I have recently— but I don’t think I’d live such a way for my entire existence. That’s a lot of recycled air and dead bodies.

I like how you reference Albert Camus. I believe Steven Spielberg took his concept of absurdist reality to its logical conclusion with Minority Report. In Albert Camus’ absurdist reality, he writes, “the literal meaning of life is whatever you're doing that prevents you from killing yourself.” If the ends justify those means, then a life of endless temporal pleasure aligns with that notion.

Up in the Air seems to showcase a similar degrading trend, albeit in a more realistic tone, wherein the loss of identity is presented as a type of schizophrenia. Fredric Jameson stated that within capitalism, there exists a type of schizophrenia, where the individual has no self-identity. The identity can be filled, at a moments notice, through advertising.

Ryan has no preserving identity, it is always changing, he lives for nothing but his own enjoyment and subjective experience. As he showcases his miles card, we see the embodiment of our current zeitgeist—mainly of accumulating experience. Today's trend is about the sensory exposure, about accumulating more and more "points" as a token of living. Life, then, is seen as an endless ride functioning to accumulate those points. Social media, traveling, trying different foods, consuming different products are a function of this proliferating trend.

The issue, as is seen with Ryan, is that his accumulation of experience is ultimately empty. He does not internalize his life because it is vacuous. Each moment of his life exists on the same spectrum of meaningless hedonism.

The question here, as with Minority Report, is "what becomes of humanity when meaninglessness and nothingness replaces the narratives of civilization?"

"Life is a state of mind"

If I was forced to do his job, (I would never choose this occupation) I would look at it like this....

Losing ones job is one of the most traumatic experiences that one goes through in life. As a professional ax man, my job is to learn from all the possible reactions from the sacked. I would develop strategies to minimize the emotional damage that is done from losing ones job. That is my goal, that is my purpose, mitigating the emotional pain of a event that most people will go through in life to the best of my ability.

well he was good at his job

that can give a life meaning

I don’t think the issue was that his job is meaningless. What makes his job of “firing people” more meaningless than, say, a secretary or waitress job? He was engaged in an important work.

The issue is that he put too much into the job. He didn’t allow himself to have much else in life outside of the job. He didn’t develop serious relationships in his life; he had few friends; he never had children; he was distant from his existing family (eg - the sister).

It wasn’t the job itself that made his life meaningless and lonely. It was his fixation with the job, allowing the job to be his entire life. If he kept the job while also putting aside time for himself, then there would be no issue.