Condemned to be Free

20 November 2011

By Lauren Painter

         Existentialism might be considered a movement. Many may believe it is a particularly gloomy philosophy, one which is obsessed with notions of anxiety and dread. However, it is an invigorating and positive-minded concept. The idea is that everyone has control over their lives; that all lives are caused by our thoughts and actions. It proposes that man is full of anxiety and despair with no meaning in life until he makes a choice about his future. Existentialism, broadly defined, is a set of philosophical systems concerned with free will, responsibility, and choice. It explains that humans make decisions based on experiences, beliefs, and biases, and that such decisions are unique to them and made without an objective form of truth. Existentialism focuses on an individualistic concept. Existentialism heavily influenced literature, art, and film by emphasizing anxiety, individualism, and isolation.

Existentialism had much impact on literature when the concept was first created. A number of existentialist philosophers used literary forms to deliver their thoughts. Two of literature’s most important existentialists were Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. Existentialism was a pessimistic and life-negating world view created by Sartre. Different from other philosophers, Sartre wrote for regular citizens to understand his ideas and works. His writings frequently deal with an isolated individual coping with vicious situations. Other prominent themes of Sartre display anxiety and guilt which both play important roles in many existentialist’s works (Fiero 77-78). He believed that he had created a new and better humanism to replace the open-mindedness which so many of the intellectuals of his generation had disapproved of. Even concepts most basic to his theory remain a mystery throughout most of his written works. Because of Sartre’s writings and the creation of existentialism, many people were strangely attracted by the chaos of the concept. They believed it somehow supported their belief in limitless freedom even though it inspired more anxiety than hope (Hutcheon). Pat Duffy Hutcheon concluded in his article that, “If Sartre’s work has anything of lasting value, it would have to be the focus on individual choice and the idea that we are responsible for what we do with our lives” (22). Camus is perhaps the most famous of the existentialist artists after writing L’Etranger and La Peste. He was an absurdist, suggesting existentialism was more methodology than philosophy. Camus called existentialism “philosophical suicide” if used to ponder life. A main theme in the novels of Camus is the concept that life is meaningless. This leads to irrationality which can only be overpowered by moral integrity. According to Camus, the absurdness of his writings is produced through a conflict between an idea of a balanced universe and the actual universe that it is unconcerned to all of the ideas one has (Kohn).

Existentialism in Abstract Expressionism contributed to the rhetoric of anxiety and alienation. The movement allowed artists to envision an isolated situation in an absurd world but still having the freedom to define oneself. Edward Hopper is a brilliant example of existentialism through artwork. Most of his works show loneliness and loss of communication between people. In his works, the streets were always deserted and people were displayed inside of places, such as cafes, stores and hotels. There are never any personal objects in the painting that give people any sort of identity, or character (Maragou). Hopper consistently added an element of existential anxiety and loneliness into all of his pictures and paintings: his shadows are long, views foreshortened, and figures as muted as they are blunt and not pronounced. Hopper’s pleasing color placement and easy-going presentation of the paraphernalia of everyday life are considered to give his work an immediate warmth and likeability. His muted palette, careful choice of hues, and soft edges are a Hopper’s ingredients for visual charm and seduction (Kimball). Nighthawks is Hopper's most famous work, created in 1942. It represents isolation and existential solitude. This mood is created with the distinction between the dark, quiet colors of night and the bright, fluorescent diner lights. Roger Kimball discusses Nighthawks in his article, “Both elements – the prettiness and the pensiveness – undergird Hopper’s popularity, the former making him accessible and aesthetically reassuring, the latter injecting his work with the appurtenances of depth and existential gravity.” Nighthawks was inspired by a corner restaurant on New York's Greenwich Avenue. Though the building that inspired him no longer exists, the evocative, transcendental diner that he depicted still withstands today (Fiero 88).

Existentialism tries to describe the nature of humans in an misunderstood world, a concept that has provided inspiration for numerous filmmakers. Although not stated in the textbook used in class, existentialism was a large influence on film, like movies such as: The Condemned of Altona, Fate, The Proud Ones, and Notes from Underground. The most popular form of existentialism seen in the cinema is where the hero becomes dissatisfied or cynical and loses their drive for life. Throughout this type of film, the audience watches them recover their morals and humanity. Other films look at society and examine the individual in the society, or may look into the life, love, and responsibility of the main character. These films are focused on the characters and how they relate within their culture, much like the existentialist concept (Fernie). Directed by Vittorio de Sica, The Condemned of Altona was a play by Jean-Paul Sartre. The film focuses on a wealthy German business owner, Albrecht, who has a shameful past as a Nazi spy. When Albrecht calls on his son Werner to take over the family company, Werner refuses because of the firm's history of helping Hitler's war machine. An added complexity is Albrecht's other son Franz, who was supposed to be tried and executed for his involvement with the Nazis but who is instead hiding from justice in the family's Altona estate. Fate, directed by Zeki Demirkubuz, is based on Albert Camus's novel The Stranger. Unable to make any decisions, an office worker, Musa, is forced to deal with the death of his mother, a loveless marriage, and his own imprisonment for a crime he didn't commit without any emotion. A portrayal of a passive man alienated from the world around him, the film is a philosophical film about modern life. The Proud Ones is directed by Yves Allégret and is based on a French woman who is stranded in a Mexican resort town after her husband dies from a bout of meningitis, falls for an alcoholic doctor struggling with a dark secret which she tries to help him overcome. Although Sartre was critical of all of the adaptations of his work, this take on his novel, L'Amour Rédemptuer, maintains Sartre's bleak worldview. Notes from Underground is directed by Gary Walkow and deals with an alienated male called The Underground Man. In this film, the main character confesses to his flaws, and makes harsh opinions about the flaws of society in general, to a video diary. He is filled with self-hatred and egotism, guilt and hostility, and his attempts to change his attitude and connect with a prostitute to reveal his complex humanity (“Existential”).

Because it emphasizes the individual, yet, isolation between human beings, existentialism has significantly affected the arts. Many of the philosophers at this time were brilliant writers, Sartre and Camus in particular. Existentialism concerns with anxiety and alienation and is still relevant to modern literature today. The simple concept of existentialism influenced many artists, but Hopper captured the idea by depicting normal, everyday situations with solemn moods of disconnection between people. The films were affected by existentialism due to the fact that they all dealt with individualism and sometimes isolation and anxiety. The notions of existentialism still live on today and can still be seen and read in all the glorious forms of art.



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Works Cited

“Existentialist Adaptions.” Harvard College Library. Harvard College, 6 Jan. 2006. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. <http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/films/2005winter/existential.html.>

Fernie, Stuart. "Existentialism in the Cinema." Existentialism in the Cinema. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://stuartfernie.org/exist.htm>.

Hutcheon, Pat Duffy. “Existential humanism of Jean Paul Sartre.” Humanist in Canada 131 (1999): 22-5,29. Academic OneFile. Web. 6 Nov. 2011.

Kimball, Roger. “Splendid Isolation.” The Spectator 27 Sept. 2007. LexisNexis Academic. Web 06 Nov. 2011.

Kohn, Alfie. "Existentialism Here and Now." Existentialism. Alfie Kohn, June-July 1984. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.alfiekohn.org/miscellaneous/existentialism.htm>.

Maragou, Helena. "George Cotkin, Existential America." European Association for American Studies. EAAS. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.eaas.eu/publications/book-reviews/george-cotkin-existential-america>.