Friday Night Film: Examined Life

On October twenty-second I went to see the Friday night film. Premiering was Examined Life. Although the movie was meant for philosophy majors I went anyway because I have an interest in philosophy and the movie seemed intriguing. Documented by Astra Taylor, the film follows different modern day philosophers and their ideas on life, the economy, and various other topics concerning today. The documentary captured four of what are thought to be the most influential thinkers of today: Peter Singer, Michael Hardt, Judith Butler, and Cornel West. While walking down Fifth Avenue in New York City, Peter Singer shared his thoughts on ethics. Judith Butler spoke to Astra Taylor in a park in San Francisco, California. Judith Butler discussed how interesting it is that society tends to focus on one individual and how society boasts the power of individualism but tends to follow one persons’ thinking, creativity, or style. She noted that in today’s society it’s hard to find one individual thinker who truly strands out, and that’s what she tries to do. I found Judith Butler very interesting and she clearly stands out, from her ideas to even her clothing in the documentary. Michael Hardt discussed the nature of revolution. Cornel West compared philosophy to jazz and blues, and discussed how intense and refreshing a life of the mind can be. I specifically liked the things Cornel West was saying. One of his quotes that has stuck in my head is “…we are all just a multi-celled organism that climbed from the primordial ozone into a biped with a sense of dogmatism and morality.” I’m not exactly sure what this means but it really made me think about life and the human population. I think he’s saying that we are all made from different genes and cells but we’re all still human that came from somewhere whether it be a god or not and that some of us just emerged and thought we had a sense of right and wrong when really right and wrong is learned. I really enjoyed this documentary and would like to see others like it.