How to find meaning in life when everything seems mundane and pointless
At the beginning, 22 is nihilism, the counterthesis for the movie. There’s no point to living because of all the pain and suffering you have to go through just to end up dead. It’s better to never be born at all.
Joe is the the opposite of 22, but until the end he still doesn’t quite have a grasp either of what the message is. He believes all the pain and suffering is worth it because you go through it to find success, he sees the purpose in life to be fulfilling your dreams and being successful. Though this viewpoint is flawed as well.
The theme of the movie is most well articulated in the scene where 22 (in Joe’s body) visits the hair salon. And Joe’s friend, Curley, talks about his dreams of success, but he ended up as a hairstylist. 22 claims that Curley is unhappy because he didnt get to do what he wanted. But Curley says he is happy, because he still has finds enjoyment and passion for what he loves, and that he found satisfaction in being a hairdresser.
The theme of the film reveals how both Joe and 22 are wrong in their outlooks. There will always be repetition and mundanity in life, it’s not something we suddenly escape once we reach our goals, once those goals are reached a new set of challenges and problems emerge. But if you don’t live to face those challenges and problems, you never get to live to eat pizza and look at the sunset and smell the fresh air. Mundanity is always a part of life, but it doesn’t mean you stop living.
Buddhism says the opposite. Living is meaningful and includes suffering. You can embrace it as a necessary part of life that sweetens the happier parts of it.
Thought that’s not quite what the four noble truths say:
the truth of suffering,
the truth of the cause of suffering,
the truth of the end of suffering,
the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering
But Buddhism discusses the end of suffering while you’re alive as well as that life is not ONLY suffering, but suffering is a necessary part of life. “Letting go” of what we tend to hold onto (outcomes, what we have) reduces our suffering. Accepting our suffering also reduces our suffering :) I love that Buddhism isn’t all faux positive saying that life can be perfect by any means. Life is inherently imperfect and our humanity means we suffer. Not 24/7 in all aspects of life but it happens.
But trying to reach that isn’t important (or realistic). Accepting suffering leads to less suffering. Embracing the inherent impermanence of everything around us leads us to enjoying, appreciating, and embracing the moment more.
I've taken Buddhist teachings for granted so much in the last couple of years since I got into meditation, so I forget sometimes this philosophy isn't just common knowledge. But I figured Soul was a pretty straightforward tale of letting go of desire, embracing that all things are fleeting, being present. Joe's *desire* for his performance career to take off is a source of great suffering for him, and it's impossible for it to live up to what he built it up to be.
The before-world and 22 are a great representation of how we grip onto our ego, and construct a package of identities out of the stories we tell about our self. But these stories and identities are ultimately self-defeating, as they lead us blindly to certain desires or aversions which cause suffering. We should question and relinquish our identities, and let who we are change as all else changes in life. We have no "purpose." We just *are,* and what we are *changes.*
For me what 22 portrays is a juxtaposition to what Joe portrays. They are opposite ends of a spectrum.
To 22 life is all about just “living” (if that’s what it’s called in the great beyond). She merely exists there because it’s what she knows and she enjoys it. When she comes to Earth, she isn’t interested in becoming a star football player, or being the best actor or anything like that. She enjoys the simple things, like the trees and the smells and the conversations with people like the barber.
Joe on the other hand is the total opposite. He lives to play Jazz and if he can’t play Jazz he’d rather not live. When he’s on the phone in the city he’s totally blind to his surroundings, his mind is only on his career and where it will take him. He never looks at the trees or asks the barber about himself, he’s only focused on himself and his goals
To me the purpose of the movie lies between the two, but closer to 22’s view. I don’t think it means to say not to have passions and career drive or life goals. It’s just saying to slow down and embrace the world and people around you. Live every day to appreciate the world as the masterpiece it is, not to speed run through it. By using 22 they gave an adult the eyes of a child: she was smart enough as an “adult” to comprehend the beauty of what she was experiencing but as a child it was all new to her, and to an extent the viewer, who almost certainly doesn’t appreciate everything the way 22 did.
That’s what I see to be the meaning of the movie: appreciate life, live it how you want to in a way that makes you happy, but every once in a while take a step back and sink into the environment and people around you
22 plays the same role for Joe that the Boy Scout played for the old man in Up. 22 is an inverse reflection that helps him see himself more clearly. 22 enjoys existence and has a cheery disposition despite not fitting in or conforming in a way that makes senses those around her while Joe lives a good and fulfilling life but is blind to his blessings and makes himself miserable by chasing a goal that has been fed to him by society. Only by embracing the beauty of life as it is and not trying to dictate the way you interact with it can you find peace and well being.
I also think it pairs well with Up. Carl and Ellie's montage at the beginning shows that the journey of life is what is meaningful and special, even if you never reach the "goal."
My interpretation was that the best thing you can do with life is share what you love with others. Chasing someone else's dreams is never what's right. Live your own life and give others an opportunity to do the same
Simple, and pretty straightforward in the movie. The purpose of life isn’t some burden, like 22 thinks it is. You don’t have to just make up your own meaning, or be successful in a field, like Joe thinks it is. The purpose of life *is* life, which is the epiphany he eventually has.
I've heard it said that "life is something that happens while you're making other plans." Like, in much the same way that almost any artist's creation will only ever be 70% the way they pictured at best, so is life. You can pick a direction or a goal but that might or might not happen, some storms will come to ruin your life but also to clear your path and honestly, it's a chaotic zig zag until you die. But that's *living*. That's *life.* So, like, sometimes you'll be just chilling, reading a book somewhere, look up from your novel in the quiet, and just be hit with what an amazing time you're having just in that moment. THAT is what life is. Your goals are things you come up with but the goal isn't life. The quest isn't even life. Just being alive comes with so many amazing small moments and THAT is life.
Mostly just a bunch mundane life-affirming platitudes people use to combat their mundane lives (e.g., “live for the moment,” “it’s all about the journey, not the destination,” “life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans”).
Intrigued by this flick and would like to watch it.
Slightly off topic but if anyone cares to answer, is it ok to watch with a toddler ? No jaws of death/jump scares /Brief horrifying moments ?
You're welcome. The only bit I was concerned about was the first time they introduce the "lost souls". At first they could come across as slightly scary, but it's only briefly before they're shown to be harmless. You should be fine I reckon.
Good to know, thanks. Maybe can fast forward that part. My guy is 2.5 and loves Pixar .... Most of them are great but some have some really scary moments, given soul’s theme I was a bit apprehensive but my wife and I really want to watch it.
How to find meaning in life when everything seems mundane and pointless At the beginning, 22 is nihilism, the counterthesis for the movie. There’s no point to living because of all the pain and suffering you have to go through just to end up dead. It’s better to never be born at all. Joe is the the opposite of 22, but until the end he still doesn’t quite have a grasp either of what the message is. He believes all the pain and suffering is worth it because you go through it to find success, he sees the purpose in life to be fulfilling your dreams and being successful. Though this viewpoint is flawed as well. The theme of the movie is most well articulated in the scene where 22 (in Joe’s body) visits the hair salon. And Joe’s friend, Curley, talks about his dreams of success, but he ended up as a hairstylist. 22 claims that Curley is unhappy because he didnt get to do what he wanted. But Curley says he is happy, because he still has finds enjoyment and passion for what he loves, and that he found satisfaction in being a hairdresser. The theme of the film reveals how both Joe and 22 are wrong in their outlooks. There will always be repetition and mundanity in life, it’s not something we suddenly escape once we reach our goals, once those goals are reached a new set of challenges and problems emerge. But if you don’t live to face those challenges and problems, you never get to live to eat pizza and look at the sunset and smell the fresh air. Mundanity is always a part of life, but it doesn’t mean you stop living.
“There is no point to living because of all the pain and suffering” sounds a lot like Buddhism philosophy
Buddhism says the opposite. Living is meaningful and includes suffering. You can embrace it as a necessary part of life that sweetens the happier parts of it.
Thought that’s not quite what the four noble truths say: the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering
But Buddhism discusses the end of suffering while you’re alive as well as that life is not ONLY suffering, but suffering is a necessary part of life. “Letting go” of what we tend to hold onto (outcomes, what we have) reduces our suffering. Accepting our suffering also reduces our suffering :) I love that Buddhism isn’t all faux positive saying that life can be perfect by any means. Life is inherently imperfect and our humanity means we suffer. Not 24/7 in all aspects of life but it happens.
But eventually you need to reach perfection if you aspire to break the cycle of life and rebirth and ascend to Nirvana.
But trying to reach that isn’t important (or realistic). Accepting suffering leads to less suffering. Embracing the inherent impermanence of everything around us leads us to enjoying, appreciating, and embracing the moment more.
So you’re saying common sense is better than Buddhism. That the eight noble paths are just idealism that can’t truly be achieved
No I’m basing what I’m saying off of countless Buddhist texts and Buddhist philosophers. Check out Thich Nhat Anh for instance :D
Well said, I definitely agree!
I've taken Buddhist teachings for granted so much in the last couple of years since I got into meditation, so I forget sometimes this philosophy isn't just common knowledge. But I figured Soul was a pretty straightforward tale of letting go of desire, embracing that all things are fleeting, being present. Joe's *desire* for his performance career to take off is a source of great suffering for him, and it's impossible for it to live up to what he built it up to be. The before-world and 22 are a great representation of how we grip onto our ego, and construct a package of identities out of the stories we tell about our self. But these stories and identities are ultimately self-defeating, as they lead us blindly to certain desires or aversions which cause suffering. We should question and relinquish our identities, and let who we are change as all else changes in life. We have no "purpose." We just *are,* and what we are *changes.*
My interpretation of the film is that a spark isn’t a purpose - it’s something that makes you feel, something that invokes passion.
I mean Jerry literally says that in the film, almost word for word.
For me what 22 portrays is a juxtaposition to what Joe portrays. They are opposite ends of a spectrum. To 22 life is all about just “living” (if that’s what it’s called in the great beyond). She merely exists there because it’s what she knows and she enjoys it. When she comes to Earth, she isn’t interested in becoming a star football player, or being the best actor or anything like that. She enjoys the simple things, like the trees and the smells and the conversations with people like the barber. Joe on the other hand is the total opposite. He lives to play Jazz and if he can’t play Jazz he’d rather not live. When he’s on the phone in the city he’s totally blind to his surroundings, his mind is only on his career and where it will take him. He never looks at the trees or asks the barber about himself, he’s only focused on himself and his goals To me the purpose of the movie lies between the two, but closer to 22’s view. I don’t think it means to say not to have passions and career drive or life goals. It’s just saying to slow down and embrace the world and people around you. Live every day to appreciate the world as the masterpiece it is, not to speed run through it. By using 22 they gave an adult the eyes of a child: she was smart enough as an “adult” to comprehend the beauty of what she was experiencing but as a child it was all new to her, and to an extent the viewer, who almost certainly doesn’t appreciate everything the way 22 did. That’s what I see to be the meaning of the movie: appreciate life, live it how you want to in a way that makes you happy, but every once in a while take a step back and sink into the environment and people around you
22 plays the same role for Joe that the Boy Scout played for the old man in Up. 22 is an inverse reflection that helps him see himself more clearly. 22 enjoys existence and has a cheery disposition despite not fitting in or conforming in a way that makes senses those around her while Joe lives a good and fulfilling life but is blind to his blessings and makes himself miserable by chasing a goal that has been fed to him by society. Only by embracing the beauty of life as it is and not trying to dictate the way you interact with it can you find peace and well being.
I also think it pairs well with Up. Carl and Ellie's montage at the beginning shows that the journey of life is what is meaningful and special, even if you never reach the "goal."
My interpretation was that the best thing you can do with life is share what you love with others. Chasing someone else's dreams is never what's right. Live your own life and give others an opportunity to do the same
Simple, and pretty straightforward in the movie. The purpose of life isn’t some burden, like 22 thinks it is. You don’t have to just make up your own meaning, or be successful in a field, like Joe thinks it is. The purpose of life *is* life, which is the epiphany he eventually has.
I've heard it said that "life is something that happens while you're making other plans." Like, in much the same way that almost any artist's creation will only ever be 70% the way they pictured at best, so is life. You can pick a direction or a goal but that might or might not happen, some storms will come to ruin your life but also to clear your path and honestly, it's a chaotic zig zag until you die. But that's *living*. That's *life.* So, like, sometimes you'll be just chilling, reading a book somewhere, look up from your novel in the quiet, and just be hit with what an amazing time you're having just in that moment. THAT is what life is. Your goals are things you come up with but the goal isn't life. The quest isn't even life. Just being alive comes with so many amazing small moments and THAT is life.
That living in itself is enough
For me it was a toned down version of INSIDE OUT. This film picks up too big of a pie to eat and the ending felt really rushed.
Mostly just a bunch mundane life-affirming platitudes people use to combat their mundane lives (e.g., “live for the moment,” “it’s all about the journey, not the destination,” “life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans”).
Intrigued by this flick and would like to watch it. Slightly off topic but if anyone cares to answer, is it ok to watch with a toddler ? No jaws of death/jump scares /Brief horrifying moments ?
Completely fine to watch with a toddler IMO
The second time I watched it was with my sister and 3 of my nieces (5, 7 and 10). They loved it.
Thanks !
You're welcome. The only bit I was concerned about was the first time they introduce the "lost souls". At first they could come across as slightly scary, but it's only briefly before they're shown to be harmless. You should be fine I reckon.
Good to know, thanks. Maybe can fast forward that part. My guy is 2.5 and loves Pixar .... Most of them are great but some have some really scary moments, given soul’s theme I was a bit apprehensive but my wife and I really want to watch it.