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Hero For Christ

Camus Choice



Camus' Choice - Existential Humanism (1/19/05)

Contents:

  • Introduction
  • Examples
    • Non-fiction (Documentaries)
      • The Cruise
      • Hoop Dreams
      • Lost in La Mancha
    • Comedies
      • Rushmore
      • I Heart Huckabees
      • Napoleon Dynamite
    • Dramas
      • Pelle the Conqueror
      • Saturday Night Fever

Introduction:

“Camus’ Choice” is an existential antiplot named after the French philosopher Albert Camus. In his works, particularly “The Stranger” and “The Plague,” Camus outlines a world in which the choices of existence must be made freely, without thought of reward or punishment.

In “The Stranger” Camus gives us a protagonist who is determined to be true to his own identity, without regard for others, and despite society’s demand that he conform to their expectations. Because he represents an affront to convention, the narrator of the book is hounded, persecuted, and eventually scheduled for execution. This is the anti-humanist side of Camus’s vision.

In “The Plague”, the natural phenomena of disease is used to represent the implacable unpredictability of life and nature. As a small village is torn apart by a horrifying illness, the residents respond in all the various ways that match their individual identities. Some are cowardly, selfish and venal, while others are heroic, selfless, generous and brave. Throughout the book Camus stresses the fact that there will be no reward for the heroes except their own heroism, and no punishment for the villains except to live with their own villainy. Yet by showing the power of individuals to make their own choices, even in the most extreme of circumstances; and by illustrating the nobility of human virtue, particularly in the absence of any social support or hope of supernatural reward, Camus reveals a profoundly pro-humanist side to his vision.

In general, the “Camus’ Choice” antiplot concerns a protagonist who lives a life wholly true to his or her own identity and personal choices, even in the midst of circumstances which may be indifferent or hostile to that identity, and in the grip of events which are only tangentially or unpredictably connected to those choices. This antiplot can be either humanist or antihumanist, depending on the character and choices of the protagonist, and either comic, tragic or melodramatic, depending on the nature of the random events that take place. In this type of work, there are no messages to be discerned in the events that take place, and the only sense of meaning stems from the response of the protagonist.


Examples of (Existential) Humanist versions of Camus’ Choice:

Non-fiction (Documentaries)

Title: The Cruise
The Protagonist: Timothy “Speed” Levitch
Who is different from other people because of: his personality and outlook.
Encounters social conformity in the form of: the bus company.
Pursues his individual vision by: advocating an ecstatic experience of life known as “the cruise.”
Encounters setbacks in the form of: social ostracism, hostility from the authorities, losing his job
Makes the existential humanist choice to: continue living as an individual.

Title: Hoop Dreams
The Protagonists: William Gates, Arthur Agee
Who are different from other people because of: their basketball talent.
Encounter social conformity in the form of: the expectations of friends, family and mentors.
Encounter setbacks in the form of: not succeeding at college basketball.
Makes the existential humanist choice to: keep playing, even without the hoped-for rewards.

Title: Lost in LaMancha
Protagonist: Terry Gilliam
Who is different from other people because of: his vision of movie making.
Encounters social conformity in the form of: the expectations of his investors.
Pursues his individual vision by: trying to make a movie
Encounters setbacks in the form of: inclement weather, illness of his star, and eventually the failure of the movie.
Makes the existential humanist choice to: try again.

Comedies

Title: Napoleon Dynamite
The Protagonist: Napoleon
Who is different from other people because of: his personality and outlook.
Encounters social conformity in the form of: popular students at school
Pursues his individual vision: in many different ways, including through dance.
Encounters setbacks in the form of: social ostracism
Makes the existential humanist choice to: share his private self with the school

Title: Rushmore
The Protagonist: Max Fischer
Who is different from other people because of: his personality and outlook.
Encounters social conformity in the form of: other people’s expectations
Pursues his individual vision by: writing plays, and trying to romance a favorite teacher
Encounters setbacks in the form of: failing to woo his favorite teacher, being expelled from school
Makes the existential humanist choice to: continue writing and producing his own plays

Title: I (Heart) Huckabees
The Protagonists: Albert, Tommy ,Dawn
Who are different from other people because of: their existential searches for individual meaning.
Encounter social conformity in the form of: the Huckabees department store.
Pursue their individual visions: through poetry, clothing, obsessive behavior, destructiveness and many other avenues.
Encounter setbacks in the form of:losing their jobs
Makes the existential humanist choice to: form relationships among themselves as independent individuals.

Drama

Title: Pelle the Conqueror
The Protagonist: Pelle
Who is different from other people because of: being a foreigner.
Encounters social conformity in the form of: Danish children, the power structure at the farm where he works.
Pursues his individual vision by: making his own choices
Encounters setbacks in the form of: social ostracism, the injury of a friend, losing a potential stepmother.
Makes the existential humanist choice to: leave the farm (and his father) behind.


Title: Saturday Night Fever
The Protagonist: Tony Manero
Who is different from other people because of: his love of dance.
Encounters social conformity in the form of: friends and family.
Pursues his individual vision: on the dance floor.
Encounters setbacks in the form of: losing a friend, alienating his dance partner, and losing faith in the fairness of the dance contest he wins.
Makes the existential humanist choice to: continue living as an individual.


©2004 Christopher Sunami

Comments below:

See Also:

  1. Kierkegaards+Narrative
  2. Pop+Philosophy

Comments from Readers:

I'm not sure what to make of yr website; I find the spectrum of thought covered here confronting. Were it not for yr rather shallow reading of athiest humanism, I would be, I suspect, captivated. Thank-you.
  • Sven, Brisbane, Australia
    9/21/07
    Comment on this Page or Read Guestbook