Examined Life

Movie review by Monika Bartyzel

Taking philosophy and making it cinematic is not an easy task. Philosophy thrives on conversation and active development, or conversely, immersion in another narrative that allows it to live without collaboration. This is why Richard Linklater’s Waking Life worked so well. Thoughts were made visual through rotoscoping and held together with the narrative of a young man trying to navigate a neverending dream world. Each moment was held together by his experience and then magnified by the thoughts and stories of those he encountered.

With Examined Life, Astra Taylor does not have a narrative to rely on. Instead, she has merely a camera and a number of modern philosophies and celebrated philosophers to make her film. This is both a help and a hindrance. At times, the film works very well – the environment of each moment tapping into the words of her subjects without flashy and distracting pieces of art. At other times however, the words are not enough, seeming too removed, too one-way to be truly dynamic.

Throughout the course of 90 minutes, Cornel West, Peter Singer, Slavoj Zizek, Judith Butler with Sunaura Taylor, Avital Ronell, Michael Hardt, Kwame Anthony Appiah, and Martha Nussbaum appear on-screen talking about modern philosophies and thought. To bring life and depth to each discussion, she films each in the midst of movement – whether it be a car ride through New York City, a walk through a park, or a conversation at a garbage dump. At times this works well, the environment feeding into the discussion, while other times, the movement and cuts to passerby distracts from the discussion. In these moments, as the camera trails off the speaker, it almost seems as if it’s bored by the words.

Taylor does what she can with each thinker, but at times, there is just no way around the removed aspect of the conversation, no matter what she does to add depth and visual stimulation. The viewer is in a darkened theater, well separated from the film’s discussions by distance and time. Because of this, the film works best through the moments with subjects like West and Butler.

For the former, Taylor drives West through the streets of New York City, asking a few questions and sitting back as his passion exudes from each word. It’s easy to be captivated by the simplicity of these scenes because of his dynamism. He blends discussions of thought with passion and excitement, rolling thoughts on death into excitement over music and blues. While we might not be there in the car, it’s hard to not be engaged. West’s enthusiasm makes the idea of thinking an irresistible one, rather than a daunting experience.

The scenes with Butler, which is the only section actually filmed as a conversation, also hold added depth. Instead of talking to Butler from behind the camera, another Taylor is brought into the discussion – the filmmaker’s artist sister, Sunaura. While Sunaura strolls along in her wheelchair, with Butler walking alongside, the two talk about disabilities and the stringent expectations placed on movement. This includes what it means to “walk,” and how people react to Sunaura needing to use her mouth to complete certain tasks. Having the pair talk, react, and build the conversation makes the thoughts all the more dynamic and involving. While their moments aren’t laced with excitement like West’s, they’re real – easy to grasp, understand, and think about.

It is, however, unfortunate that there was no place for a discussion of Sunaura’s roots – not necessarily as the filmmaker’s sister, but as an accomplished artist who creates her works with her mouth and feet. In Examined Life, each speaker exists without a past, and I can’t help but wonder if a relationship between speaker and viewer would have been easier to achieve had the viewer been given a look into the background of each subject.

Nevertheless, Examined Life is a noble cinematic attempt at tackling the world of philosophy. Taylor does what she can with her means, and pulls off an interesting look into the world of modern thought – one refreshing in a world where thought sinks under the pressure of other priorities and pressures.

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