When going through life, humans have
a tendency to be very pessimistic—seeing the negative aspect of things,
believing that the worst will happen. Because it is so common for humans to
think this way, society has created pessimism to be a norm, not realizing how
detrimental it is to prosperity and happiness. Contrary to most, some humans
have realized how destructive this way of thinking can be to one’s life;
therefore, they have established opposed ways of reasoning which are more
optimistic and tend to focus on the confidence and success of the future. With
these two opposing views infiltrating the minds of humans, we are able to see
the way of thinking one chooses to follow by looking at how they choose to
present their ideas, feelings, and opinions. All of the different ways people
choose to exemplify their outlook on life can be seen in the films Walkabout, Swept Away, The Gods Must be
Crazy, and Wings of Desire.
Accurately representing the pessimism and optimism that exist within society,
the majority of the films portray a pessimistic point of view, whereas only one
represents the optimistic way of thinking. In Walkabout, Swept Away,
and The Gods Must be Crazy, we are
able to see pessimistic thoughts through the depiction of civilized society,
for it is shown as nothing but calamitous and toxic for people trying to reach
true happiness. On the contrary, Wim Wenders exemplifies optimistic thoughts in
Wings of Desire by giving people a
reason to trust that society is exquisite and full of opportunity.
Prohibiting people from reaching
great opportunity and living a happy life is something that civilized society
seems to constantly do. Because this pessimistic way of thinking is so common,
Nicolas Roeg, Jamie Uys, and Lina Wertmüller exemplify the many different ways
it is brought to light in society. In Roeg’s Walkabout, viewers are able to get an understanding of how
detrimental civilized society can be to one’s prosperity through the experience
of a young girl and her little brother as they find themselves stranded in the
Australian Outback with no means of survival. As The Boy and Girl venture into
an unfamiliar world, they are faced with problems, such as not having water, that
expose the inadequacy of intelligence that Western society granted them.
Acting as a complete burden to the children’s
survival, the civilized society that they came from did not prepare them for
circumstances that would force them out of their comfort zones and expose them
to the unrefined elements of indigenous society. Viewers are able to see how
vulnerable the children are as they “trudge along the scorching desert in
search of home,” until they eventually meet an Aboriginal boy who takes them under
his wing and shows how much more beneficial his knowledge from the Outback is
compared to the knowledge the children gained from civilized society
(Farajollah, par.2).
Taking a similar approach to Roeg,
Jamie Uys exemplifies how destructive civilized society is to one’s prosperity
in his film, The Gods Must be Crazy,
through the Kalahari Bushmen and their serene lifestyle. As a Coke bottle falls
out of the sky, the Bushmen experience something they never have before; with
the arrival of this unfamiliar object, they see a disruption of peace within
their lives due to the infiltration of civilized society. This disruption of
peace becomes evident once the Bushmen realize that the Coke bottle can greatly
benefit their way of living, which pushes members to compete for ownership.
Due to the competition that
inevitably starts with the arrival of the Coke bottle, feelings of anger,
violence, and hatred begin to form between the Bushmen that once lived in
harmony. Through this drastic alteration in behavior, viewers are able to gain
a clear understanding that Uys intended to show a pessimistic view of society by showing how destructive it can be
once it gains the attention of people that are unfamiliar to it.
Shining an unfamiliar light on the
pessimistic views of civilization in her film Swept Away, Lina Wertmüller exemplifies how destructive the gender
roles that exist within Western society are to the cooperation and happiness
amongst people. Through Rafaella and Gennarino, viewers are able to see a clear
refusal to cooperate due to the idea that a hierarchy exists within society,
which restricts them from listening and reasoning with one another.
On the boat, Rafaella sees herself
as a powerful woman who has control over Gennarino because she is married to a
wealthy man that gets her through life; however, once they get stranded on an
island together, there is a shift in power as Gennarino takes advantage of the
opportunity to show Rafaella that she is nothing but inferior to him and all
other men in society. In order to assert his dominance, Gennarino begins to
order Rafaella around, making sure she understands that if she does not follow
his orders, she will not receive any food or water to survive on the island.
When looking at Gennarino’s disturbing actions on the island, viewers are able
to gain a clear understanding of the gender roles that exist within society,
causing them to see how disastrous the inequality is to people and their way of
living.
For the angels in Wenders’ Wings of Desire, their way of living
seems to be very monotonous. Spending their time looking down on humanity, the
angels are able to see everything that happens in the real world—including both
the good and the bad. Exemplifying the bad that happens in the world, Wenders has
most of the film revolve around the Berlin Wall, showing viewers “the
desolation of WWⅡ” (Orellana, par.3). In order to contrast the dismal and dull
images from such a terrible time in history and shed an optimistic light on
society, Wenders includes a very unique angel, Damiel, who “has the great
luxury of living out of time, out of pain, and consequently, out of suffering”
(Orellana, par.3).
Although Damiel is gifted with such
uncommon privileges and sees “so much human suffering, [he] still [chooses] to
join” humanity in order to experience what it is like to be part of the bigger
picture (Hannanian, par.8). Through his actions, viewers are able to see how
“Damiel minimizes...concerns, looking beyond them to discover a world swelling
with affection, beauty, and gratitude” (Farajollah, par.8). Once Damiel is able
to fulfill his dream and become mortal, he falls in love and solidifies his
reasoning for wanting to end his time as an angel; once in love, Damiel gets
“filled with an enormous longing for the small things in life,” and comes to
realize “that the ability to love is the greatest gift of mankind, and that as
long as there is love, there is nothing better than being alive” (Orellana,
par.3).
By having Damiel come to such a
great understanding of love and society, Wenders is exemplifying that there is
more to the world than the negative and destructive things that are briefly
shown in his film, and the three previously mentioned. Yes, Wenders understands
that there are societal standards and traditions that leave people feeling
lost, unhappy, and dissatisfied, but he also is able to be optimistic and
exemplify how exquisite and inspiring life can be.
Being able to realize and understand
the beauty in life is something that is not easy; naturally, as humans, we are
more inclined to think and talk about our negative experiences rather than
enjoy the positive things that we go through. This common approach to life can
be seen in the films Walkabout, The Gods Must be Crazy, Swept Away, and Wings of Desire because the majority of the directors choose to
show only the negative things in life, whereas, there is only one director that
chooses to bring out the brighter points that exist within darkness. The lone
director that is able to do so is Wim Wenders, for he “assures viewers that the
concerns raised by the former three films are minor compared to life’s inherent
beauty” (Farajollah, par.7). Although Wenders’ film may seem unrealistic as an
angel becomes a mortal being, it is that angel who is able to “break the social
and emotional barriers we create for ourselves, and guide us toward a fuller,
deeper, richer existence” (Hannanian, par.8). Through Damiel’s ability to
realize the beauty in even the most mundane things in life, viewers, including
myself, are able to take a step back, realize the importance of appreciating
the little things, and understand that we are our own agent of change. Like
Damiel, if we are dissatisfied with the way we are living or the things that
are going on around us, we have the power to step up and live a life that
shines a positive light on everything—no matter how simple or complex it may
be.
Works Cited
Farajollah, Ariana. “It Is the
Little Things That Make Life Big.” Taking
Giant Steps, 2017, https://giantstepspress.blogspot.com/2017/09/it-is-little-things-that-make-life-big.html
Hannanian, Ariel. “Awakenings Into
Adulthood via Wim Wenders.” Taking Giant
Steps, 2017, https://giantstepspress.blogspot.com/2017/04/awakenings-into-adulthood-viawim.html
Orellana, Roger. “Why Not Suicide?
Reflections on Wenders’ Wings of Desire.” Taking
Giant Steps, 2019, https://giantstepspress.blogspot.com/2019/01/why-not-suicide-reflections-on-wenders.html
Roeg, Nicolas. Walkabout. Perf. Jenny Agutter, David Gulpilil, and Luc Roeg.
Twentieth Century Fox, 1971. Film.
Uys, Jamie, Director, writer and
director. The Gods Must be Crazy.
Wertmüller, Lina (Dir.). Swept Away. Perf. Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato. Romano
Cardarelli, 1974.
Wings of Desire. Dir. Wim Wenders.
Perf. Bruno Ganz, Otto Sander. MGM, 1987. Film.
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