A loneliness It's something that scares a lot of people. Lonely people are seen as unhappy.
Solitude inspires cinema. This selection of four films addresses different discussions on the subject. There's even animation on this list… Enjoy, watch and reflect on the stories.
Taxi Driver, Martin Scorsese (1976)
Robert de Niro is a veteran of the Vietnam War. When he returns to New York he starts working as a late night taxi driver. Loneliness and his revolt against misery, violence, addictions and prostitution are his hallmarks. The character shows compassion when trying to help a 12-year-old prostitute. On the other hand, he buys weapons and plans an attack on a senator who wants to be president.
A Garota Ideal, Craig Gillespie (2007)
The film portrays the life of Lars, a shy man who lives in the garage of his brother Gus and sister-in-law Karin's house. Lars meets Bianca, a religious missionary, online. It turns out that Bianca is a blow-up doll. Lars believes that Bianca is a woman of flesh and blood. The brother and sister-in-law are guided by a psychologist to agree with Lars, at this stage where he faces his personal dramas.
Wall-E, Andrew Stanton (2008)
Humanity smears the Earth with toxic gases and goes to live in a giant spaceship. Robots stayed to clean up the planet. Wall-E is the last of them and his job is to compact the trash. A spaceship brings Eva, a more modern robot. Wall-E falls in love with the newcomer.
Ela, Spike Jonze (2013)
Joaquin Phoenix plays a lonely writer who falls in love with the voice of an operating system. The voice is by actress Scarlett Johansson.
Being alone is really beneficial. Are we going to know the benefits of solitude that improve the quality of our daily lives? After them, we doubt you won't rethink your concepts.
Loneliness was also portrayed in well-known songs.
- Space Oddity – David Bowie
- Lonely Is the Word – Black Sabbath
- Wind on the coast – Legião Urbana
- Hurt – Johnny Cash
- Summertime – Janis Joplin
- How Soon Is Now? – The Smiths
- Black – Pearl Jam
Literature has several books that attest to the advantages of being alone. Shall we meet some of them? They are great options to occupy the mind and learn.
The tired society
The German-Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han claims that solitude detoxifies our mind from information overload. The author explains that loneliness is only productive when we overcome boredom. Byung-Chul Han uses the thinking of Cato, a Roman politician to base his ideas “We forget that no one is more active than when he is doing nothing, he is never less alone than when he is with himself”.
The art of being alone
The Spanish philosopher Francesc Torralba tells in The art of being alone that loneliness is an experience of the soul. For Torralba, solitude is the “Opportunity to review our management, to project the future and assess the quality of the bonds we build. It is a space to perform an existential audit and ask what is essential for us, beyond the demands of the social environment”.
Loneliness: the connection with the self
British psychiatrist Anthony Storr, who died in 2001, revealed that the association between marriage and happiness is a recent fact. The book Solitude: the connection with the self presents the profile of historical characters who were happy without being married. The work points out that everyone finds happiness within themselves, performing pleasurable activities (work, arts or leisure). Loneliness: Connecting with the Self criticizes the view of love relationships as the passport to happiness. The work also addresses the importance of being well with oneself to live in harmony with others.
Text written by Sumaia Santana from the Eu Sem Fronteiras Team.
