Everything Everywhere All At Once As A Neo-Absurdist Blockbuster: Rereading Camus' 'The Myth of Sisyphus' In The Era Of Social Media

This thesis examines the film Everything Everywhere All At Once, by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert from 2022, in relation to Albert Camus’ absurdism from the 1940s. My research question is: how can the contemporary blockbuster EEAaO, as an update of Camus’s ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’, be read as a critique of current social media practices? Camus’ first approach of absurdism is discussed in his essay ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’, in which he compares the absurdity of life with the situation that Sisyphus is in. According to Camus, Sisyphus is able to cope with the absurd, because he is conscious of his absurd existence. This argument can also be found in the film, specifically the use of the multiverse. Evelyn, the protagonist, wants to escape to other universes, in which her life is seemingly better. However, at the end of the film, she realizes that her high life expectations cannot be realized and she reaches a level of acceptance of her current life. This acceptance can be seen as a...Show moreThis thesis examines the film Everything Everywhere All At Once, by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert from 2022, in relation to Albert Camus’ absurdism from the 1940s. My research question is: how can the contemporary blockbuster EEAaO, as an update of Camus’s ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’, be read as a critique of current social media practices? Camus’ first approach of absurdism is discussed in his essay ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’, in which he compares the absurdity of life with the situation that Sisyphus is in. According to Camus, Sisyphus is able to cope with the absurd, because he is conscious of his absurd existence. This argument can also be found in the film, specifically the use of the multiverse. Evelyn, the protagonist, wants to escape to other universes, in which her life is seemingly better. However, at the end of the film, she realizes that her high life expectations cannot be realized and she reaches a level of acceptance of her current life. This acceptance can be seen as a critique regarding the contemporary use of social media, which I referred to as ‘neo-absurdism’. The film is thus able to offer critique towards our use of social media.Show less

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Everything Everywhere All At Once As A Neo-Absurdist Blockbuster: Rereading Camus' 'The Myth of Sisyphus' In The Era Of Social Media