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a new way of looking at... philosophy >> unbreakable: actualizing our potential - 1 |
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few movies have a very profound effect of me. i normally enjoy going to popcorn eaters and romance (or chick flicks if you prefer), but every now and again, i want a film that challenges the way i look at things and shows a ideal reality in the face of the reality that we see before our eyes. one such movie that has had this effect on me lately is unbreakable, written and produced by m. night shyamalan of sixth sense fame. i must warn everyone that has not seen this film to not read further unless you have no intention of seeing the film.
there are so many different philosophical themes running through this movie. at one point it asks us if there is a next step in human development, or are we who we are. at another, it challenges history's depiction of the world, and how different forms of media act as a metaphysical and epistemological expression of the world. the point that hit home the most for myself was the ability to recognize and act on your potential. it also corresponds nicely with a dicussion of aristotle in my ethics class right now. dr. luther will be proud. a little background, first. the main character of the film is one david dunn, a security guard for a college stadium. the beginning of the film is an incident in which david is involved in a train wreck that kills everyone but himself, and he survives without a scratch. this story is heard of by one elijiah price, who contacts him to discuss this phenomenon. the story from here is seeing if david dunn meets this ideal that elijiah has of a real life "superhero", which he believes is drawn from a curious melding of comic books as a modern day incarnation of other pictoral images used to tell stories, and how these stories have a tragic sense of exaggerating their characters based on real life examples. both elijiah and david begin to explore this possibility from different angles, looking to see if david has ever been sick, been injured, different strength levels, etc... insert philosophy. what is going on is recognizing one's potential. aristotle said that everyone has the potential to be a virtuous person, and that only be recognizing this potential can be begin to fill this potential. aristotle speaks of this in the moral sense, but i will substitute moral for an actual sense of ability, or a skill. aristotle compares virtue to being like a skill. 1 | 2 |