"Deacon, do you realize you have just stranded one of Europe's greatest leaders in San Dimas?" -- Bill S, Preston ESQ, 1989
I came across this today and as a person who feels like existential crises spring eternal, of course I went down the rabbit hole (pun intended) of this piece of Lynch work that I had yet to realize was it's own thing. Regarding the article (I hardly ever click on links when I'm reading and while I try to be as appropriate as possible regarding my link placement, I realize most won't click on the links) it states that researchers at the University of British Columbia have been using Rabbits to induce an existential crisis in their subjects, simply by showing them the video. Perhaps you are familiar with Rabbits from the Lynch film Inland Empire, a full length film released in 2006, and features excerpts of Rabbits.
All the elements come together to make one feel uneasy, perhaps even creeped out and even more extreme, push the viewer to an existential crisis. I get it -- I see why this could be used in this way.
In 1980 David Lynch released his second full length film effort and with it, gained a modicum of mainstream success. My mother used to take me and my sister to the library on a regular basis (thank you for that, by the way) and I remember occasionally being able to pick out VHS videos to rent. The Elephant Man was there and I wanted to rent it. My mother, as appropriate, didn't think it was that great of an idea and told me it was not a children's film and that I probably wouldn't like it. Perhaps it took a few visits, but eventually she acquiesced and we took the video home. I remember watching the film; did I make it all the way through? I dunno.
Working as a physician lends itself to a relatively high frequency of toeing the line of full blown existential crises. It also, thankfully, offers an out in that working for the best outcome for any given patient pulls one back from the void -- into a state of living in the here, and now -- consciously working towards a goal that hopefully, will have a lasting impact for the better in a patient's life, or their family's life. It is the effect from the larger issues at play that dictate the delivery of medical care that drives most of my occupation generated crises. But I think this needs to be peeled back, in that while yes, insurance companies in the US are profit driven and all policies are derived from this principle, not by providing reimbursement for the most beneficial treatments for the patient.
The underlying message is that money is the only driving factor in the what should be the most purposeful and nuanced process that all of us will have to navigate eventually. But it is more than this too, which sparks the feeling of dread, it is knowing that the tangible forces at play in our lives see us as a numerator alone. I think we all yearn for a meaning greater than ourselves. This allows religion, nationalism, loyalties to particular sports franchises, gang allegiances and so much more to continue to thrive. People yearn for greater meaning; some take the easy way out and see money, power and sex as the way to achieve this. While it is the easy way out, in my opinion, it is easy to see the tempting elements at play. They are right in front of our face, every day.
In the world of doctors and observing them, it is easy to see those who have migrated to a polar extreme of dealing with, what I believe to be inherent to the human condition, their personal existential crises. Some push to maximize financial gains. Many, thankfully, are able to do this without compromising patient care or fraudulent actions; I wonder if helping people along their journey functions as a weird sort of enabler, in that working to help people and their health allows them to stave off the worst aspects of the dread. Of course there are those who give up all worldly pursuits and devote themselves to helping the truly needy and helpless. Most of us live in the middle, with our unique approaches on keeping the dread away.
Occasionally I'll watch sporting events that include commercials that I can't avoid. In that I hardly ever expose myself to television commercials on a regular basis, I take notice of them more than I might have otherwise. I think that they are a spark to my own feelings of existential dread. So much energy and expenditure only to try and influence my thought patterns regarding their product -- all in the aim to separate me from my money in a more efficient manner. I don't like how this works very much. A world built of physical things is ruled by physical things.
Be good to one another, love them as you love yourself.
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