In Kevin Stoehr’s book Nihilism in Film and Television: A Critical Overview from Citizen Kane to the Sopranos
Through the rise of Christianity, the European Enlightenment, and the nation-state, the modern age became more and more defined by a collectivist slave-morality. As Nietzsche points out, there are indeed only two escape routes for those individuals who will not conform blindly to some abstract “common good” that levels everything that was formerly unique and inspiring to mere averageness. These individuals can either rise above the crowd as creators of their own values (active nihilists) or else sink into the dark and life-negating abyss of passive nihilism.
David Thewlis as Johnny
In Mike Leigh’s Naked (1993), Johnny (David Thewlis) walks the line between the active and the passive nihilist. Johnny is a character so despicably likeable that it becomes too easy to dismiss him, and the rest of the film, with a simple, sweeping negation. Naked certainly unveils a misogyny that runs through modern urban life, but the film itself does not deserve the misogynistic label, which is more apt for those Hollywood rom-coms that portray a female character who must find a man to fulfill her needs or desires. Depiction and intent are not the same thing. The film makes this clear from the opening scene, leaving enough ambiguity about the action taking place without telling the viewer if it is right or wrong. Read the rest of this entry »
