Movies And The Meaning Of Life: Philosophers Take on Hollywood

＂The meaning of life is the most urgent of questions,＂ said Albert Camus. And philosopher Woody Allen has wondered: ＂How is it possible to find meaning in a finite world, given my waist and shirt size?＂ Claims about what gives life meaning have not only been analyzed by philosophers but by the primary mythmakers in contemporary culture: Hollywood filmmakers.
Movies and the Meaning of Life shows how a wide variety of films have tackled -- to sometimes hilarious, sometimes surprisingly pointed effect -- the same questions that have obsessed the deep thinkers. These essays draw on such sources as The Truman Show and Contact to explore the nature of reality; Fight Club and Being John Malkovich for cogent lessons on finding one’s true identity; American Beauty and The Shawshank Redemption for pointers on life’s purpose; Pleasantville and Spiderman for nuggets of wisdom on how to live one’s life; and more.