What would you say to Woody Allan?

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Below is a short link to a Newsweek article on the philosophy of the comedian and film maker Woody Allan. Woody Allan believes that life is deeply meaningless and ultimately tragic. To live is to live in existential horror. His position is very common in my experience. If you had the opportunity to chat with Woody Allan, what could or would you say to him that could possibly make a difference?

newsweek.com/id/151533
 
PoliSciProf said:
Below is a short link to a Newsweek article on the philosophy of the comedian and film maker Woody Allan. Woody Allan believes that life is deeply meaningless and ultimately tragic. To live is to live in existential horror. His position is very common in my experience. If you had the opportunity to chat with Woody Allan, what could or would you say to him that could possibly make a difference?

newsweek.com/id/151533
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I would say that probably describes his own life. 😉
 
I would ask him why then his actions don’t match up with his words. If you honestly believe that life is meaningless, then why interact with anyone? Why go through the trouble of cultivating and maintaining personal relationships? We all can recall the dirty bit of business with his adopted daughter-now wife, so why bother with all the struggle that situation must have entailed if nothing matters?

Why make films if nothing matters? I can’t imagine film making (even most of the junk Hollywood spews forth) is an effortless process- so if there is no meaning, then why put forth the effort?

Doesn’t the fact that we are willing to do something that is difficult mean we find it to be valuable? And if we value something, doesn’t that imbue it with meaning? Even if that meaning exists only for us in the context of our solitary life?
 
Feedmysheep said:
I would ask him why then his actions don’t match up with his words. If you honestly believe that life is meaningless, then why interact with anyone? Why go through the trouble of cultivating and maintaining personal relationships? We all can recall the dirty bit of business with his adopted daughter-now wife, so why bother with all the struggle that situation must have entailed if nothing matters?

Why make films if nothing matters? I can’t imagine film making (even most of the junk Hollywood spews forth) is an effortless process- so if there is no meaning, then why put forth the effort?

Doesn’t the fact that we are willing to do something that is difficult mean we find it to be valuable? And if we value something, doesn’t that imbue it with meaning? Even if that meaning exists only for us in the context of our solitary life?
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From the article, I think Mr. Allan believe making films and cultivating relationships are meaningful because they distract him from an inevitable death and nonexistence. The only way I see him happy is if he believed that he will not die. Mr. Allan is a very skilled actor, who often plays silly but thoughtful characters. Maybe if he lived life playing a silly but thoughtful character who was convinced that he could never die, maybe he could find happiness today. I would love to see that movie!
 
Psychotheosophy said:
From the article, I think Mr. Allan believe making films and cultivating relationships are meaningful because they distract him from an inevitable death and nonexistence. The only way I see him happy is if he believed that he will not die. Mr. Allan is a very skilled actor, who often plays silly but thoughtful characters. Maybe if he lived life playing a silly but thoughtful character who was convinced that he could never die, maybe he could find happiness today. I would love to see that movie!
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One clarification. What if he played a character that when he dies, he somehow lives on. I think it would be better if this character was silly, not stupid.
 
Psychotheosophy said:
One clarification. What if he played a character that when he dies, he somehow lives on. I think it would be better if this character was silly, not stupid.
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Please forgive me. My secular habits still have a hold on me. When I forget God, I forget to love not only him, but also others. I consider myself faithful, and pray, but forget God. Ultimately, I forget about him, thinking that I’m not forgetting about him. I don’t know if I am making any sense, but I also don’t want to change the course of this thread.
 
Psychotheosophy said:
Please forgive me. My secular habits still have a hold on me. When I forget God, I forget to love not only him, but also others. I consider myself faithful, and pray, but forget God. Ultimately, I forget about him, thinking that I’m not forgetting about him. I don’t know if I am making any sense, but I also don’t want to change the course of this thread.
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This thread is really making me think.

According to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church,

“10. The document is presented as an instrument for the moral and pastoral discernment of the complex events that mark our time; as a guide to inspire, at the individual and collective levels, attitudes and choices that will permit all people to look to the future with greater trust and hope; as an aid for the faithful concerning the Church’s teaching in the area of social morality.
From this there can spring new strategies suited to the demands of our time and in keeping with human needs and resources. But above all there can arise the motivation to rediscover the vocation proper to the different charisms within the Church that are destined to the evangelization of the social order, because “all the members of the Church are sharers in this secular dimension”[9]. In short, the text is proposed as an incentive for dialogue with all who sincerely desire the good of mankind.”

What if we combine the secular Gestalt Therapy with faith in God?

What if Mr. Allen plays a silly but thoughtful character who believes in God, and believes that God will raise him from the dead?
 
Psychotheosophy said:
What if we combine the secular Gestalt Therapy with faith in God?

What if Mr. Allen plays a silly but thoughtful character who believes in God, and believes that God will raise him from the dead?
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Please take me seriously, I’m not playing.

Here is where I think my error is:

Since Mr. Allan thinks belief in God is silly,
I thought Mr. Allan’s silliness could help him find God,
and so
his silliness would become the principle of his search for God.

But God is not silly,
nor is God any created thing,
so if Mr. Allan took my advise,
he may assume an inaccurate understanding of God.

So God must be the principle of Mr. Allan’s search for God.
Since Mr. Allan was a Jew,
how does a Jew encounter God?
 
Nickkname said:
I’d sing Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.
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Yes, the last scene in the movie “The Life of Brian” is one of my favorites.

I think I need to be clear, so that my intentions are not misjudged. I am a catholic, and I have encountered God in the Eucharist, who I firmly believe is Jesus Christ.

But since this thread is about helping Mr. Allen,
and Mr. Allen is an athiest,
and was a Jew,
I think Judaism may be of more immediate help,
for him to believe in God.

So, I wondered how a Jew encounters God.
 
I would first congratulate him on his career because it takes a comedian of his stamp to adequately explain existentialism and expose its glaring faults and inevitable conclusions as he has done.
 
puzzleannie said:
I would first congratulate him on his career because it takes a comedian of his stamp to adequately explain existentialism and expose its glaring faults and inevitable conclusions as he has done.
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I’m not familiar with his explanations of existentialism.
Could you explain?
 
GailMac said:
GROW UP! AND QUIT BEING SO SELF-CENTERED!!!

Peace,

Gail
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Peace Gail

I really don’t wish to be self-centered, and sometimes others can see my faults better than myself.

Please specifically point it out my faults when you see it.

I appreciate your help.
 
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