Philosophy Club looks at meaning behind movie, ‘Everything is Illuminated’
After watching ‘Everything is Illuminated.’ students discuss the movie on Wednesday in the University Union. The Philosophy Club sponsored the event.:
December 11, 2009
Sacramento State’s philosophy club gathered Wednesday evening to watch and discuss the 2005 movie, “Everything is Illuminated.”
“Everything is Illuminated” is a film about a young Jewish-American man, Jonathan Foer, who travels to find the woman that saved his grandfather during the Holocaust. Foer is guided by an anti-semitic grandfather and his grandson through the small Ukrainian town of Trachimbrod.
Although the characters do not seem to be connected as they begin their quest, the adventure ultimately holds great meaning and revelation for the characters.
After the screening of “Everything is Illuminated,” the philosophy club held a brief discussion.
Alex Geiger, Sac State alumnus, said the main message of the movie is to tell people to learn from life lessons and to stop carrying mental baggage around.
“You can’t go anywhere without your past effecting you, and I think that this movie says that,” Geiger said.
Throughout the movie, the film illustrates Foer’s pastime of collecting various items.
Casey Smith, senior philosophy major, said that Foer’s obsession with collecting items is a metaphor for something deeper.
“It’s about holding on to your past and in this case Jonathan does it quite literally. We all do it metaphorically through thoughts and memories, but he does it literally,” Smith said.
Geiger said that he chose to view this movie for the philosophy club because it is one of his favorite movies.
“It is a good movie because it is teaching that the past is relevant and there are a lot of lessons to learn about guilt. I already have baggage about guilt and why I don’t like it,” Geiger said.
Jake Richard Edwards, senior philosophy major, said that he enjoyed the philosophical element of “Everything is Illumniated.”
“I love films with morality and underlying themes in them. I voted on this movie at the club meeting because I thought it would be a good movie to introduce a little bit of philosophy that is not too heavy and wouldn’t scare anyone away,” Edwards said.
Miranda Marsalla can be reached at [email protected]
