Sunday, January 30, 2011

Examined Life (2008)

I enjoy philosophy. Debating different ideas is just one of those things that gets me excited and snaps me out of the doldrums of daily life. When I saw a documentary that included a play on words of Socrates'  famous quote "The unexamined life is not worth living." my curiosity was definitely piqued.

Unfortunately, I ended up a bit disappointed. The film gives a number of contemporary philosophers ten minutes each to share the ideas with the camera. While this is an interesting idea to get a sample of contemporary philosophy if you've ever talked to a philosopher you'll know that they can go on for hours about a single topic. There were some interesting ideas discussed in this movie but as soon as I started thinking about them it was time to hear from another philosopher talk about a completely different subject. I would have much rather listened to two philosophers for 45 minutes than the bite sized bits I got here.

I can't really recommend this documentary to anyone. If you're interested in philosophy, chances are you've already heard a lot of these ideas. If you're new to philosophy, everything is too out of context to get a good grasp on what philosophy is. While I encourage the discussion of philosophy I think this is probably the wrong format to do so with.

Click here to add this movie to your Netflix queue.

The Standard 5:

Why is it in your queue? I enjoy philosophy.

Is it artsy? It's intellectual.

Best thing about the movie? Peter Singer gave a very interesting talk, I think he was the second or third speaker, it's worth just checking that part out.

What mood should I be in to watch this movie? In desperate need for a philosophical fix.

What rating did you give it on Netflix? 2 Stars.

1 comment:

  1. I think if you are going to watch this flick, you have to approach it in an easy-going way. Do not expect great entertainment. It is more like having a coffee conversation with some really interesting people.

    ReplyDelete

SPOILER ALERT: Talking about the movie is encouraged in the comment section. Read at your own risk.

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