Sci-fi movies have always been an eye-opener and . Today we are going to talk about one
such movie, a movie that explains a very important philosophy- How do we make a choice? Which
choice is the correct one? Do our choices matter?
Before starting, we would like to give you a spoiler alert and recommend you watch the
movie first. The movie has been an absolute eye-opener for me and has addressed a very
important question, a question we don’t often think about while making decisions.
Many people can find the movie boring, initially I thought so but after completing it, my views
changed and I want everyone of you to watch the video till the end and review what we
discussed. And yes, don’t forget to subscribe us and press the bell icon and stay tuned
with us. This movie has a philosophical sense with it too so thinkers get ready to rock
your brain!
The opening scene of the movie reveals that the year is 2092 and humans have achieved
immortality. In this strange world everyone was focused on Nemo Nobody, the only remaining
mortal that would die of ageing! Nemo is interviewed by a reporter who wants to know about his
life, but little is known about Nemo, even his doctor isn’t aware of who Nemo is? Any
attempts to uncover his identity keep leading to a multitude of contradictory stories. When
he was Young, his parents separated. He is faced with the impossible choice of whether
to stay with his dad or go with his mom. At this point in the movie, Nemo’s life splits
off into different “realities.” One reality where he stays with his father, and one where
he boards the train and leaves with his mother. Nemo lives out both of these lives where he
experiences different things. Some things only being experienced depending on which
parent he chose to live with. It appears that Nemo has different levels of happiness in
each reality, but as it seems, no one reality has more meaning than the other. And from
here onward we can see in the movie that Nemo’s life is divided and fractured into multiple
timelines. He gives a love letter to Elise, he doesn’t gives a love letter. He becomes
a photographer, a Tv personality and a pool maintenance guy. He marries Elise, Jean and
Anna. He is killed by mobsters, drowns in his car and is killed by a meteorite. All
these events happening in different alternate realties. They are all a collection of very
confusing alternate realities that are even complex because of the Physics of space and
time.
But the main gist of the problem is that What is the right choice? And what are meaningful
choices? To answer this and some others we would have to take a step back and focus on
one of the realities in which Nemo discusses about time. He explains after the Big Bang,
three spatial dimensions and one temporal dimensions were created. These spatial dimensions
namely- Length, Breadth and height allow us to move freely but not the fourth one that
is, time. He says’ “Time as we know it is a dimension we experience only in one direction.
This one directional movement a huge impact on our decision making because as said in
the movie , “We cannot go back and that' s why it's hard to choose.” Once a decision
is made, we must live with the consequences.
But what’s make one choice more meaningful than the other? This question requires a definition
of meaning. We need something to weigh our options and base our decisions on them. But
if we look to the universe for any guidance for making any decision we are likely to be
disappointed. Until one makes a choice anything is possible. This is based on the many-worlds
interpretation of quantum mechanics, in which an infinite number of parallel universes exist,
one in which each possible choice is made. Making a choice determines which of those
possible universes is the one you live in. Combined with the idea of the butterfly
effect, that a small change can have enormous consequences, this makes every choice seem
almost monumentally significant and difficult to decide. The film demonstrates this, whether
Nemo chooses to live with his father or his mother has a huge impact on his life, but
so does whether he’s a few seconds earlier or later to meet a woman he likes. We experience
this phenomenon as random chance bringing us either good fortune or bad luck.
In the opening scene we are introduced with the pigeon superstition. We can relate this
yo our belief that our choices and actions affect the world in a certain way, but in
reality we know very little about what forces move our lives in certain directions. And
that is why whenever something unexpected happens whether it’s good or bad, we always
think what didi we do to deserve it? So how can we know that which is the meaningful
choice? How can we weigh our options to choose what’s correct one? It is the reasons why
immortality is so appealing to human beings. If we had unlimited time to make every choice
however we wanted, we would no longer experience the regret that we sometimes feel after making
a decision. We could correct our decision if we made a wrong one. At this point we are
introduce of Nemo’s gift. We are told that in the movie that before birth we know everything,
we are omniscient until the angels of oblivion remove our memory. But the angels forgot to
remove Nemo’s memory and so he had all of the memories of all his different alternate
realities and knew all the possible outcomes to his decisions. But this doesn’t makes
his life easier at all, instead of being enlightened his knowledge paralyses him and he believes
there’s only one option left. Quoted in the movie, “in chess it’s called Zugzwang,
when the only viable move is not to move.” By not chasing any path he thinks that all
paths remain open and possible. But he’s wrong, because in this universe where we are
confined in this one-directional temporal direction which demands decision-making, we
cannot not choose, At least not without disrupting the fabric of space and time. And its the
reason that in the timeline where Nemo doesn’t makes a move is the one that resets in sort
of a paradox where he defies the rules of his own existence and truly become, Mr. Nobody.
The main point is that knowing every outcome is as paralysing and horrifying as not knowing
the outcome. As explained by professor Ruth Chang in one of the Ted talks, we make choices
by weighing alternatives and judge whether one option is better than, equal to or worse
than the other. But this techniques not enough. This technique can work for easy decisions
but not hard decisions. She says,”We need a fourth relation beyond better, worse or
equal to, that describe what goes on in this hard choices. I like to say that the alternatives
are on a par. When alternatives are on a par it matters which we choose but one alternative
isn’t better than the other. They are in the same neighbourhood of value, but at the
same time being different in the kind of value and that’s why the choice is hard”.
Nemo knew every possible path but this couldn’t tell him that his love for his mother was
more than that of his love for his father. He couldn’t decide whether the heartbreak
from Anna was worse than that of Elise’s depression. He didn’t knew which is the
right path and this is the gist of all problems. We search for reasons outside us, external
factors to support us. At the end we are empty-handed whether we make a choice or we do not, In
one of his realities Nemo approaches Jean to make Elise jealous and decides never to
leave anything to chance again. However, once Nemo achieves his goals, he finds himself
bored. He feels that he knows himself too well and that nothing is exciting anymore,
as if nothing has meaning anymore. One philosopher named Thomas Nagel calls this feeling “the
absurd.” The absurd is when one takes things very seriously, but in reality knowing that
nothing really matters. Nemo took his life so seriously that he followed the plan he
had set for himself at age 15. Once reaching age 34 though, Nemo realises that the life
he has built for himself is not truly what he wants or what is important to him. Longing
for excitement, Nemo begins to base his decisions on a coin toss. He brings back the factor
of chance into his decisions. This action is a decision in itself. Nemo is deciding
to incorporate chance in his decisions. This coin toss method ultimately results in Nemo’s
death, but stands to prove the point that our choices lead to irreversible consequences.
So when we make any choice we should look inwards into ourselves rather than looking
for external factors. Its not about the process of making choices easier, rather its about
realising that no path is the right path. As Nemo says, “Every path is the right
path. Everything could have been anything else and it would have just as much meaning”.
So, it all comes back to us, we have to make our choices meaningful. And as Professor Chang
said, “ you should reflect on what you can put our agency behind, on what you can be
for and through hard choices become that person. Even if we believe we are on the right path,
there will be mistakes, sorrow, ups and downs, moments of regrets when we long for that reset
button, for another chance. But if we truly act from the heart, if we
base our decisions on our innermost voices, we will experience something else. We will
find ourselves in a completely different realm where it is possible to love and be loved.
To be happy and to realise that even there can be infinite possibilities and realities,
our lives can be extremely meaningful.
Near the end of the movie, it is revealed that each of the lives that Nemo had lived
were all in fact made up. He had imagined these lives at age 9 when trying to determine
whether to live with his mother or his father. We, as viewers, get to see his different lives
with different levels of happiness and different lifestyles, and make our own decision about
which life we think is the best one. The truth remains though, that each life is just as
good and meaningful as the next The quote, “Every path is the right path. Everything
could have been anything else and it would have just as much meaning” sums up the movie
perfectly. No one life was better, or more meaningful than the others, they were simply
different.The conclusion to be made about this idea is that ultimately our decisions
are not necessarily connected to meaning. Be free with your decisions in knowing that
you can still live a meaningful life with however you make your choices. Nemo also says
at the end, “ I am not afraid of dying, I am afraid that I haven’t been alive enough.
Its should be written on every school blackboard that life is a playground or nothing!
So what do you think about making the right choice? Can are lives be something different
if we chose the the other option? Comment your views in the comment section and don’t
forget to like the video and subscribe to our channel.