Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Kierkegaardian Motifs in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves

Okay, this is the not the post I wanted to write. But I don't have any time and I don't understand Kierkegaard at all.

I have tried reading A Very Short Introduction to Kierkegaard (actually I read it last year and now I don't remember a thing), and I spent most of my Monday (which was a holiday) trying hard to understand what Kierkegaard wanted to say in Either/Or, Sickness unto Death, Concepts of Dread, Fear and Trembling and Works of Love. But, no success. I am still trying to understand the difficult interconnectedness between faith, passion, subjectivity and love. Once I get hold of something, I will write about how it all illuminates Breaking the Waves, one of the greatest fairy tales ever told.

Some interesting stuff that I read about Kierkegaard:
Roger Kimball wonders What Did Kierkegaard Want? Well, isn't that the whole point of existentialism? Here is one by John Updike, from that august literary institution The New Yorker. And Peter Kramer, psychiatrist and the author of Listening to Prozac, wonders what would have happened if Kierkegaard took anti-depressants. More stuff here and here.

And if you are wondering what the fuss is all about and who the hell is Lars von Trier or if Breaking the Waves is a fairy tale why haven't I come across it in my volume of brothers Grimm...you can educate yourself by visiting here and here.

2 comments:

Alok said...

my pleasure :-)

Anonymous said...

the girl who has sex with another man just after her wedding in Melancholia : it's Kierkegaard to. I was happy to read your article when I realized it. Your blog is smart, you shoud go on.