Unhinged: Absence of Heroes & American Nihilism Explained

Etymos Podcast EP06

Movies go far beyond simple entertainment. Movies are a window to their writer, director, but most importantly the culture & time from which they emerged. The movie “Unhinged” starring Russel Crowe & Caren Pistorius depicting road rage gone off-the-rails captures a unique moment as it was released during the height of the Pandemic in 2020. “Unhinged” was an unexpected film yet it captured the attention of millions at home. It explicitly & implicitly showed the many contradictions/errors of & frustrations with modern American culture.

In this episode, Max shows how the movie “Unhinged” acts as a “microcosm,” that is to say: a condensed form of & retelling of reality, in this instance, American culture. Topics discussed include the Banality of Evil, the American dissonance of rugged individualism & totalitarianism, materialism, Gnosticism, traditional Christian beliefs, Buddhism, & the symbolism of the night, monsters, & seeds.

Max also explains the absence of “the Good” & absence of genuine protagonists in modern storytelling, its origins in the World Wars, why this matters, & how it explains our continual societal failures to curb outbursts of destructive nihilism.

“To Speak Is to See” on Amazon

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Other Cool Links:

Unhinged Movie Trailer

The Banality of Evil: Hannah Arendt on the Normalization of Human Wickedness and Our Only Effective Antidote to It

Eichmann in Jerusalem - Book Overview

The Theology of Evil

Theft is often Disguised as Charity - Jesus Anointed at Bethany

Gods, Angels, and Demons - Fr. Andrew Damick, Fr. Stephen De Young, Jonathan Pageau

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Find Max on Instagram: @TacoVsSushi

Music:

Living Voyage by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3985-living-voyage

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license