Existentialism

What are some of the existential themes in the movie?

The film has concepts of being-in-itself vs being-for-others, pour-soi, facticity vs transcendence, and individualism.
Friends June and Waverly, who are both friends and rivals, both displayed the concept of being-for-others in their experiences of being raised by their mothers. According to Sartre, we acquire a limitless freedom once we realize that we have an immense responsibility over our very own shoulders and all of our actions would affect the world. Every person innately has this freedom and it is every man’s ultimate goal to acquire it. However, this freedom can overlap with the other’s freedom. This consequently forms a situation of being-for-others. In June’s story, she initially had parallel dreams with her mother, which was being a great pianist. After an embarrassing fiasco, however, she did not even want to touch the piano anymore. Still, her mother insisted that she play the piano. The mother is overshadowing the freedom of her daughter. June’s sense of individualism is therefore trampled because of the ongoing conflict. She is now a victim of being-for-others. The same could be said for her friend Waverly, who was experiencing something very similar with her mother. Unlike June, Waverly was very talented. Her mother was so proud of her achievements that she bragged about her everywhere she want. Waverly, however, felt that she was being used like an object for her mother to show.
Another example would be Waverly’s mother Lindo, who was forced to marry someone she had never met. Since her childhood, her mother treated her as if she was owned by another family. Her mother seemed to be preparing her for that family for so long as she could remember. In this case, her fate was predetermined by people unknown to her. She was fully deprived of her freedom to choose how to live her life. This, in someway, created a facticity. Lindo, in a desperate attempt to save herself from the atrocious treatment of her in-laws, managed to formulate a deceptive scheme, which in the end, was successful. She was able to transcend into a life that allowed her to define herself through her own actions and deeds. She ultimately became a “pour-soi”.

One of the major Criticisms of existentialism is pessimism. How does the film negate that criticism?

The film exhibits implicitly how concepts of existentialism could actually improve how one looks at his own life. People normally think that existentialism is all about how life is meaningless and how burdened we are with the innate responsibility we have to carry. I firmly disagree with this notion because I believe existentialism can somehow provide us a deeper understanding of reality. We could realize that we have that limitless responsibility over our shoulders and lament over it, instead, I suggest using this realization as the foundation of how we could act as better, more moral human beings.
Also, the film shows how the members of the joy luck club, the parents as well as their daughters triumphed over great deals of tragic events. It uses a story-telling technique on all of the main characters. There is always a conflict that involves someone being deprived of their freedom to act or live in some way. Following it is always a resolution that symbolizes transcendence. Having that said, by critically analyzing the exchange of ideas within the boundaries of the film, we could learn how existentialism could in fact be the opposite of pessimism.



As a Chinese man/woman, how similar is your situation with the main character?

Since I am not Chinese, I can only refer to stories shared with me by my Chinese friends. As far as I can remember, all of them had families who followed strictly the rule that they cannot be in any way intimately related with those who are not of pure Chinese origin. I have heard countless stories of relationships being ended due to the disapproval of Chinese parents. Furthermore, some families still even follow the tradition of having fixed marriages. Surprisingly, most of them did not like what they’re parents wanted them to follow. They want to be free to do what they want and choose whom to marry. They feel that we are in a generation where we should not be bound by ancient traditions. Having that said, I can say that the Chinese these days still have similar situations to that of the main characters of the film.

References:

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/joyluck/section1.html
http://www.geocities.com/sartresite/sartre_theses2.html
http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/existentialism.htm
http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ756589&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ756589