Examined Life (2008)

Directed by: Astra Taylor | 88 minutes | documentary | Actors: K. Anthony Appiah, Judith Butler, Michael Hardt, Martha Nussbaum, Avital Ronell, Peter Singer, Sunaura Taylor, Cornel West, Slavoj Zizek

Philosophy? That is a terribly boring and way too verbose branch of science, isn’t it? Indeed, not everyone is equally fascinated by philosophy and its search for deeper questions and answers. Of course names such as Plato, Socrates and, for example, Nietzsche are familiar. But aren’t all those enormously elaborate treatises on the real meaning of life and the complex choices between good and evil?

Filmmaker Astra Taylor wanted to combine her love and interest in philosophy with the use of the visual medium of film to represent a stream of thoughts often captured in words. But this was also an opportunity to make clear that philosophy can actually be found everywhere. Taylor spoke to nine well-known Western thinkers. These people are interviewed during a walk in places from their own environment or places that can be related to the discussed theme.

For example, the well-known Slovenian-American philosopher Slavoj Zizek talks about how ecology as a way of thinking is increasingly taking on the role of a religious ideology in our society, while walking around a garbage disposal company. And Cornell West voices an interesting take on romance and melancholy in life and music during a car ride through Manhattan. Feminism, meaning making and ethics are all weighty issues that are dealt with in a compact way in Taylor’s film.

The various interviews each last approximately ten minutes. This setup has clear advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, the various interviewees are forced to explain their ideas about the various themes as concisely and clearly as possible. However, there is not enough time to go deeper into the matter or, for example, to ask critical questions. It would also be interesting to interview some Europeans or, for example, Asians in addition to American thinkers.

However, it does not detract from the fact that ‘Examined Life’ is an interesting documentary that allows us to think along about certain philosophical issues in an accessible way. Maybe you find some topics more interesting than others or maybe you don’t agree with the different speakers? Or maybe you are someone who is not interested in philosophy at all? Then try this movie. In any case, you don’t have to read through a thick and difficult book.