Last week we watched the movie "Limitless," and the part that stuck out to me the most occurred when Eddie was on the ledge of his bunker about to jump off of it. While he is standing on the ledge, listening to the men try and break down his door, Eddie contemplates suicide because at least jumping off will be not only less painful but also his choice. For a second, he finds comfort that HE gets to choose when and how he will die--not the creeps taking a chainsaw to his door. Then, he realizes that he wants to live. Instead of simply throwing in the towel, Eddie mans up and attempts to survive.
This instance reminded me of Kierkegaard's existentialism theory, where everything in life (except birth) is a choice we make. Before watching this movie, I did not see how death was a choice we could make--we do not decide to get cancer and die from it or choose to have a heart attack and die. However, I now see that the choices that we make leading up to those decisions factor in to our deaths. For instance, if someone dies of a heart attack, it may be do to that person's chosen diet or lack of exercise. Thus, that person chooses how he or she wants to die. In "Limitless" we see quite blatantly that Eddie can take or save his life. So, this is Kierkegaard's theory in obvious action--we have the option to choose whatever we want to do.
Aside from that, the fact that Eddie has a sort of omniscience makes him God-like. When he takes the pill, he accesses information he did not even know he had. However, when the pill's effects wear off, he is back to his normal (and sometimes sickly) self. Still, his knowledge and ability to almost tell the future (such as predicting what move an opponent will take in a fight) makes him sort of God-like.
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