On Absurdism " A significant part of what makes us drawn to artists… — Jake — TG.ME

On Absurdism " A significant part of what makes us drawn to artists, is their oddness, refusal to obey, and of course their middle finger that they hold high in the face of society" _ Jesse Kellerman In one of the series "black mirror" episodes, we have a group of people who ride bicycles for a living, of course they are fixed in their place though, but they produce energy that fuels the city, the thing is, they live in literal boxes and they cycle all day, and there's one way to a "better" life, to go to the talent show and become a star! Absurdism, is a philosophy that Responds to the premise: life has no meaning, with: that doesn't really matter. That's of course so simplified, if we look closely at Albert camus for example, we will see that his preach is all about rebellion against the absurd. In his famous book, the myth of Sisyphus, he talks about a guy that was punished till eternity, that he has to push a heavy rock up the mountain and then back again and again..... And camus considered the philosophies that provide an ultimate promise of an "after death reward" a form of philosophical suicide! Sisyphus's endeavor has no meaning and won't be rewarded nor rationalized, it's just absurd, and using imaginary checkouts to solve the problem isn't the answer to him, but the rebellion in which we continue living despite all this hollowness. This whole metaphor can be applied to our own lives, what are we doing so different from this Sisyphus fella? Aren't we all pushing a "rock" again and again? They make memes about "imagine Sisyphus happy" but that's what we really do, we imagine ourselves happy, we smile in the face of hardships and enjoy the little things without looking out for a "meaning" Most of the time. That's what artists sometimes do well, they say no to the system, and do their thing, while I and probably you, my lovely reader, choose a conventional path, a safe, dull one, but that doesn't make us immune to this "happy" thingy, it just makes it harder and rename it as: satisfaction. Back to the episode, after a year of grinding non stop on the bicycle, our protagonist reached the sufficient money to participate in the performance, and he came prepared with a sharp glass, to shout loudly about the injustice and inhumane conditions that they work in, and to threaten suicide on the great theater. But they really liked his "talent": honesty!, and convinced him to have a show where he shouts everyday in front of the camera, it pays well and he doesn't have to live with the common folks no more, they bought him, made him a product, and he became "happy". (And this very "article" is a screaming example of absurdity in it's simplicity, but I actually think the act of posting it is a rebellion of some kind, maybe rebelling against the absurd, is actually embracing it.) To simple things that matter. Jake.