The Fantasy of Ultimate Purpose - How Our Entertainment Reveals Our Deepest Desire
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- Опубліковано 30 лип 2018
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Explores the anatomy of purpose in films, television series and video games, how it differs from finding meaning in our own lives, and the importance of discussing our escapes into these fictional worlds.
Sources:
Viktor Frankl - Man’s Search for Meaning: amzn.to/2O19Jnk
Like Stories of Old - Complete Reading List: kit.com/likestoriesofold/read...
Music licensed from Artlist - Get 2 months extra for free using this link: bit.ly/2L1zl1T
This project took a long time, beginning with a few scrambled notes from a couple of years ago and me wondering why I enjoy immersing myself into certain stories even though they would be horrible experiences in real life. At first, it was just a collection of short observations of particular tropes and genres, but I challenged myself to connect them into a more cohesive analysis. The result is still very exploratory in nature and perhaps not as concise as my other videos, but I hope you will enjoy the journey :)
Like Stories of Old great video as always. You really hit a spot especially this time. Thanks for the effort!
You're doing good work.
Thank you.
I think so, I actually got an idea for another video on that very subject while making this one, so I might be discussing that in more detail very soon!
What is your purpose Tom? These videos? Or is there something more?
thanks for the existential crisis.
i think i just awoke from mine
Jokes on you! Already had one
I prefere the comfort of nonexistence to the suffering of being alive.
@@ismirdochegal4804 I think most do. I personally would rather know the pain of living.
@@stefanaguinaldosoerensen2355 couldn’t agree more.
"The meaning of our lives is an unconditional one, and thus it never ceases to be." Now that's a glass half full attitude if I've ever seen one. I like it!
Talon058 I have ascended
you are literally everywhere
Слава Белорусов Just the good places
new gabriel march or whatever his name was
And here I am, thinking
Nothing unconditional can ever be meaningful.
Unconditional love is just sad, I want to be loved for who I am. It's the same thing for everything else. If victory or achievement don't require conditions, they are guaranteed and therefore meaningless.
The water in my glass has negative volume. There is more water missing than the glass could hold.
This is the true purpose of youtube ;)
SO true. Too bad so many bullshit channels get recommendations and promotion and not channels as this one.
Or should be.
And is the sole reason to pay my ISP
"Even someone like James Bond, who is known for his hyper masculinity, expensive lifestyle and encounters with beautiful women, is ultimately not defined by these perks, but by how easily he can give them up."
Even in GoldenEye Natalia asked "What the matter why are you so cold?" and James says "To stay alive." Which let's the viewer know just how serious his line of work is.
@@somerandomarmydudeI kinda wish they show more dangerous aspects of his line of work like how Daniel Craig's Bond showed in Casino Royle.
Watching this and your vid on _After Life_ reminds me of a quote from the anime, _Welcome to The N.H.K.:_
*"A drama has a progressive thought, an emotional climax and a resolution. But our lives aren't like that. All we get day after day are bunch of vague anxieties that are never really resolved."*
True, reminds me of what TheraminTrees said in video about how humble stories maniuplate us.
Very myopic way of looking at life
Wow, wow... Please dont ever stop making videos.
Sternia Hoenheim be sad
@@brucelee42069 aww
Holy shit, this is _the_ Like Stories of Old video.
As in, this is the foundation stone on which all other _LSOO_ videos are based.
Bravo.
That's a really interesting way of putting it! This definitely felt like the closest thing to a 'theory of everything' that I've done ;)
Sometimes I think I am the only one who understands this crazy Dutch genius. I'm glad I read this comment.
The journey is more important than the destination, and we should always be responding to changes in the itinerary.
This video has put into words a concept I've been slowly piecing together from several of your past videos that applies to my own life. Thank you for your words of wisdom.
Same for me, but from a rebound of negativity. We all need something to live for
Yes! Exactly the same for me
What an amazing video. I've never thought about this but it makes perfect sense! We like video games and stories because their characters have a clear and important purpose!
This should be taught in schools. More than anything.
Yes
Should it really tho?
Zol z lol what? I’m just implying that we should think this through. Not that it shouldn’t happen at all
Been watching a lot of this guy's videos. Over the last 3 or 4 years, I have been trying to actively mature myself after coming to the realization that there is no one who hated me more than I did. However, also coming to the realization that if there is a problem with me, it is my job to fix it. I've been following the words "Be a better man today than you were yesterday, and tomorrow than you are today". I have sought to improve myself in all aspects, but never really understood the direction I as going in nor the lesson's I have been learning. These videos have made sense of so much. For the first time in years, I finally feel like I am beginning to understand myself, and the world around me. These are the kind of videos you share to people.
There is a direction that you can have though, a hope. A King who will love you like none ever will. He wants to encourage you, to help you, but also to discipline you, and correct you. He can save you from this self hate.
The way I get meaning in my life is to devote myself to loving others, devote myself to my community around me, and devote myself to creating something that gives me purpose and meaning.
You understand what so many know, but so few choose to externalize. It seems like your growing audience is evidence that there is a shift back to the old ways of sitting, reading (or today, watching and playing) and then pondering.
Many stop at that final step, and it makes one wonder why they even chose to take part in the first place. Art isn't there for you to be entertained. That is only a secondary objective. It's there to pass a message that you directly take into your life. You seem to understand this point, and I hope there are many more like you in the future.
yet again you have hit the right spot.
just the other day i started asking people around me the simple question "why do you get up in the morning?" it's funny how many answers boil down to "i do not want to disappoint my mother" or "because i always have". most people don't stop to think about a purpose. they just go on because they don't know better or feel a responsiblity towards friends and family. but why should those people have any weight in your life's personal decisions?
and for me, after getting heavily into other media, i find it kind of hard to find a reason myself - compared to fictional characters. it's not about being suicidal - far from it. it's just that there's no purpose for me. neither keeping on or ending it all.
one of the only things which can awake emotions in me is seeing fictional characters suffer. sounds a bit sadistic, but watching the tragic stories of people and how parties cannot take any blame in the misery they are in or the suffering they cause, does make me feel something. i guess this is the katharsis every literature teacher was talking about in class. now reading those greek tragedies in the past makes sense to me.
nevertheless contemporary authors inspired by those stories do have a bigger impact on me..
how children are forced to fake friendships and loyalities because superiors ordered them to. and after years of living in cognitive dissonance they start to form a second identity in which they do truly believe their facade but regardless betray their comrades in the end.
how best friends do not openly share their thoughts and ideals and therefore lead to each others' personal / moral downfall and inevitable confrotation.
how a person embraces all the hate in the world just to found a better place for everyone else - suffering in darkness alone, forever - in life and death.
reading/watching all those stories makes look at my own and just succumb to the meaningless void i'm in. all those characters suffering for an higher purpose or even just pursuing a goal. and then there's me - waking up every day doing the same stuff. no suffering. no goal.
the worst thing about this is how others would like to have the same chances i got in life. still i cannot appreciate all that was given to me - it was wasted on me. visualizing these facts only amplifies the anguish.
and after watching your videos among others just makes me realize how much of a coward i am. instead of finding a meaning myself i just accept my own reasoning that there is none. funny how fully aware i am of this fact but still do not move an inch toward changing something..
i guess what i wanted to say was thank you, yet again. watching you create content at this level of honesty and quality makes me think about the whole topic again - instead of blacking it out. just hearing your voice filled with the best intentions for all of us viewers is a welcoming change to the egoistic world we are in. i somehow interpret this whole channel as your try on impacting the world and guiding it into a better path. your try on finding your purpose in all of this.
in the end you should know, yet again, how important those videos are to me - never arriving too late or too early, but precisely when i need them to.
-princeps
Thank you for that beautiful and honest message!
Princeps in all of the magnificent characters and heroes we love to watch and hope we would emulate if we found ourselves in their shoes. How many knowingly put themselves into the inevitable dyer circumstances they find themselves in? We love our cocoons and will do almost anything to stay in them. Set a goal outside of that cocoon and achieve it and then do it again and again... I personally don't consider it a world of egotists I consider it a world of posers or at least the world we are forced to look at on a daily basis. Only you can give them the privilege of deciding what your life is worth don't give them that privilege. You are quite a thoughtful and well spoken person perhaps that is the place to start. Thank you for sharing.
This is an amazing comment that gets to the core of the human condition. We often can't see past our current circumstances and comforts for what gives true meaning and purpose. We are like children who would choose to eat candy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner not realizing the dangers and ultimate lack of satisfaction. Only as adults we substitute candy for endless wasted hours of TV, movies, and meaningless social activities.
alexcrouch9 not disagreeing with you, but the "meaningless" social activities are not meaningless at all. Isolation is dangerous and for depressed people there wouldn't be any sense in trying to isolate themselves and forge some ultimate meaning in the darkness of their rooms.
I speak from experience... Social interaction is something that the human animal absolutely requires to function, regardless of the meta function it might serve; if you are depressed, don't isolate yourself.
Since you people like fiction, think of Raskalnikov in Crime and Punishment: he would've been better off just going out to a bar with close friends and drinking a few beers instead of ruminating on existential matters in his shabby apartment.
Don't ruminate on this man. I know this may look like simplistic, but life has indeed a meaning. The meaning of the existence is the existence itself. This destroys almost 90% of the strange existencial doubts and controversies we create. Sometimes, we HAVE to confront ourselves with the void and the possibility of meaningless. But only to prove how being alive is really the only thing that matters. When you face the void, it should be only to remind yourself how terrible it is, and how clarifiyng life itself can be. Cheers.
I’m a simple man. “Like Stories Of Old” posts a new video, I like the video.
This is exactly what your channel has given to me. For quite some time I struggled with the question of purpose in entertainment. I could not accept the common (at least it's common in my social circles) idea of entertainment being just a way to unwind and spend your time fighting boredom. Your videos has given me this sense of depth to be explored and understood, lessons to be learned not just in films, but in life itself.
The way I describe your channel to those special ones with whom I want to share such a beauty is: this guy illustrates important life questions with commonly shared cultural things, which, being art, themselves illustrate not just a raw depiction of life, but the ideals human beings aspire to.
I am recovering addict (going to hit 2 years soon) and sometimes it can be easy to lose purpose but your video motivated me to literally take action and change my job and cut out even more bad habits like wow man this video had such an impact on me!
Have u recovered from addiction ?
Keep it up
Hey man. I hope you're still doing good. I'm a heroin addict in recovery as well. We can do it. We don't have to die like they said we would.
@@OuterHeaven210 I hope you’re doing well. I lost a loved one to heroin addiction. Please stay with us!
@@brookew.h.n5568 kratom helps me. I'm sorry for your loss. It's hard. I know.
One of the most powerful videos I have ever seen. It captures what I call "hero culture" so perfectly. I have gone back to this and shared it with other so many times of the pandemic. Thank you again.
Bravo well done !!!!! I suffer from the existential vacum constantly I'm most at peace when my life or lively hood is threatened In some manner. My calmest moment was fighting a fire threatening my family's farm on a dry summer. I had such clarity. I could accept reality. Certain unavoidable aspects of the fire had to be ignored while I fought to change what I could. I even quit school and became a logger to help solve my existential crisis I must take care of myself to ensure my survival in the dangerous work place. I'm healthier than I've ever been my entire life.
It's only 11am and yet I have a feeling that this video will be the highlight of my day.
Man you have a talent like no other. Your tone of voice is simply 👌. You your editing skills are amazing. But most importantly your script, your commentary is well put .
I have always found meaning in the simple activity of learning something new that interests me.
It was at a very young age that I dreamed of learning everything there was to know about life.
Whether it be in the form of stories, movies and books, jokes and metaphors, educational videos, games, dreams, theories derived from intuition, observations and experiences, and so forth.
I've spent far more time hungering and consuming more and more knowledge than giving thought on how to use it.
Can one ever truly absorb the entirety of all there is to know regarding our pale blue dot and what lies beyond in a single lifetime?
I was privileged to meet Viktor Frankel at a psychology conference in 1991, in L.A. He was the keynote speaker, and stayed after to chat with some of us and sign books. He was really a remarkable person. Wonderful essay, as always
I'm left speechless after each and every video you make. I genuinely think you are a light in this world with your ability to observe and meditate on what a story means. But most moving is your ability to turn your notes and thoughts into moving stories themselves. Thank you. This channel is a gem that the world needs right now.
You are absolutely incredible. At the end of the video, I felt a mixture of sadness and invigoration, realizing that we will never concretely know our ultimate purpose, but that we have the ability to make it anything we wish. It's a type of ambiguity that really lingers for a long time.
That's kind of cringe, the idea of "ultimate purpose" is nonsense and to even want one is stupid. You just "want one" because you lack genuine passions and interests so to you, naturally, everything seems banal.
My purpose it to search through the eternal archive of youtube, gaining as much knowledge and wisdom along the way as I can. Whether meaningful or meaningless knowledge the task is still the same, avoid the actual problems in my life by distracting myself for as long as I can get away with it!!!
It pains me immensely how underappreciated your channel is, but the fact that I have actaully managed to stumble upon it brings me joy.
That was deep!! All these years meditating looking for my purpose and meaning and this video just answered it. I've been through a lot of shit in my life and looking through the story of my life in my mind, I find it very entertaining. I'm the Hero in my own movie. That's enough purpose and meaning for me. It takes the idea of stress and suffering away cause the movie will come to an end, so there's no point in stressing. And all of the suffering I've been through, I find it very entertaining cause I overcame it, conquered it, and gain power over it. It's not the Fool's Journey no more. It's the Hero's Journey. Thank You for making this video!
I just love this channel. The writing is tremendous and I always walk away from these with my mind ruminating on the content in some cases for hours or days. In this time where attention flees before we even realize, the ability to plant a seed of thought that actually grows, evolves and delivers change is an accomplishment. Thank you for this. All of it!
I just got back from therapy and now I'm crying again. Thank you, I really needed that.
You have the voice of a wise, old storyteller. Gandalf, please keep making more magic, like this video.
This is a great source for finding books to read, just finished King Warrior Magician Lover and starting Man's Search for Meaning now :)
Man search of meaning must be the greatest antidepressant book made.From early age i always had a feeling that without a goal,a purpose to fullfill ,life would be meaningless.Each person confronts someday his existantial vaccumm, just dont get absorbed into it, exit it with amazing activities , education , quality friends and remember: Its not the things/situations that make us feel depressed ,its how we perceive them , we choose our way of reaction to them, and choose the optimistic option.Victor Frankl message somehow i found that resembles stoic philosophy, things we lost though centuries only to be rediscovered.Cheers
Yeah I'm quite lost, although not so much existentially. I've been interested in stoic philosophy for a while too, it seems a good way of putting into practice this desire for meaning.
What you are doing on this channel is incredible. It challenges my thoughts and expands my mind to think about stories in a way I’ve never considered. Somehow in these videos you say what I feel about these stories but cannot correctly articulate. Keep sharing your ideas and your knowledge with the world man. God bless!
Resonated strongly with this one! I looked deeply into how I played video games, and learned so much about my authentic nature, and my own Heroes Journey. Now, I have absorbed all of that wisdom, and integrated it into my life. The fantasy becomes very real! Our life is fiction, a story that we consciously write. Using the soundtracks to these games in the real world and synthesising it with the landscape also have very powerful effects!
This channel is most definitely my all time favorite. I let go of an illusion of being popular, or rich and successful. The universe is constantly showing us the meaning of life. It's about being true to yourself and passing knowledge to others while forever living and learning in a dualistic existence. Stories and song are our most valuable form of art. They teach more than you know.
A more cogent explanation is that the viewer / gamer gets to experience emotionally taxing events without any of the associated anxiety, stress, etc. In many ways, it is less emotionally "painful" than getting up in the morning, or any number of trivial, daily events. Who wouldn't want to eliminate their current boredom without any real emotional downside?! A "renewed purpose" or something that "transcends your own being" seems like an ancillary consideration. Lots of good films and games have no higher purpose.
Interesting point!
Can you explain what you mean by ancillary? Do you mean games and movies offer renewed purpose that transcend your being, and are therefore - or can be - ancillary to a real life? I'd assume you meant that but for your last sentence; because which good films and games have higher purpose and which does not?
I figure you either mean game/film can be technically good (or fun) without speaking a deeper truth, or that it is incumbant on the player/viewer to imbue it with higher purpose but adjusting our lives in response the the experience (or else they serve a "lower purpose" by replacing our own).
Jeff Lawrence - I would invite you and OP to further your exploration on the works of Robert Bly and Joseph Campbell. These men have gone beyond fantasy by diving into the work of giants and learned storytellers. The real opener for myself is through the exploration of mythology and initiation into adulthood. Have we not observed enough cases of absent parenthood/mentorship or extended adolescence in our times?
@@yuribillones5094 Adolescence is relative. At the time from where G. R. R. Martin drew his inspiration from to not be married soon after puberty was a failure. That is because the average life expectancy was around 40. So, having children very early was essential to a community's survival. Now we have a average life expectancy of going on 80 years, but the cultural glue of our society - its norms and mores as reflected in our stories - change at a slower rate. What you see as an extended adolescence is only regarded as such with reference to norms and mores that don't apply to the lives we need now. Even more disturbing is that we struggle even more because biologically we are less well adapted to modern life than we were to the times when life was "nasty, brutish, and short." Our brains evolved to cope with an environment where the next big thing to eat or kill you was much closer. We knew the importance of living because death was close. We don't have those experiences now, and our lives seem empty and meaningless as a result. That existential crisis is inherent in modern life. That's why things life Zen Buddhism became popular in Japan, and seemingly trivial practices like the Tea Ceremony emerged. The insane level of attention to detail in finding the perfect spot to build a tea house, furnishing it, landscaping it, and performing the ceremony was a means to provide the now wealthy, but corralled samurai with means to absorb their pent up psychological energies that built up because they were no longer fighting. Literally, Zen allowed them to adapt to changes beyond their control Likewise, our obsession with media, and fandom works in the same way as diversion for energies we have less and less opportunities to express. The irony is that turning to archetypes alone will not be enough. They can get lost in translation, and we can be exploited by those who offer us dubious means to get in touch with purpose and meaning. We must always remember to ground ourselves in the here and now, to be open and available to each other, because the greatest teacher is the struggle to relate to each other.
@@BigHenFor - beautifully said. Thank you very much for the time you put in such an enlightening response! As good as I have imagined it!
Wow. You never seize to impress and amaze.
You never cease to impress and amaze?
God, I thought it looked weird when I wrote it. I feel like an idiot :D
Sriman Narayanan You're good bro, I knew what you were going for.
technically when you use seize it still implies the same meaning, its just cease is the established phrase. So either way means the same thing. although seize is more used in the context of something being stopped by someone else or taken and cease is used more for the action of you stopping your own actions. But still you could get away with using seize.
Tom, thank you soooo much for this. You have no idea how influential this video essay is.
"Your significance will remain forever obscure to you, but you may assume that you are fulfilling your role if you apply yourself to converting your experiences to the highest advantage of others." - Buckminster Fuller
Proud to be your Patron. I should have done it sooner...
Another beautiful video by you LSOO.
Currently being in the middle of winter, with the long evenings, I was musing to myself on how for our ancestors winter was a time of turning inwards, to dreams and fantasies, to painting art on the cave walls, and to time spent together, sharing stories and mythologies that defined themselves, their communities and the world in which they lived. I think this is the nature of story telling, it's a way in which we relate to our world, to each other, and to ourselves. And I think this is the origins of these movies, series and games that tell great stories. It comes from an ancient place in our beings
I was born at one of the northiest cities in Russia and thou my heart is covered with ice scars. But I just couldn’t get, how you could unbrick whole obstacle so accurate and patient. It’s huge gap of education. For whole my school life I never asked to write any essay. This knowledge is just been escaped from basic human skills. And thou exactly this thing make huge difference in Russia and whole World. We had been learned from our childhood to follow orders. Russian are like ant-farm with Ant Queen.
But this didn’t change fact that we have heart and lavish soul. We are cool. We just had different eduction. Спасибо за внимание.
Had to watch this a few more times... because purpose.
this was a great watch at the beginning of my day. these intense, violent, dangerous, risky stories of committed heroes shows that we all want some feeling of meaningful, desperate purpose rather than listless lack of motivation and easy modern comfort. it's not about money, it's not about pleasure, it's about meaning. go find yours and live it - every hour, every day, every minute - to the best of your ability. find your purpose and give it your life
So the purpose of our lives is... Finding a purpose for our lives. That confirms that we have no purpose at all... Thanks for this wonderful video!
There was someone who once said, "There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."
And to lay it down, doesn't necessarily mean to physically die, but to surrender your life to and for your friends. Finding how you are to do this, is the excitement of life.
What's more this man did this very thing for all of us 2,000 years ago, paying the ultimate price. Now he rules as king over all of the universe. I'm very glad I found your comment, brother or sister!
Your videos are the absolute best to watch while High. My outlook on many things has changed for the better, because you gave me an avenue to look inside myself first, and realize the potential that lies within.
This hit me hard. I used to be full of purpose, very motivated and creative. But now I have chronic fatigue and may be like this forever. I feel like I have lost my purpose. But "courage in the face of unavoidable suffering", I had taken it for granted, but that is something I can do, and have been doing. And yes, purpose isn't one thing forever, it changes all the time, this isn't the path I thought I would be on, but maybe it won't be exactly like this forever. I just needed someone to put that into perspective. Thank you.
This channel will go down in human history for raising consciousness.
Thank you.
I don't know how you do it. Your videos always amaze me. They ring true on so many levels. I hope you will never run out of ideas!! I'm looking forward to the next one.
I always thought my purpose was to spend my life in the Air Force and be a good husband and dad. Once I lost those 3 things it felt like my whole world had ended.
Seeing this video was my ultimate purpose.
I'm currently reading "Tribe" by Sebastian Junger. In it, he details how tribal life- the primary mode of tens of thousands of years of modern human existence, and the conditions under which we evolved- is the basis for much of what we describe today as "purpose." In those times, survival was always in doubt, and we evolved to be cooperative within our own groups to the benefit of all. When everyone was on the brink of starvation, sharing the food you had gathered was enormously rewarding. When you were at war with another group, risking your life in combat could be essential to ensuring your family was not killed that very night... Purpose was at our fingertips at all times.
In the book, Junger details how refugees, soldiers, Londoners during The Blitz, etc., all experienced an enormous sense of purpose and camaraderie during these times, and actually found themselves yearning for those days once they were over. Indeed, soldiers do not tend to commit suicide while they are at war... but rather when they return home, where they are surrounded by comforts, but divorced from purpose, and further divorced from their "tribesman" who understood the power of the bond they shared and the urgency and meaning of life in a war zone.
The modern world is full of conveniences, isolates us from each other, and abstracts the work we do from its tangible benefits (food, shelter, etc). We must seek meaning, because the primary and most important meaning with which we evolved- survival of the group- is taken care of for us. As LSoO demonstrates here, it is no wonder we seek stories as a surrogate for these missing pieces of ourselves.
100% true man. You presented the problem well, and I'd like to present the solution to the dilemma of not having the urgency, the imminent danger or some god-send higher purpose-
I believe that our purpose is whichever we choose. It may seem quite childish, and this reflective of my age, but it's that simple because it's true. I believe that our higher purpose is whichever we choose it is because no one has the power to influence our true innate desires other than our selves. It takes courage and initiative to actually make something the purpose of your actions for the next decades or years or months or even days. It takes courage to invest yourself willingly into something that you know might not bring you epiphany as is portrayed in the stories of the legend. Because it is unknown to us how it feels when that purpose it fulfilled, in this sheltered and privileged and dopamine rich era. When you watch the earliest interviews of the greats of our times like elon musk or Jeff bezos, knowing that they have put in their days their sweat their tears and their blood into it, even when they know full well that their conquest might fail and still forego the easy pleasures for their chosen purpose, it gave off the feeling of barrenness of human experience when I first thought about it. And then I remembered the age old sayings and proverbs, which the stoics and the epicureans and almost all of the religious philosophies support- that's it's the journey that matters and not the destination. We know this, and yet we derive such pleasure from these ultimate purpose stories. Why? Because it helps take the mind off the hard work and the pain. Imagining that you are working hard is certainly easier than actually putting in the work. And those same 'greats of our era' always, always say that they did it for the work, and not for the destination. They enjoyed the train ride more than the railway station. I believe that to truly enjoy the human experience, we much choose a higher purpose, out of our own will, and put in the work not because it'll be fun to he rich, or because our mother will finally approve of us, but because the daily challenges and failures excite us so much, that partying and Netflix is just not that fun anymore.
I believe in this, Daniel, and I promise to you that I'll fulfill the purpose I have chosen for myself for the next two years, and go through the successes and failures, simply because it's too enjoyable to be left.
Have a great 2019 friend, and I hope that is the best year of your life....yet.
“Purpose, Mr. Anderson, it’s what’s drives us, what gives us meaning” The Matrix
You've completely outdone yourself even where I thought impossible. Absolutely incredible to have the privileged of being one of the first to watch this masterpiece. I hope I have an opportunity to meet you someday. Keep killing it!
An approachable and illuminating look at life through the lens of popular culture. This should have millions of views.
By far finding your channel is one of the the best thing that ever happened to me. Your contents open my mind in a way that i never thought before. Its almost like a spiritual awakening.
Excellent video, it is really good at putting into words the same reasons I still read comics and play video games,without marginalizing how I fell. It doesn't make being a dreamer seem like such a childish thing to do. Which is something I find myself doing all the time, being a dreamer and then criticize myself for being so..
Very interesting film! I played The Sims once way back. My kids were having fun with it so I thought I'd give it a go. I hate micro-management games so I decided to run my Sim as close as possible to the kind of life that I was living. After a couple of hours my Sim had lost his job, hung about at home in his dressing gown and eventually had an accident in the kitchen. It was right then I knew I was never going to become a super hero.
To find a clip from Minecraft in a video about a philosophical subject is something I never thought of finding. Bravo, sir. Your will and competence to find meaning in everything life serves is extraordinary. Goodspeed!
You simply nailed the core of so many things going on, in the world and I'm sure in many of us, your viewers. This time you just surpassed yourself. Thank you so much
Your work is worth every praise an is probably the best use of youtube I've seen in years. Thank you!
Another fantastic video that manages to imbue me with a renewed sense of enthusiasm and motivation. Your videos make me want to be a better person and also convince me that I can be. The best channel on UA-cam.
Purpose, and lack of, is why so many young people become fanatics or addicts, in a world devoided of meaning a death with purpose is better than an empty life. Thanx, great and meaningful as usual!!!!
The purpose underneath your will to create such videos is a grand one. And this is why, we will be coming back for more: ). Thanks yet again.
Goosebumps throughout!
This video reminds me that, more and more, the future of the world will most likely resemble the one portrayed in Wall-E.
Absolutely amazing work you're doing. You're not just breaking down these multimedia experiences, archetypes, tropes, etc... but helping people learn more about the true nature of the human experience. Please keep doing this - it may just be your ultimate purpose.
This is my favorite UA-cam video, and I rarely revisit it. It's like Mecca, you don't simply return the next day, but you also don't say one-and-done.
I experienced beauty while watching this.
so grateful for this channel!
WE EVOLVED FROM STARS! never forget the stories we tell connect us across time
Seeing this brought me to tears beyond reason, the recognition of these themes across our entertainment is so special, it rings true to a tone inside all of us! Thank you for sharing and bringing this kind of work together, such profound memories in the clips there as well
This analysis is by far my favorite!!
Have you gotten your 1000k youtube award? anddd how about that Q&A? I personally would like to know your origins and how this whole process has been like for you.
At any rate thanks for uploading this one! I really needed it.
Thanks! Haven't gotten it yet, from what I've heard it can take a couple of months. Also, no concrete plans for a Q&A yet, but I definitely hope to do something like that at one point, just have to figure out the how and when
The society of spectacle alienates us from finding purpose
Beautifully written ... I like how you brought up the fact that people enjoy being inside these fantasy worlds because it gives them a clear purpose while the real world doesn't
I feel like the problem of existential crisis is what most people suffer from today. Especially teens like myself. I see it all around in school and in myself. We are all trying to figure out what we want to do with our lives. The truth is that 95% of us are going to live normal, boring lives. Which is why we need to appreciate the small moments of joy that come with it. Thank you for this amazing video and essay.
This literally just became my favorite video ever.
This is probably the most important video I have ever seen
My unique purpose right now is to thanks Life that's using you to remember us our responsability to create and act with purpose, to live with enlightenment... Thanks LSOO, your work is very important!
This has to be one of the very best videos I've ever seen!
I think you expressed very well one of the reasons why I love storytelling so much. I'm in an existential vacuum currently, which is why seeing character developments of others somewhat substitutes for my own. Educating myself is a way to find my purpose now, and I believe the philosophy of existentialism can help me get out of this existential crisis!
Yet another great video essay. thank u.
My purpose is watching your videos. Thank you.
After watching this video I feel like I have experienced something very important, like a vision or revelation. I think I needed this message so much. I am currently struggling with the lack of purpose. Thank you so so much for this journey.
The noise of the lightsaber igniting at the beginning of this sent shivers up my spine and made me want to cry, why?
Whether intentional or not, this video & what you're saying is inspiring to say the least!
We can choose whether our lives are a cycle of repetition and insanity. Or a path to progress and change. If we feel stressed in search of our purpose; perhaps we need to feel that.
This is a work of art on its own. Brilliant work. You found the perfect scenes and dialog from movies /games to compliment your narration. I have no idea how this video got some dislikes. Please don't pay those people opinion any mind and stop you from doing more work like this. I'd love to see them attempt to do something like this. Well done, well done, well done.
great video. I even think this is the reason why we all are so easily tempted to fight for a political idea, or even a religious idea. Because we confuse "reasons" with "purpose".
I gave this video a thumbs up before it even started playing
Another wonderful essay!
Very well done. As somebody who is currently fighting nihilistic despair this put things in perspective for me. Finding a purpose is the meaning of life.
I left that ultimate purpose desire years ago , and then felt a relief and some satisfaction about my life...
Another video! Yay love your stuff
I think it's time for me to pick up Victor Frankl.
DUDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Where have you been my whole life, every word you speak resonates with my soul.
Every time I get a notification for one of your videos I have to drop everything, take out pen and paper, and take notes. I get ideas for my books. It's all inspiring. It helps me with my frequent bouts with depression, anxiety and nihilism.
So... Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I would be far worse off without them.
best video essays on youtube.
Jalbers if you haven't read up upon Robert Bly or Joseph Campbell, you'll have a rewarding time in reading upon their works like Iron John and the Power of Myth.
"meaning is a feeling." -- Terence McKenna
Everything you make is like a piece of art in and of itself. Awed, simply awed.
You are the greatest UA-camr of all time.