Absurdism is the philosophical theory that the universe is irrational and meaningless. It states that trying to find meaning leads people into conflict with a seemingly meaningless world. This conflict can be between rational man and an irrational universe, between intention and outcome, or between subjective assessment and objective worth, but the precise definition of the term is disputed. Absurdism claims that, due to one or more of these conflicts, existence as a whole is absurd . It differs in this regard from the less global thesis that some particular situations, persons, or phases in life are absurd.
170-526: Martin Faranan McDonagh ( / m ə k ˈ d ɒ n ə / ; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright and filmmaker. He is known for his absurdist dark humour which often challenges the modern theatre aesthetic. He has won numerous accolades including an Academy Award , six BAFTA Awards , two Golden Globe Awards , and three Olivier Awards in addition to five nominations for Tony Awards . His plays, many of which have been produced on
340-458: A Tony Award that year for Best Book for a Musical. Walken had a music video performance in 2001 with Fatboy Slim 's " Weapon of Choice ". Directed by Spike Jonze , it won six MTV awards in 2001 and—in a list of the top 100 videos of all time compiled from a survey of musicians, directors and music industry figures conducted by UK music TV channel VH1 —won Best Video of All Time in April 2002. In
510-493: A sociopathic U.S. soldier stationed in Germany. Paul Mazursky 's 1976 film Next Stop, Greenwich Village had Walken, under the name "Chris Walken", playing the charismatic and promiscuous fictional poet Robert Fulmer. In Woody Allen 's 1977 film Annie Hall (in which his surname was misspelled "Wlaken" in the end credits), Walken played the borderline crazy brother of Annie Hall ( Diane Keaton ). Also in 1977, Walken had
680-801: A "cultural phenomenon", he has portrayed several iconic film characters including Johnny Smith in The Dead Zone , Max Shreck in Batman Returns , and Max Zorin in A View to a Kill , and was also considered for the role of Han Solo in Star Wars films. His Oscar-winning performance in The Deer Hunter was ranked as the 88th greatest film performance of all time by Premiere magazine and his performance in Pennies from Heaven made it into Entertainment Weekly ' s list of
850-500: A Drama Series nomination. He has guest-hosted Saturday Night Live seven times. His roles on the show include record producer Bruce Dickinson in the " More Cowbell " sketch, the disgraced Confederate officer Colonel Angus, and multiple appearances as an aging, unsuccessful lothario in the Continental sketch. As a stage actor, Walken starred with Irene Worth in a 1975 Broadway revival of Sweet Bird of Youth . Walken has played
1020-528: A Kill (1985), At Close Range (1986), Biloxi Blues (1988), King of New York (1990), The Comfort of Strangers (1990), Batman Returns (1992), True Romance (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), The Prophecy (1995, and its two sequels ), Suicide Kings (1997), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Man on Fire (2004), Wedding Crashers (2005), Hairspray (2007), Seven Psychopaths (2012), A Late Quartet (2012), Percy (2020), and Dune: Part Two (2024). He has also provided voice work for
1190-572: A believer; just the opposite, he has explained that he is not a believer—in order to illuminate faith negatively. Kierkegaard provides an example in Fear and Trembling (1843), which was published under the pseudonym Johannes de Silentio . In the story of Abraham in the Book of Genesis , Abraham is told by God to kill his son Isaac . Just as Abraham is about to kill Isaac, an angel stops Abraham from doing so. Kierkegaard believes that through virtue of
1360-603: A cat, has been killed. The play was produced Off-Broadway in February 2006 by the Atlantic Theater Company. It transferred to Broadway in May 2006 and received a 2006 Tony Award nomination for Best Play. The Banshees of Inisheer , the third play of the trilogy, was not produced. It is unclear how close the 2022 McDonagh-directed film The Banshees of Inisherin comes to the original material. The film's screenplay
1530-601: A child. The first is set in Leenane , a small village on the west coast of Ireland, and consists of The Beauty Queen of Leenane (1996), A Skull in Connemara (1997) and The Lonesome West (1997). His second trilogy is set across the Aran Islands , off the coast of County Galway, and consists of The Cripple of Inishmaan (1996), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2001), and The Banshees of Inisheer . The third play
1700-529: A circus. Walken attended Hofstra University but dropped out after one year, having been cast in the role of Clayton Dutch Miller in an off-Broadway revival of Best Foot Forward alongside Liza Minnelli . Walken initially trained as a dancer at the Washington Dance Studio before moving on to dramatic stage roles and then film. As a child, Walken appeared on screen as an extra in numerous anthology series and variety shows during
1870-486: A conflict, discrepancy, or collision between two things. Opinions differ on what these two things are. For example, it is traditionally identified as the confrontation of rational man with an irrational world or as the attempt to grasp something based on reasons even though it is beyond the limits of rationality. Similar definitions see the discrepancy between intention and outcome, between aspiration and reality , or between subjective assessment and objective worth as
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#17327837162252040-506: A decadent Italian aristocrat with extreme sexual tastes and murderous tendencies who lives with his wife ( Helen Mirren ) in Venice . King of New York (1990), directed by Abel Ferrara , stars Walken as ruthless New York City drug dealer Frank White, a recently released prisoner set on reclaiming his criminal territory. In 1991, Walken starred in Sarah, Plain and Tall as Jacob Witting,
2210-414: A discrepancy between how seriously we take our lives and the lives of others on the one hand, and how arbitrary they and the world at large seem to be on the other hand. This can be understood in terms of importance and caring: it is absurd that people continue to care about these matters even though they seem to lack importance on an objective level. The collision between these two sides can be defined as
2380-467: A form of epistemic humbleness. The impression that life is absurd may in some cases have serious psychological consequences like triggering an existential crisis. In this regard, an awareness both of absurdism itself and the possible responses to it can be central to avoiding or resolving such consequences. ... in spite of or in defiance of the whole of existence he wills to be himself with it, to take it along, almost defying his torment. For to hope in
2550-489: A justification external to them. Another argument proceeds indirectly by pointing out how various great thinkers have obvious irrational elements in their systems of thought. These purported mistakes of reason are then taken as signs of absurdism that were meant to hide or avoid it. From this perspective, the tendency to posit the existence of a benevolent God may be seen as a form of defense mechanism or wishful thinking to avoid an unsettling and inconvenient truth. This
2720-870: A low-budget production that also featured Sam Shepard . In 1969, Walken guest-starred in Hawaii Five-O as Navy SP Walt Kramer. In 1970, Walken starred in the Off-Broadway production of Lanford Wilson 's Lemon Sky opposite Charles Durning and Bonnie Bartlett . Later that year Walken received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance. Walken's first major studio film was Sidney Lumet 's The Anderson Tapes (1971) with Sean Connery and Dyan Cannon . In 1972's The Mind Snatchers a.k.a. The Happiness Cage , Walken played his first starring role. In this science fiction film , which deals with mind control and normalization , he plays
2890-516: A major part of his childhood in County Galway. Since 2017, he has been in a relationship with the actress and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge . He is a vegetarian . Film Short film Executive producer Directed Oscar-nominated performances Absurdism Various components of the absurd are discussed in the academic literature and different theorists frequently concentrate their definition and research on different components. On
3060-588: A minor role as Eli Wallach 's partner in The Sentinel . In 1978, he appeared in Shoot the Sun Down , a western filmed in 1976 that costarred Margot Kidder . Along with Nick Nolte and Burt Reynolds , Walken was considered by George Lucas for the part of Han Solo in Star Wars ; the part ultimately went to Harrison Ford . In 1977, Walken also guest-starred in an episode of Kojak as Ben Wiley,
3230-403: A minor role) his wife, Georgianne . In 1985, Walken played a James Bond villain, Max Zorin , in A View to a Kill , Roger Moore 's last appearance as Bond. Walken dyed his hair blond to befit Zorin's origins as a Nazi experiment . At Close Range (1986) starred Walken as Brad Whitewood, a rural Pennsylvania crime boss who tries to bring his two sons into his empire; his character
3400-473: A more optimistic attitude toward the possibility of finding or creating meaning in one's life. Absurdism and nihilism share the belief that life is meaningless, but absurdists do not treat this as an isolated fact and are instead interested in the conflict between the human desire for meaning and the world's lack thereof. Being confronted with this conflict may trigger an existential crisis, in which unpleasant experiences like anxiety or depression may push
3570-717: A play can completely inspire a person as much as a film...[but] theatre isn't something that's connected to me, from a personal point of view, I can't appreciate what I'm doing. In an interview in 2005, the New York Times writer observed that McDonagh "now seems more comfortably resigned to the storytelling powers of drama, if still dismissive of its inherent elitism. 'It's kind of weird working in an art form that's not, well ...,' he stops and starts again. 'It's strange to be working in an art form that costs $ 100 to participate in. ' " In an interview with Sean O'Hagan of The Guardian , McDonagh said theatre "is never going to be edgy in
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#17327837162253740-575: A problem since there is a strong desire for meaning and purpose even though they seem to be absent. In this sense, the conflict responsible for the absurd often either constitutes or is accompanied by an existential crisis . An important component of the absurd on the practical level concerns the seriousness people bring toward life. This seriousness is reflected in many different attitudes and areas, for example, concerning fame, pleasure , justice , knowledge, or survival, both in regard to ourselves as well as in regard to others. But there seems to be
3910-816: A quarter of a century. The play opened on Broadway in March 2010. The play was nominated for the 2010 Drama League award, Distinguished Production of a Play. Hangmen A play following Harry Wade, England's second-best hangman, after the abolition of hanging in Great Britain in 1965 . The play premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in September 2015. The play was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2016. In 2020, Hangmen briefly premiered on Broadway at
4080-585: A robber. Walken won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Michael Cimino 's 1978 film The Deer Hunter . He played a Pennsylvania steelworker who was emotionally destroyed by the Vietnam War . To help achieve his character's gaunt appearance before the third act, Walken consumed only bananas, water and rice for a month. Walken's first film of the 1980s was the controversial Heaven's Gate , also directed by Cimino. Walken also starred in
4250-529: A role Walken turned down was that of Ray Ruby in the film Go Go Tales (2007). According to film director Abel Ferrara , the character was originally written for Walken, who "didn't want to do it". The role was then given to Walken's New Rose Hotel (1998) co-star Willem Dafoe . Walken's voice and speaking style have been compared to other entertainment figures with voices that create "a pleasing (or at least entertaining) aural experience," such as William Shatner and Garrison Keillor . Walken believes that
4420-779: A role in Man of Aran . The play opened in 1997 at the Royal National Theatre (Cottesloe) in London. It opened in April 1998 Off-Broadway at the Joseph Papp Public Theater , with Ruaidhri Conroy in the title role on both occasions. Also in 1998, Frederick Koehler played the title role in the Geffen Playhouse production in Los Angeles, California. In December 2008, The Cripple of Inishmaan
4590-584: A ruthless despot . He was nominated for a Razzie (Worst Supporting Actor) in 2002's The Country Bears and in two 2003 films, Gigli and Kangaroo Jack . Walken also starred in Barry Levinson 's Envy , in which he plays J-Man, a crazy guy who helps Ben Stiller 's character and in his starring role in 2004's Around the Bend he again has a dancing scene as he portrays an absentee father who has fled prison to reunite with his father, his son and
4760-428: A somewhat positive review of his "most cheering and refreshingly absurd invention" of retelling Elvis' death as a disappearing act that enabled Elvis to flee to Morocco for a sex change to become "her" in a "woozily conceived, fantastical new play...in the sharpness and wit of writing and in the performances by Mr. Walken and Mr. Heyman." Walken made an appearance in the music video for Skid Row 's " Breakin' Down ". In
4930-520: A song and dance rendition of the Irving Berlin standard, " Let's Face the Music and Dance ". Finally, there was the "Colonel Angus" sketch, laden with ribald double entendres , in which Walken played a dishonored Confederate officer. Until 2003, Walken had a recurring SNL sketch called " The Continental ", in which Walken played a "suave ladies' man" who in reality cannot do anything to keep
5100-542: A spinster and her domineering mother, during the course of which the former faces her last chance at love, and the latter faces a rather grim end. The play was well received on its opening night in Galway in 1996 and was next produced off-Broadway by the Atlantic Theater Company in 1998. The play transferred to Broadway in April 1998 and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play . The second part of
5270-587: A supporting role as Burt Goodman, the severed chief of the Optics and Design division in the Apple TV+ series Severance . For his performance, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series . Walken next portrayed Emperor Shaddam IV in the 2024 film, Dune: Part Two . The film received universal critical acclaim and SlashFilm wrote: "It's
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5440-672: A supporting role in Tarantino's Pulp Fiction as a Vietnam veteran named Captain Koons. Later in 1994, Walken starred in A Business Affair , a rare leading role for him in a romantic comedy. Walken manages to once again feature his trademark dancing scene as he performs the tango . In 1995, he appeared in Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead , Wild Side , The Prophecy and the modern vampire flick The Addiction , which
5610-792: A townhouse in Copenhagen that reveals the dark source of the tales of children's author Hans Christian Andersen , as well as of the writer Charles Dickens . It premiered at the Bridge Theatre, London in October 2018. McDonagh has stated that he prefers writing films to plays, as he holds a "respect for the whole history of films and a slight disrespect for theatre." In a 1998 conversation with Irish drama critic Fintan O'Toole in BOMB magazine, McDonagh further explained, It's not that I don't respect theatre. I'm intelligent enough to know that
5780-480: A treat to watch Walken work — he shows up, delivers his ominous lines with a whisper, and wipes the floor with anyone he's acting against. Show 'em how it's done, Christopher Walken." Described as "diverse and eccentric" and "one of the most respected actors of his generation", Walken has a long-established cult following among film fans. He is known for his versatility and was named as one of Empire magazine's "Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time". Once dubbed
5950-427: A whole but that, if one seriously tried to do so anyway, its ungrounded circularity might collapse and lead to madness. An important disagreement within the academic literature about the nature of absurdism and the absurd focuses specifically on whether the components responsible for the conflict are internal or external. According to the traditional position, the absurd has both internal and external components: it
6120-673: A whole is absurd would be a good candidate for the more important facts. Absurdism has its origins in the work of the 19th-century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard , who chose to confront the crisis that humans face with the Absurd by developing his own existentialist philosophy . Absurdism as a belief system was born of the European existentialist movement that ensued, specifically when Camus rejected certain aspects of that philosophical line of thought and published his essay The Myth of Sisyphus . The aftermath of World War II provided
6290-427: A whole. There is a general agreement that people are often confronted with absurd situations in everyday life. They often arise when there is a serious mismatch between one's intentions and reality. For example, a person struggling to break down a heavy front door is absurd if the house they are trying to break into lacks a back wall and could easily be entered on this route. But the philosophical thesis of absurdism
6460-594: A widowed farmer. In 1992, Walken played villain millionaire industrialist Max Shreck in Batman Returns . In January 1993, he appeared in Madonna's music video for her hit single " Bad Girl " (directed by David Fincher ). Walken also played Bobby, Cassandra's producer, in Wayne's World 2 . Walken's next major film role was opposite Dennis Hopper in True Romance , scripted by Quentin Tarantino . Walken later had
6630-424: A woman (a neighbor in his apartment building) from giving him the cold shoulder. Though he is outwardly chivalrous, his more perverted tendencies inevitably drive away his date over his pleading objections. For instance, he invites the woman to wash up in his bathroom; once she is inside, it becomes obvious that the bathroom mirror is a two-way mirror when he is seen lighting up a cigarette. In "The Continental", only
6800-456: Is a category, and the most developed thought is required to define the Christian absurd accurately and with conceptual correctness. The absurd is a category, the negative criterion, of the divine or of the relationship to the divine. When the believer has faith, the absurd is not the absurd—faith transforms it, but in every weak moment it is again more or less absurd to him. The passion of faith
6970-402: Is a lack, not just of a higher purpose in life, but also of moral values. These two sides can be linked by the idea that without a higher purpose, nothing is worth pursuing that could give one's life meaning. This worthlessness seems to apply to morally relevant actions equally as to other issues. In this sense, "[b]elief in the meaning of life always implies a scale of values" while "[b]elief in
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7140-763: Is an American actor. His diverse work on stage and screen has earned him numerous accolades including an Academy Award , a BAFTA Award , a Screen Actors Guild Award , as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards . His films have grossed more than $ 1.6 billion in the United States alone. In 2003, he was voted Number 34 in Channel 4 's countdown of the 100 greatest movie stars of all time. Walken has appeared in supporting roles in films such as The Anderson Tapes (1971), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), Roseland (1977) and Annie Hall (1977), before coming to wider attention as
7310-407: Is applied to the world as a whole including God, it is bound to fail its search for a reason or an explanation, no matter what the world is like. In this sense, absurdity arises from the conflict between features of ourselves: "our capacity to recognize the arbitrariness of our ultimate concerns and our simultaneous incapacity to relinquish our commitment to them". This view has the side-effect that
7480-501: Is based on the attempt of assessing standards of what matters and why it matters. It has been argued that the only way to answer such a question is in reference to these standards themselves. This means that, in the end, it depends only on us, that "what seems to us important or serious or valuable would not seem so if we were differently constituted". The circularity and groundlessness of these standards themselves are then used to argue for absurdism. The most common criticism of absurdism
7650-445: Is closely related to the idea that humans have an inborn desire for meaning and purpose, which is dwarfed by a meaningless and indifferent universe. For example, René Descartes aims to build a philosophical system based on the absolute certainty of the " I think, therefore I am " just to introduce without a proper justification the existence of a benevolent and non-deceiving God in a later step in order to ensure that we can know about
7820-542: Is convinced that he has done nothing wrong. Throughout the story, he desperately tries to discover what crimes he is accused of and how to defend himself. But in the end, he lets go of his futile attempts and submits to his execution without ever finding out what he was accused of. The absurd nature of the world is exemplified by the mysterious and impenetrable functioning of the judicial system, which seems indifferent to Josef K. and resists all of his attempts of making sense of it. Philosophers of absurdism often complain that
7990-423: Is due to the discrepancy between man's internal desire to lead a meaningful life and the external meaninglessness of the world. On this view, humans have among their desires some transcendent aspirations that seek a higher form of meaning in life. The absurd arises since these aspirations are ignored by the world, which is indifferent to our "need for validation of the importance of our concerns". This implies that
8160-427: Is expressed in the relational aspect of the absurd in that it constitutes a conflict between two sides. Various components of the absurd have been suggested and different researchers often focus their definition and inquiry on one of these components. Some accounts emphasize the practical components concerned with the individual seeking meaning while others stress the theoretical components about being unable to know
8330-403: Is given the right role, there is nobody to touch him for his chilling ability to move between easy charm and pure evil" and called him "one of the few undeniably charismatic male villains." Walken is noted for refusing film roles only rarely, having stated in interviews that he will decline a role only if he is too busy to accept. He regards each role as a learning experience. A rare example of
8500-600: Is linked to a Greek myth ( Sisyphus , Prometheus , Nemesis ) and explores specific themes and objects; the common thread remaining the solitude and despair of the human, constantly driven by the tireless search for the meaning of the world and of life. I had a precise plan when I started my work: I wanted to first express negation. In three forms. Romanesque: it was The Stranger . Drama: Caligula and The Misunderstanding . Ideological: The Myth of Sisyphus . I wouldn't have been able to talk about it if I hadn't experienced it; I have no imagination. But for me it was, if you like,
8670-460: Is meaningful, which in its turn has meaning only because it is related to yet another meaningful thing, and so on. This infinite chain and the corresponding absurdity could be avoided if some things had intrinsic or ultimate meaning, i.e. if their meaning did not depend on the meaning of something else. For example, if things on the large scale, like God or fighting poverty, had meaning, then our everyday engagements could be meaningful by standing in
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#17327837162258840-419: Is meaningful. For example, a word is meaningful because of its relation to a language or someone's life could be meaningful because this person dedicates their efforts to a higher meaningful project, like serving God or fighting poverty. An important consequence of this characterization of meaning is that it threatens to lead to an infinite regress : at each step, something is meaningful because something else
9010-450: Is much more wide-reaching since it is not restricted to individual situations, persons, or phases in life. Instead, it asserts that life, or the world as a whole, is absurd. The claim that the absurd has such a global extension is controversial, in contrast to the weaker claim that some situations are absurd. The perspective of absurdism usually comes into view when the agent takes a step back from their individual everyday engagements with
9180-477: Is often treated as a key example of the absurd. In it, Zeus punishes King Sisyphus by compelling him to roll a massive boulder up a hill. Whenever the boulder reaches the top, it rolls down again, thereby forcing Sisyphus to repeat the same task all over again throughout eternity. This story may be seen as an absurdist parable for the hopelessness and futility of human life in general: just like Sisyphus, humans in general are condemned to toil day in and day out in
9350-411: Is possible. Other theorists hold that a proper response to the absurd may neither be possible nor necessary, that it just remains one of the basic aspects of life no matter how it is confronted. This lack of response may be justified through the thesis of absurdism itself: if nothing really matters on the grand scale, then this applies equally to human responses toward this fact. From this perspective,
9520-460: Is pre-Socratic paganism and from the Jewish point of view is idolatry. How can this absurdity be held or believed? Kierkegaard says: I gladly undertake, by way of brief repetition, to emphasize what other pseudonyms have emphasized. The absurd is not the absurd or absurdities without any distinction (wherefore Johannes de Silentio: "How many of our age understand what the absurd is?"). The absurd
9690-419: Is said to destroy all our hard-earned achievements like career, wealth, or knowledge. This argument is mitigated to some extent by the fact that we may have positive or negative effects on the lives of other people as well. But this does not fully solve the issue since the same problem, i.e. the lack of an ultimate end, applies to their lives as well. Thomas Nagel has objected to these lines of argument based on
9860-484: Is seen singing and dancing in a romantic duet with John Travolta and portrayed the eccentric but cruel crime lord and Ping-Pong enthusiast Feng in the 2007 comedy action film Balls of Fury opposite Dan Fogler . Walken was in the film Five Dollars a Day (2008), in which he plays a con man proud of living like a king on $ 5 a day. The Maiden Heist , a comedy co-starring Morgan Freeman , William H. Macy and Walken about security guards in an art museum, debuted at
10030-611: Is set in a fictitious totalitarian state and premiered at the Royal National Theatre in 2003, after a reading at the Finborough Theatre in 1995. A Behanding in Spokane is McDonagh's first play that is set in the United States and it premiered on Broadway in March 2010. Lead actor Christopher Walken was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance as a killer looking for
10200-480: Is some higher ultimate purpose in which the individual may participate, like service to society, progress of history, or God's glory. While the individual may only play a small part in the realization of this overarching purpose, it may still act as a source of meaning. This way, the individual may find meaning and thereby escape the absurd. One serious issue with this approach is that the problem of absurdity applies to this alleged higher purpose as well. So just like
10370-444: Is the only philosophically coherent response to the absurd. While these three responses are the most prominent ones in the traditional absurdist literature, various other responses have also been suggested. Instead of rebellion, for example, absurdism may also lead to a form of irony . This irony is not sufficient to escape the absurdity of life altogether, but it may mitigate it to some extent by distancing oneself to some degree from
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#173278371622510540-415: Is the only thing which masters the absurd—if not, then faith is not faith in the strictest sense, but a kind of knowledge. The absurd terminates negatively before the sphere of faith, which is a sphere by itself. To a third person the believer relates himself by virtue of the absurd; so must a third person judge, for a third person does not have the passion of faith. Johannes de Silentio has never claimed to be
10710-649: Is to argue that life in fact has meaning. Supernaturalist arguments to this effect are based on the claim that God exists and acts as the source of meaning. Naturalist arguments, on the other hand, contend that various sources of meaning can be found in the natural world without recourse to a supernatural realm. Some of them hold that meaning is subjective. On this view, whether a given thing is meaningful varies from person to person based on their subjective attitude toward this thing. Others find meaning in external values, for example, in morality , knowledge, or beauty . All these different positions have in common that they affirm
10880-602: The Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2009. Walken also starred in Universal Studios Florida 's " Disaster! " theme park attraction, which opened in 2008 and closed in 2015. He portrayed Frank Kincaid, the fictional CEO of "Disaster Studios" who encouraged guests to be extras in his latest film. In the attraction's pre-show, Walken was projected on a clear screen, much like a life-size hologram and interacted with
11050-587: The Golden Age of Television . After appearing in a sketch with Martin and Lewis on The Colgate Comedy Hour , Walken decided to become an actor. He landed a regular role in the 1953 television show Wonderful John Acton, playing the part of Kevin Acton. During this time, he was credited as Ronnie Walken. Over the next two years, he appeared frequently on television, and had a thriving career in theater. From 1954 to 1956, Walken and his brother Glenn originated
11220-737: The Headless Horseman in Tim Burton 's Sleepy Hollow , starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci . He also appeared in Kiss Toledo Goodbye with Michael Rapaport and Nancy Allen . In 2000, Walken was cast as the lead, along with Blair Brown , in James Joyce's The Dead on Broadway . A "play with music", The Dead featured music by Shaun Davey , conducted by Charles Prince , with music coordination and percussion by Tom Partington. James Joyce's The Dead won
11390-570: The John Golden Theatre starring Mark Addy and Dan Stevens before being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The play returned on Broadway in 2022 this time with David Threlfall and Alfie Allen . The play received critical acclaim from critics including from The New York Times theatre critic Jesse Green who wrote, "[ Hangmen ] feels like a perfect fit for our unjust times". A Very Very Very Dark Matter A play set in
11560-654: The People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival on 17 September 2017. Three Billboards won four awards at the 2017 Golden Globes , including Best Screenplay for McDonagh. McDonagh received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay for the film. Production of McDonagh's next film project was announced in 2020, titled The Banshees of Inisherin , with Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell in
11730-684: The West End and on Broadway , include The Beauty Queen of Leenane , The Cripple of Inishmaan (both 1996), The Lonesome West (1997), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2001), The Pillowman (2003), A Behanding in Spokane (2010), and Hangmen (2015). McDonagh won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for Six Shooter in and has received nominations for six other Academy Awards for his work on In Bruges (2007), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022). He directed
11900-445: The animated films Antz (1998) and The Jungle Book (2016). On television, Walken has appeared in films such as Who Am I This Time? (1982), and Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. More recently, he has starred in television series The Outlaws (2021–), and Severance (2022–), the latter of which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in
12070-401: The epistemological problem of the human limitations of knowing the world. This includes the thesis that the world is in critical ways ungraspable to humans, both in relation to what to believe and how to act. This is reflected in the chaos and irrationality of the universe, which acts according to its own laws in a manner indifferent to human concerns and aspirations. It is closely related to
12240-518: The is-ought fallacy : absurdism presents itself as a descriptive claim about the existence and nature of the absurd but then goes on to posit various normative claims. Another defense of absurdism consists in weakening the claims about how one should respond to the absurd and which virtues such a response should exemplify. On this view, absurdism may be understood as a form of self-help that merely provides prudential advice. Such prudential advice may be helpful to certain people without pretending to have
12410-713: The "100 Greatest Performances that should have won Oscars but didn't." Sometimes regarded as "one of the kings of cameos ", Walken has made several cameo appearances or appeared in a single scene of films including as Captain Koons in Pulp Fiction , Duane in Annie Hall , Hessian Horseman in Sleepy Hollow and Don Vincenzo in True Romance . Writer and director Quentin Tarantino declared that Walken's involvement in True Romance ' s "Sicilian scene"
12580-406: The 1950s, influenced by their mother's dreams of stardom. When he was 15, a girlfriend showed Walken a magazine photo of Elvis Presley and Walken later said, "This guy looked like a Greek god. Then I saw him on television. I loved everything about him." He changed his hairstyle to imitate Presley and has not changed it since. As a teenager, he worked as a lion tamer trainee for a short time in
12750-804: The 1981 action adventure The Dogs of War , directed by John Irvin . He surprised many critics and filmgoers with his intricate tap-dancing striptease in Herbert Ross 's musical Pennies from Heaven (1981). In 1982, he played a socially awkward but gifted theater actor in the film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut 's short story Who Am I This Time? opposite Susan Sarandon . Walken then played schoolteacher-turned- psychic Johnny Smith in David Cronenberg 's 1983 adaptation of Stephen King 's The Dead Zone . That same year, Walken also starred in Brainstorm alongside Natalie Wood and (in
12920-459: The 1996 film Last Man Standing , Walken plays a sadistic gangster named Hickey. That year, he played a prominent role in the video game Ripper , portraying Detective Vince Magnotta. Ripper made extensive use of real-time recorded scenes and a wide cast of celebrities in an interactive film . In 1996 Walken also appeared in the Italian film Celluloide as US Officer Rod Geiger and played
13090-578: The Eagle and Barry Sonnenfeld 's Nine Lives . In 2017, Walken replaced Bill Irwin in the role of Walter Tinkler in the critically panned Father Figures . The following year, he played Myron in the Netflix film Irreplaceable You . In 2021, Walken appeared as Frank in the BBC One / Amazon Prime Video comedy The Outlaws . and in the second series broadcast on BBC1 in 2022. In 2022, he had
13260-550: The Gramercy Theatre, produced by the Roundabout Theatre . The final part is titled The Lonesome West , a play involving two brothers bickering in the aftermath of the supposedly accidental fatal shooting of their father. The play ran on Broadway in 1999 and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play in 1999. The Cripple of Inishmaan is a dark comedy in which a crippled teenager schemes to attain
13430-435: The absurd "is not in man ... nor in the world, but in their presence together". This position has been rejected by some later theorists, who hold that the absurd is purely internal because it "derives not from a collision between our expectations and the world, but from a collision within ourselves". The distinction is important since, on the latter view, the absurd is built into human nature and would prevail no matter what
13600-404: The absurd ... teaches the contrary". Various objections to such a position have been presented, for example, that it violates common sense or that it leads to numerous radical consequences, like that no one is ever guilty of any blameworthy behavior or that there are no ethical rules. But this negative attitude toward moral values is not always consistently maintained by absurdists and some of
13770-662: The absurd depends on the fact that the affected person recognizes it. For example, people who fail to apprehend the arbitrariness or the conflict would not be affected. According to some researchers, a central aspect of the absurd is that the agent is aware of the existence of the corresponding conflict. This means that the person is conscious both of the seriousness they invest and of how it seems misplaced in an arbitrary world. It also implies that other entities that lack this form of consciousness, like non-organic matter or lower life forms, are not absurd and are not faced with this particular problem. Some theorists also emphasize that
13940-536: The absurd, Abraham, defying all reason and ethical duties ("you cannot act"), got back his son and reaffirmed his faith ("where I have to act"). Another instance of absurdist themes in Kierkegaard's work appears in The Sickness Unto Death , which Kierkegaard signed with pseudonym Anti-Climacus . Exploring the forms of despair, Kierkegaard examines the type of despair known as defiance. In
14110-616: The absurd, is to act upon faith ... I must act, but reflection has closed the road so I take one of the possibilities and say: This is what I do, I cannot do otherwise because I am brought to a standstill by my powers of reflection. Here is another example of the Absurd from his writings: What, then, is the absurd? The absurd is that the eternal truth has come into existence in time, that God has come into existence, has been born, has grown up. etc., has come into existence exactly as an individual human being, indistinguishable from any other human being, in as much as all immediate recognizability
14280-477: The absurd, they recommend that we should face it directly, i.e. not escape from it by retreating into the illusion of false hope or by ending one's life. In this sense, accepting the reality of the absurd means rejecting any hopes for a happy afterlife free of those contradictions. Instead, the individual should acknowledge the absurd and engage in a rebellion against it. Such a revolt usually exemplifies certain virtues closely related to existentialism , like
14450-418: The absurd. Later researchers have suggested more ways of responding to absurdism. A very blunt and simple response, though quite radical, is to commit suicide. According to Camus, for example, the problem of suicide is the only "really serious philosophical problem". It consists in seeking an answer to the question "Should I kill myself?". This response is motivated by the insight that, no matter how hard
14620-473: The absurd. This is perhaps best exemplified when the agent is seriously engaged in choosing between arbitrary options, none of which truly matters. Some theorists characterize the ethical sides of absurdism and nihilism in the same way as the view that it does not matter how we act or that "everything is permitted". On this view, an important aspect of the absurd is that whatever higher end or purpose we choose to pursue, it can also be put into doubt since, in
14790-427: The absurdity of the world. In his journals, Kierkegaard writes about the absurd: What is the Absurd? It is, as may quite easily be seen, that I, a rational being, must act in a case where my reason, my powers of reflection, tell me: you can just as well do the one thing as the other, that is to say where my reason and reflection say: you cannot act and yet here is where I have to act... The Absurd, or to act by virtue of
14960-407: The absurdity of these enterprises. Another aspect lies in creativity , i.e. that the agent sees themselves as and acts as the creator of their own works and paths in life. This constitutes a form of rebellion in the sense that the agent remains aware of the absurdity of the world and their part in it but keeps on opposing it instead of resigning and admitting defeat. But this response does not solve
15130-572: The affected to find a response for dealing with the conflict. Recognizing the absence of objective meaning, however, does not preclude the conscious thinker from finding subjective meaning in arbitrary places. Absurdism is the philosophical thesis that life, or the world in general, is absurd. There is wide agreement that the term "absurd" implies a lack of meaning or purpose but there is also significant dispute concerning its exact definition and various versions have been suggested. The choice of one's definition has important implications for whether
15300-460: The affirmation of one's freedom in the face of adversity as well as accepting responsibility and defining one's own essence . An important aspect of this lifestyle is that life is lived passionately and intensely by inviting and seeking new experiences . Such a lifestyle might be exemplified by an actor , a conqueror, or a seduction artist who is constantly on the lookout for new roles, conquests, or attractive people despite their awareness of
15470-489: The agent faces the absurdity of their situation and that the response should exemplify these virtues. This aspect is particularly prominent in the idea that the agent should rebel against the absurd and live their life authentically as a form of passionate revolt. Some see the latter position as inconsistent with the idea that there is no meaning in life: if nothing matters then it should also not matter how we respond to this fact. So absurdists seem to be committed both to
15640-416: The agent tries, they may never reach their goal of leading a meaningful life, which can then justify the rejection of continuing to live at all. Most researchers acknowledge that this is one form of response to the absurd but reject it due to its radical and irreversible nature and argue instead for a different approach. One such alternative response to the apparent absurdity of life is to assume that there
15810-407: The aims of a single individual life can be put into doubt, this applies equally to a larger purpose shared by many. And if this purpose is itself absurd, it fails to act as a source of meaning for the individual participating in it. Camus identifies this response as a form of suicide as well, pertaining not to the physical but to the philosophical level. It is a philosophical suicide in the sense that
15980-661: The animated film Antz . In 1999, he played James Houston in Vendetta , an HBO original film based on the March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings . In the same year, Walken appeared in the romantic comedy Blast from the Past portraying Calvin Webber, a brilliant but eccentric Caltech nuclear physicist whose fears of a nuclear war lead him to build an enormous fallout shelter beneath his suburban home. The same year, he appeared as
16150-527: The attempt to fulfill pointless tasks, which will be replaced by new pointless tasks once they are completed. It has been argued that a central aspect of Sisyphus' situation is not just the futility of his labor but also his awareness of the futility. Another example of the absurdist aspect of the human condition is given in Franz Kafka 's The Trial . In it, the protagonist Josef K. is arrested and prosecuted by an inaccessible authority even though he
16320-408: The band and is obsessed with getting " More Cowbell " into the song. The phrase "I gotta have more cowbell" has since been adapted to merchandise. The producer who suggested the cowbell on the original BÖC recording is David Lucas . Walken appeared in one of Will Ferrell and Rachel Dratch 's "The Luvahs" skits. His character brought a lady friend to meet The Luvahs and she is subjected to learning
16490-485: The basic conflict posed by the absurd cannot be truly resolved. This means that any attempt to do so is bound to fail even though their protagonists may not be aware of their failure. On this view, there are still several possible responses, some better than others, but none able to solve the fundamental conflict. Traditional absurdism, as exemplified by Albert Camus , holds that there are three possible responses to absurdism: suicide , religious belief , or revolting against
16660-671: The black comedy film Seven Psychopaths (2012) and was executive producer on The Second Death (2000) and The Guard (2011). McDonagh was born on 26 March 1970 in Camberwell , London, to Irish parents. His mother (originally from Killeenduff , Easky , County Sligo) and his father (originally from Leitir Mealláin , Connemara , County Galway ) moved back to Galway in 1992, but McDonagh and his brother (writer-director John Michael McDonagh ) stayed in London. Separated into two trilogies, McDonagh's first six plays are located in and around County Galway, where he spent his holidays as
16830-422: The claim that moral values exist and that they do not exist. Defenders of absurdism have tried to resist this line of argument by contending that, in contrast to other responses, it remains true to the basic insight of absurdism and the "logic of the absurd" by acknowledging the existence of the absurd instead of denying it. But this defense is not always accepted. One of its shortcomings seems to be that it commits
17000-447: The claim that they are circular: they assume rather than establish that life is absurd. For example, the claim that our actions today will not matter in a million years does not directly imply that they do not matter today. And similarly, the fact that a process does not reach a meaningful ultimate goal does not entail that the process as a whole is worthless since some parts of the process may contain their justification without depending on
17170-485: The comedy sketch and satire TV series Saturday Night Live ( SNL ) seven times. One of Walken's SNL performances was a spoof of Behind the Music , featuring a recording session of Blue Öyster Cult 's " (Don't Fear) the Reaper ". In the guise of record producer Bruce Dickinson (not to be confused with the real Bruce Dickinson , lead singer for Iron Maiden ), Walken makes passionate and slightly unhinged speeches to
17340-466: The conflict remains despite the individual's awareness of it, i.e. that the individual continues to care about their everyday concerns despite their impression that, on the large scale, these concerns are meaningless. Defenders of the metacognitive component have argued that it manages to explain why absurdity is primarily ascribed to human aspirations but not to lower animals: because they lack this metacognitive awareness. However, other researchers reject
17510-414: The conflicting elements would cease to exist, i.e. if the individual would stop caring about things, as some Eastern religions seem to suggest, or if one could find something that possesses a non-arbitrary meaning that merits the concern. For theorists who give importance to the consciousness of this conflict for the absurd, a further option presents itself: to remain ignorant of it to the extent that this
17680-464: The existence of meaning, in contrast to absurdism. Another criticism of absurdism focuses on its negative attitude toward moral values. In the absurdist literature, the moral dimension is sometimes outright denied, for example, by holding that value judgments are to be discarded or that the rejection of God implies the rejection of moral values. On this view, absurdism brings with it a highly controversial form of moral nihilism . This means that there
17850-431: The external world. A similar problematic step is taken by John Locke , who accepts the existence of a God beyond sensory experience , despite his strict empiricism , which demands that all knowledge be based on sensory experience. Other theorists argue in favor of absurdism based on the claim that meaning is relational . In this sense, for something to be meaningful, it has to stand in relation to something else that
18020-558: The film Poolhall Junkies and played Frank Abagnale Sr. in Catch Me If You Can , which is inspired by the story of Frank Abagnale Jr., a con artist who passed himself off as several identities and forged millions of dollars' worth of checks. His portrayal earned him a second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Walken also had a part in the 2003 action comedy film The Rundown , starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Seann William Scott , in which he plays
18190-522: The film The Stepford Wives . In 2005, he played Mark Heiss in the film Domino and the role of Secretary Cleary in the film Wedding Crashers . In 2006, he played Morty, a sympathetic inventor who is more than meets the eye, in the comedy/drama Click and also appeared in Man of the Year with Robin Williams and Lewis Black . He co-starred in the 2007 film adaptation Hairspray , wherein he
18360-580: The film was confirmed in May 2011 and it was eventually released in North America on 12 October 2012. Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell , Woody Harrelson , Christopher Walken, and Tom Waits star in the film. McDonagh wrote and directed his drama-dark film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), starring Frances McDormand , Woody Harrelson , and Sam Rockwell , which premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 4 September and won
18530-593: The film, Walken's character can predict deaths and catastrophes, while Glosser can accurately predict meaningless, trivial future events but with the same emotional intensity as in the film: "You're going to get an ice cream headache . It's going to hurt real bad, right here, [touches forehead] for eight, nine seconds."). His character in A View to a Kill was parodied in a sketch titled "Lease with an Option to Kill", in which he reprised his role as Max Zorin . Zorin, who had taken on some qualities of other Bond villains ( Blofeld 's cat and suit, Emilio Largo 's eye patch),
18700-473: The future by pointing out that nothing we do today will matter in a million years. A similar line of argument points to the fact that our lives are insignificant because of how small they are in relation to the universe as a whole, both concerning their spatial and their temporal dimensions. The thesis of absurdism is also sometimes based on the problem of death , i.e. that there is no final end for us to pursue since we are all going to die. In this sense, death
18870-415: The grandson he never knew before dying. Walken played the role of Paul Rayburn in 2004's Man on Fire , where, when speaking about the imminent destructive actions of John Creasy ( Denzel Washington ), his character states: "A man can be an artist... in anything, food, whatever. It depends on how good he is at it. Creasy's art is death. He's about to paint his masterpiece." Also in 2004, Walken played Mike in
19040-527: The hand he lost in his youth. McDonagh also penned two prize-winning radio plays, one of which is The Tale of the Wolf and the Woodcutter . In February 2010, an announcement revealed that McDonagh was working on a new stage musical with composer Tom Waits and director Robert Wilson . The trilogy starts off with The Beauty Queen of Leenane , which is the story of the dysfunctional relationship between
19210-399: The history that Walken's character shares with The Luvahs. He also divulges private information about his sex life with his girlfriend, much to her horror ("She was willing to accept her lover's body in places no one had ever trespassed... specifically, the ear canal"). Walken spoofed his starring role from The Dead Zone (1983) in a sketch titled "Ed Glosser: Trivial Psychic " (1992). In
19380-402: The human cognitive faculties themselves. Some theorists also link this problem to the circularity of human reason, which is very skilled at producing chains of justification linking one thing to another while trying and failing to do the same for the chain of justification as a whole when taking a reflective step backward. This implies that human reason is not just too limited to grasp life as
19550-418: The human insignificance in the universe, on the role of death , or on the implausibility or irrationality of positing an ultimate purpose. Objections to absurdism often contend that life is in fact meaningful or point out certain problematic consequences or inconsistencies of absurdism. Defenders of absurdism often complain that it does not receive the attention of professional philosophers it merits in virtue of
19720-478: The human response toward this fact does not matter either. The term "absurdism" is most closely associated with the philosophy of Albert Camus . However, important precursors and discussions of the absurd are also found in the works of Søren Kierkegaard . Absurdism is intimately related to various other concepts and theories. Its basic outlook is inspired by existentialist philosophy. However, existentialism includes additional theoretical commitments and often takes
19890-429: The idea that the world remains silent when we ask why things are the way they are. This silence arises from the impression that, on the most fundamental level, all things exist without a reason: they are simply there. An important aspect of these limitations to knowing the world is that they are essential to human cognition , i.e. they are not due to following false principles or accidental weaknesses but are inherent in
20060-414: The individual just assumes that the chosen higher purpose is meaningful and thereby fails to reflect on its absurdity. Traditional absurdists usually reject both physical and philosophical suicide as the recommended response to the absurd, usually with the argument that both these responses constitute some form of escape that fails to face the absurd for what it is. Despite the gravity and inevitability of
20230-412: The key aspects of absurdism even though they may not explicitly discuss the topic. It has been argued that acknowledging the existence of the absurd has important consequences for epistemology, especially in relation to philosophy but also when applied more widely to other fields. The reason for this is that acknowledging the absurd includes becoming aware of human cognitive limitations and may lead to
20400-517: The last step, it always lacks a higher-order justification. But usually, a distinction between absurdism and nihilism is made since absurdism involves the additional component that there is a conflict between man's desire for meaning and the absence of meaning. On a more theoretical view, absurdism is the belief that the world is, at its core, indifferent and impenetrable toward human attempts to uncover its deeper reason or that it cannot be known. According to this theoretical component, it involves
20570-589: The lead in the Shakespeare plays Hamlet , Macbeth , Romeo and Juliet , and Coriolanus . His performance in the original rendition of James Joyce's The Dead (2000), earned him a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical nomination. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role in Martin McDonagh 's A Behanding in Spokane (2010). He also wrote and played
20740-602: The lead role in the 1995 play Him , about his idol Elvis Presley . Walken was born Ronald Walken on March 31, 1943, in Astoria, Queens , New York City. His parents were Rosalie Russell, a Scottish immigrant from Glasgow , and Paul Wälken, a German immigrant from Gelsenkirchen who owned and operated Walken's Bakery in Astoria. Walken was named after actor Ronald Colman . He was raised Methodist . He and his brothers, Kenneth and Glenn, were child actors on television in
20910-738: The lead roles. Production was delayed by COVID-19 , with shooting ultimately beginning in August 2021 and wrapping on 23 October 2021. The movie held its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2022 and had a limited theatrical release on 21 October 2022. McDonagh was awarded Best Original Screenplay at the 80th Golden Globe Awards , where the film also won Best Comedy/Musical. McDonagh received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture , Best Director , and Best Original Screenplay . McDonagh lives in East London. He holds both Irish and British citizenship and spent
21080-632: The life of gangster Danny Greene , Kill the Irishman . In 2012, Walken reunited with McDonagh for the British-American crime comedy film Seven Psychopaths and also played the founder and leader of a string quartet in A Late Quartet . Walken costarred with Al Pacino and Alan Arkin in the film Stand Up Guys , a story about aging gangsters out on the town for one last hoorah. He also appeared in The Power of Few . In 2012, Walken
21250-449: The live-action talent. Walken returned to Broadway in Martin McDonagh 's play A Behanding in Spokane in 2010 and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play . He had a small voice role in NBC sitcom 30 Rock , in the " Audition Day " episode. In 2011, he played the role of Jewish-American loan shark Alex "Shondor" Birns in the film based on
21420-456: The main reasons he starred in Nick of Time was wanting to work with Walken. Jeffrey Wright , Mickey Rourke , Sam Rockwell , Colin Farrell , Bradley Cooper , Leonardo DiCaprio and Mads Mikkelsen are among actors who spoke about their admiration for Walken. Prominent film critic Roger Ebert , who was particularly impressed by his villain and anti-hero portrayals, once stated, "when he
21590-401: The metacognitive requirement based on the fact that it would severely limit the scope of the absurd to only those possibly few individuals who clearly recognize the contradiction while sparing the rest. Thus, opponents have argued that not recognizing the conflict is just as absurd as consciously living through it. Various popular arguments are often cited in favor of absurdism. Some focus on
21760-523: The methodical doubt of Descartes. I knew that we cannot live in negation and I announced it in the preface to the Myth of Sisyphus; I anticipated the positive in all three forms again. Romance: The Plague . Drama: The State of Siege and The Righteous . Ideological: The Rebel . I already saw a third layer around the theme of love. These are the projects I have in progress Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken ; March 31, 1943)
21930-453: The mysteries of existence. In that regard, this tendency may be seen as a form of defense mechanism or wishful thinking constituting a side-effect of the unacknowledged and ignored importance of the absurd. While some discussions of absurdism happen explicitly in the philosophical literature, it is often presented in a less explicit manner in the form of novels or plays. These presentations usually happen by telling stories that exemplify some of
22100-460: The nature of the world. However, some later theorists have suggested that both components may be internal: the capacity to see through the arbitrariness of any ultimate purpose, on the one hand, and the incapacity to stop caring about such purposes, on the other hand. Certain accounts also involve a metacognitive component by holding that an awareness of the conflict is necessary for the absurd to arise. Some arguments in favor of absurdism focus on
22270-754: The opening quotation reproduced at the beginning of the article, Kierkegaard describes how such a man would endure such a defiance and identifies the three major traits of the Absurd Man, later discussed by Albert Camus: a rejection of escaping existence (suicide), a rejection of help from a higher power and acceptance of his absurd (and despairing) condition. According to Kierkegaard in his autobiography The Point of View of My Work as an Author , most of his pseudonymous writings are not necessarily reflective of his own opinions. Nevertheless, his work anticipated many absurdist themes and provided its theoretical background. The philosophy of Albert Camus, or more precisely
22440-413: The passionate rebellion against an apparently trivial or unimportant state of affairs seems less like a heroic quest and more like a fool's errand . Jeffrey Gordon has objected to this criticism based on the claim that there is a difference between absurdity and lack of importance. So even if life as a whole is absurd, some facts about life may still be more important than others and the fact that life as
22610-403: The possibility of help, not to speak of help by virtue of the absurd, that for God all things are possible—no, that he will not do. And as for seeking help from any other—no, that he will not do for all the world; rather than seek help he would prefer to be himself—with all the tortures of hell, if so it must be. — Søren Kierkegaard , The Sickness Unto Death Most researchers argue that
22780-436: The practical level, the conflict underlying the absurd is characterized by the individual's struggle to find meaning in a meaningless world. The theoretical component, on the other hand, emphasizes more the epistemic inability of reason to penetrate and understand reality . Traditionally, the conflict is characterized as a collision between an internal component, belonging to human nature, and an external component, belonging to
22950-445: The problem of the absurd at its core: even a life dedicated to the rebellion against the absurd is itself still absurd. Defenders of the rebellious response to absurdism have pointed out that, despite its possible shortcomings, it has one important advantage over many of its alternatives: it manages to accept the absurd for what it is without denying it by rejecting that it exists or by stopping one's own existence. Some even hold that it
23120-458: The realm of phenomena since this is how sensory impressions are organized by the mind , but may not be found on the level of noumena. The concept of the absurd corresponds to the thesis that there is such a gap and human limitations may limit the mind from ever truly grasping reality, i.e. that reality in this sense remains absurd to the mind. A century before Camus , the 19th-century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard wrote extensively about
23290-422: The recommended response since, unlike the other two responses, it does not escape the absurd and instead recognizes it for what it is. Later theorists have suggested additional responses, like using irony to take life less seriously or remaining ignorant of the responsible conflict. Some absurdists argue that whether and how one responds is insignificant. This is based on the idea that if nothing really matters then
23460-424: The right relation to them. However, if these wider contexts themselves lack meaning then they are unable to act as sources of meaning for other things. This would lead to the absurd when understood as the conflict between the impression that our everyday engagements are meaningful even though they lack meaning because they do not stand in a relation to something else that is meaningful. Another argument for absurdism
23630-586: The role of Clem for the second time in the David Spade comedy Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser . In 2016, he voiced King Louie in the CGI-live action adaptation of Disney's The Jungle Book , directed by Jon Favreau . He also recorded a cover of Louie's song " I Wan'na Be Like You ", which he sings in the film as well as on the soundtrack. Also that year, he appeared in Dexter Fletcher 's Eddie
23800-420: The role of Michael Bauer on the soap opera The Guiding Light . In 1963, he appeared as a character named Chris in an episode of Naked City , starring Paul Burke . In 1964, he changed his first name to Christopher at the suggestion of Monique van Vooren , who had a nightclub act in which Walken was a dancer. She believed the name suited him better than Ronnie (a pet form of his given name, Ronald), which he
23970-590: The role of Ray in the Abel Ferrara crime-drama film The Funeral . In 1997, Walken starred in the comedy films Touch and Excess Baggage and had a minor role in the film Mouse Hunt . He also appeared in the drama/thriller film Suicide Kings , which was also filled with suspense and humor. In 1998, Walken played an influential gay New York theater critic in John Turturro 's film Illuminata . The same year he voiced Colonel/General Cutter in
24140-428: The seriousness of life. According to Thomas Nagel , there may be, at least theoretically, two responses to actually resolving the problem of the absurd. This is based on the idea that the absurd arises from the consciousness of a conflict between two aspects of human life: that humans care about various things and that the world seems arbitrary and does not merit this concern. The absurd would not arise if either of
24310-565: The short film, Gleeson's character encounters a strange, and possibly psychotic, young man during a train journey homeward following his wife's death. McDonagh made a deal with Focus Features to direct In Bruges , a feature-length film based on his own screenplay. Two Irish hitmen hide in the Flemish city of Bruges after a problematic job. Released in the US in 2008, the film features Colin Farrell , Ralph Fiennes and Brendan Gleeson. In Bruges
24480-531: The social environment that stimulated absurdist views and allowed for their popular development, especially in the devastated country of France . Foucault viewed Shakespearean theater as a precursor of absurdism. An idea very close to the concept of the absurd is due to Immanuel Kant , who distinguishes between phenomena and noumena . This distinction refers to the gap between how things appear to us and what they are like in themselves. For example, according to Kant, space and times are dimensions belonging to
24650-454: The source of absurdity. Other definitions locate both conflicting sides within man: the ability to apprehend the arbitrariness of final ends and the inability to let go of commitments to them. In regard to the conflict, absurdism differs from nihilism since it is not just the thesis that nothing matters. Instead, it includes the component that things seem to matter to us nonetheless and that this impression cannot be shaken off. This difference
24820-568: The source of his speech stems from growing up with immigrant neighbors who came from everywhere, stating, "The neighborhood itself, you didn't hear a lot of English. Lots of Greek, Italian, Polish, German, Yiddish. I think I grew up listening to people who spoke English in a kind of broken way. I think maybe I talked that way." Walken inspired the stage show, All About Walken: The Impersonators of Christopher Walken , created by actor/comedian Patrick O'Sullivan in Hollywood in 2006. Walken has hosted
24990-505: The status of universally valid moral values or categorical normative judgments. So the value of the prudential advice may merely be relative to the interests of some people but not valuable in a more general sense. This way, absurdists have tried to resolve the apparent inconsistency in their position. According to absurdism, life in general is absurd: the absurd is not just limited to a few specific cases. Nonetheless, some cases are more paradigmatic examples than others. The Myth of Sisyphus
25160-453: The suggested responses on how to deal with the absurd seem to explicitly defend the existence of moral values. Due to this ambiguity, other critics of absurdism have objected to it based on its inconsistency. The moral values defended by absurdists often overlap with the ethical outlook of existentialism and include traits like sincerity , authenticity , and courage as virtues . In this sense, absurdists often argue that it matters how
25330-464: The thesis of absurdism is correct and for the arguments cited for and against it: it may be true on one definition and false on another. In a general sense, the absurd is that which lacks a sense, often because it involves some form of contradiction . The absurd is paradoxical in the sense that it cannot be grasped by reason . But in the context of absurdism, the term is usually used in a more specific sense. According to most definitions, it involves
25500-411: The topic of the absurd does not receive the attention of professional philosophers it merits, especially when compared to other perennial philosophical areas of inquiry. It has been argued, for example, that this can be seen in the tendency of various philosophers throughout the ages to include the epistemically dubitable existence of God in their philosophical systems as a source of ultimate explanation of
25670-415: The topic's importance and its potential psychological impact on the affected individuals in the form of existential crises . Various possible responses to deal with absurdism and its impact have been suggested. The three responses discussed in the traditional absurdist literature are suicide , religious belief in a higher purpose, and rebellion against the absurd. Of these, rebellion is usually presented as
25840-574: The trilogy, A Skull in Connemara , involves a Connemara man who is employed to exhume skeletons in an overcrowded graveyard and he encounters the wife whom he was once accused of killing. The play premiered in 1997 at Town Hall Theatre, Galway. The play was presented at the Royal Court Theatre (London), and made its US premiere at the A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) in Seattle, Washington in July to August 2000. The play ran off-Broadway from January to May 2001 at
26010-582: The troubled Vietnam War veteran Nick Chevotarevich in The Deer Hunter (1978). His performance earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . He was nominated for the same award for portraying con artist Frank Abagnale 's father in Steven Spielberg 's Catch Me If You Can (2002). Since his breakthrough , Walken has appeared in films in various genres, both in lead and supporting roles. These include The Dogs of War (1980), Brainstorm (1983), The Dead Zone (1983), A View to
26180-646: The video, Walken dances and flies around the lobby of the Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles; Walken also helped choreograph the dance. Also in 2001, Walken played a gangster who was in the witness protection program in the David Spade comedy Joe Dirt and an eccentric film director in America's Sweethearts . Also in 2001, Walken played Lieutenant Macduff in Scotland, PA , a loose film adaptation of Shakespeare 's Macbeth . In 2002 Walken played Mike in
26350-518: The way I want it to be", when discussing his absence from London theatre and promoting his new play Hangmen . In 2006, McDonagh won an Academy Award for his short film Six Shooter (2004), which is his first film that he wrote and directed. Six Shooter is a black comedy (as are his plays) that features Brendan Gleeson , Rúaidhrí Conroy , David Wilmot and Aisling O'Sullivan . It was shot on location in Wicklow , Waterford and Rosslare . In
26520-451: The world or to rationally grasp it. A different disagreement concerns whether the conflict exists only internal to the individual or is between the individual's expectations and the external world . Some theorists also include the metacognitive component that the absurd entails that the individual is aware of this conflict. An important aspect of absurdism is that the absurd is not limited to particular situations but encompasses life as
26690-426: The world to assess their importance from a bigger context. Such an assessment can result in the insight that the day-to-day engagements matter a lot to us despite the fact that they lack real meaning when evaluated from a wider perspective. This assessment reveals the conflict between the significance seen from the internal perspective and the arbitrariness revealed through the external perspective. The absurd becomes
26860-434: The world was like. So it is not just that absurdism is true in the actual world. Instead, any possible world , even one that was designed by a divine god and guided by them according to their higher purpose, would still be equally absurd to man. In this sense, absurdity is the product of the power of our consciousness to take a step back from whatever it is considering and reflect on the reason of its object. When this process
27030-585: The “camusian absurd” ( french : l'absurde camusien ), refers with absurdism to the work and philosophical thought of the french writer Albert Camus . This philosophy is influenced by the author's political, libertarian , social and ecological ideas; and is inspired by previous philosophical trends, such as Greek philosophy , nihilism , the Nietzschean thought or existentialism . It revolves around three major cycles: “the absurd ( l'absurde )”, “the revolt ( la révolte )” and “love ( l'amour )”. Each cycle
27200-604: Was based on claims that he and his friends were subject to visitations by unknown, other-worldly entities variously identified as "aliens" or "visitors". That same year, Walken appeared in the film Homeboy , which was written by and featured Mickey Rourke in the titular role. In 1989, he played the lead role of "Puss" in the Cannon theater group's musical version of Puss in Boots . The Comfort of Strangers , an art house film directed by Paul Schrader , features Walken as Robert,
27370-895: Was credited as until then. He prefers to be known informally as Chris instead of Christopher. In 1966, Walken played the role of King Philip of France in the Broadway premiere of The Lion in Winter . In 1968, he played Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet at the Stratford Festival in Canada. He appeared in the made-for-TV movies Barefoot in Athens (1966) and The Three Musketeers (1969), and made his feature film debut in Me and My Brother (1969),
27540-546: Was his second collaboration with director Abel Ferrara and writer Nicholas St. John. He also appeared in Nick of Time , which starred Johnny Depp , and an arthouse film by David Salle titled Search and Destroy . Also in 1995, Walken acted in "Him," the first play written by Walken, and about his idol Elvis in the afterlife, featured in the New York Shakespeare Festival. The New York Times gave
27710-538: Was mostly based on criminal Bruce Johnston . In 1988, Walken played a memorable role as Sgt. Merwin J. Toomey in Neil Simon 's Biloxi Blues , which was directed by Mike Nichols , and he played the role of Federal Agent Kyril Montana in The Milagro Beanfield War . He also played the leading role of Whitley Strieber in 1989's Communion , an autobiographical film written by Strieber. It
27880-570: Was never published, as McDonagh insisted it "isn't any good", though he expressed a desire to return to it when he is older. In 2022, McDonagh directed a film titled The Banshees of Inisherin. The screenplay's resemblance to the play is unclear. In 1999 he was one of the recipients of the V Europe Prize Theatrical Realities awarded to the Royal Court Theatre (with Sarah Kane , Mark Ravenhill , Jez Butterworth , Conor McPherson ). McDonagh's first non-Irish play, The Pillowman ,
28050-413: Was one of the proudest moments in his career. Benicio del Toro cited Walken as an influence and stated that the best advice he had ever been given regarding acting came from him: "When you're in a scene and you don't know what you're gonna do, don't do anything." Kat Dennings called him her favorite actor and said that he was the reason that she wanted to be an actress. Johnny Depp once said one of
28220-479: Was produced Off-Broadway by the Atlantic Theater Company, in conjunction with The Druid Theatre Company of Galway, Ireland. The Lieutenant of Inishmore is the followup play which was written as a response to the 1993 Warrington bombings when two children were killed by the IRA. It is a dark comedy in which the insane leader of an INLA ( Irish National Liberation Army ) splinter group discovers that his best friend,
28390-511: Was published in 2022. The Pillowman A writer in a non-specified totalitarian state is interrogated over the content of several of his Brothers Grimm -style short stories. The play was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2004 and received a 2005 Tony Award nomination for Best Play. A Behanding in Spokane A play in which the character of Carmichael has been searching for his missing left hand for
28560-560: Was selected as a "GQ" Man of the Year. In 2013, Walken became the protagonist in the campaign "Made From Cool" by Jack & Jones. In 2014, he appeared in Turks & Caicos . Walken appears as Gyp DeCarlo in the 2014 film Jersey Boys . In 2014, Walken played Captain Hook in the NBC production Peter Pan Live! In 2015, Walken starred in the film When I Live My Life Over Again and played
28730-715: Was the Opening Night film for the 2008 Sundance Festival and the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival , and McDonagh received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the 81st Academy Awards . In a 2008 interview with Stop Smiling magazine, McDonagh said, "I've got a couple of film scripts that are ready to go. I'm not going to do anything with them for a couple of years, until I've travelled and had some fun. But there's one called Seven Psychopaths ; if I do another film, that'll be it. I hope you like it." The production of
28900-400: Was upset that everything was going wrong for him. His lair was still under construction; his henchmen had jump suits that didn't fit; and his shark tank lacked sharks, having a giant sea sponge instead. A captive James Bond , portrayed by Phil Hartman , offered to get Zorin "a good deal" on the abandoned Blofeld volcanic lair if Zorin let him go, to which he reluctantly agreed. He performed
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