Everything is Illuminated suicide

When the grandfather in Everything is Illuminated commits suicide in the bathtub, I was not surprised. When people try to forget painful pasts, and never really deal with bottled up pain and emotions, it ultimately hurts them more. The same is true when people bottle up pain rather than talking about it with a friend or loved one. When people bottle things in or hide things, it is really just creating a highly explosive bomb. Once the person's pain or secret is revealed, the person explodes. In this case, once the Grandfather had gone back and been reminded of his past (and also reintroduced to a person that was a part of his past) the bomb went off. It was as though he had no reason to stay alive anymore--he had been numb for so long that enduring so much pain was too much to take. This was very sad, yet it made sense.

Everything is Illuminated

In Everything is Illuminated, Jonathon Safran has a strange obsession with collecting momentos related to events and people. This is made evident at the beginning of the film when he takes a necklace (from what I remember it was a pendant or gem) and stows it away in a plastic bag. Soon enough, we see a wall full of strange items. (The used condom on the wall was the most disturbing.) This wall of strange items had to have had some sort of signifiance to the film, so what was it? At this point, the function of his souvenires represents people forgetting about their pasts--whether painful or joyful. When asked why he collects things, he answers "I don't want to forget". Jonathon most definitely does not forget about the random times he has because he has tiny pieces to remind him. Perhaps this is hinting at something. Some people try to let go of their pasts when painful, because trying to forget them and running away from pain seems easier than confronting it. The truth is that the past is the past and no one can ever run away from what happened in it. Being true, Jonathon's collection of trinkets might actually be suggesting that we hold onto our pasts--yet not let them dictate our futures--because they are a part of what one will become.

Alternate Ending to Ferguson's Happiness

I know I'm not the only one who was diappointed by the ending of Happiness, so to contribute my thoughts on how it should have ended I have to say that I would have loved to see May and Edwin end up together. I couldn't stand Edwin's annoying wife Jenni, so in my eyes, Jenni would have caught Edwin and May having an awkwardly passionate affair at their house amidst Jenni's infamous post-it-notes. This would completely go against whatever the post-it notes read and would bring Jenni down. It would take a stab at the type-A types who try to be "perfect" and hint at the notion that perhaps perfection is not what a man is looking for or truly wants in a woman. Flaws are what make us unique and in my opinion, flaws and quirks are adorable. Maybe the image we have of May and her red lips and Edwin's scrawny body aren't "adorable" but the thought of them finding happiness through each other's company is. I would have loved to see Jenni cry and run out of the room--yet at the same time, see Edwin and May end up happily together.

Happiness: Happy or Not?

Will Ferguson's novel Happiness is not a representation of the fulfillment of genuine happiness. The way the novel takes a stab at the self-help industry is humorous (in my opinion) because it essentially hints at the idea that the self-help industry is not needed/necessary. If this is true though, then why do people spend such long periods of time obsessing over losing those measley 5 extra lbs by trying absoulutely absurd diets? It's ridiculous. Tupac Soiree's book "What I Learned on the Mountain" actually takes the color and originality out of the characters in the novel--leaving them "blah" and lifeless. May for instance, loses her color--(her red lips are no longer the same!) So the question I want to ask remains: do self-help novels really suck the "life" out of people? I think they can. An old roommate of mine became obsessed with a series of novels entitled "Skinny Bitch." (sick title, already!) One day she was cooking dinner out of a new cookbook from the series called "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch." (really?) I glanced at the title and in small font it read: "Kick Ass Recipes for Hungry Girls Who Want to Stop Cooking Crap (and Start Looking Hot!)" Yikes. The book outrules all meat and dairy and supports a 100% vegan lifestyle. Call me traditional, but people have been consuming meat since the beginning of time. People were made to eat meat--not merely beans and vegetables. The bottom line is that this old friend of mine became colorless and dull. I could never go out to eat with her, cook dinner with her, or go to get ice cream. (Which I love too much). So, this so-called "self-help" book might have made her lose 15 pounds (which looks scary skinny) but it has also made her lose friends and the old lifestyle that she used to enjoy. I think that we can all get a little something out of Ferguson's novel. If nothing, at least consider that he is trying to say that self-help books are actually just self-destroying.