Everything Everywhere All at Once：Nihilism of the Middle Class

Due to the Oscars, "Everything Everywhwere All at Once" （referred to as "EEAaO' below) has gained popularity once again. However, I personally don't enjoy this movie as much. It comes across as overly clever, pandering to the current urban middle class's love for whimsical imagination, spectacles, and absurdity. It only scratches the surface of the big theme of "existentialism", ultimately falling into Hollywood's naive optimism of “love can conquer everything.”

Fancy mind doesn’t worth that much.

Over-imagination can actually harm the quality of a story, As Mckee puts it: The “well-made” formula may choke a story’s voice, so the quirkiness of “art movie” will give it a speech impediment. Just as children break things to draw attention , too many filmmakers use infantile gimmicks on screen to shout, “Look! What a masterpiece!”

The creators of this movie went a little overboard with their wild and imaginative ideas, as I found the lipstick and paper cuts scenes quite novel at first, but later scenes with wetting pants and anal jokes made me physical discomfort.

A true artist will would never deliberately draw attention to themselves, nor would they act purely to break the rules. However, the creators of this film went quite the opposite and choose the easiest approach: let their imagination run wild. After all, the world is already chaotic. It's easy to let your imagination run wild, but it's harder to keep it in check. Otherwise, the movie ends up being a mess.

Besides, the use of parallel and multiple universes in the film is a tired trope that lacks originality. Unfortunately, the movie's initial promising concept was diluted by repetitive lowbrow humor, which detracted from the overall artistic quality.

A superficial attempt at nihilistic narration

I really enjoyed the silent scene with the two rocks. It would have been great If the movie had ended there, which would have made it a complete nihilistic narrative, a sublime completion of its meaning. To my disappointment, however, the plot moves on and continued to explore the boundless universe of ideas, leading towards the theme of family reconciliation. With such a grand world built and wild imagination displayed, it leads to nothing more than family matters.

The setup of "EEAaO" is similar to that of “Rick and Morty”. Both have a character with godlike powers (Rick and Joy), who travels through multiple universes, possesses infinite imagination, and both includes eye-catching visuals. What makes the latter stand out, however, is that "Rick and Morty" presents nihilistic and pessimistic storytelling that hits on the dilemmas of modern thought.

Rick in "Rick and Morty" is a scientist who is almost comparable to a god. He knows everything and wields powerful technology. His teleportation gun can take him anywhere, including infinite parallel spaces in multiple universes. He has almost reached the peak of all universes, omnipotent and immortal, but he is still unhappy. All his knowledge and abilities cannot give him a reason to live.

The daughter in "EEAaO" is similar, but the difference is that Rick copes with nihilism by going on adventures and constantly pursuing sensory stimulation to the extreme, while Joy wants to destroy the world and turn it into a bagel. Their actions inevitably bring to mind the classic wager between Faust and the devil, as well as the thought-provoking question: "What good will it be to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?"

The embracement of nihilism by the middle class.

Why have nihilistic films and TV shows suddenly become popular in recent years, especially among the middle class? The answer is simple: though not as powerful as Ricky, they are as purposeless. They don’t have a hard time making a living, but their sprit and souls are left wandering before death approaches.

The 20th century saw a surge in human optimism, thanks to the unprecedented economic and cultural prosperity brought about by science. With science came unparalleled skills, wealth, and rights, as well as a freedom from the shackles of religion - "God is dead".

Science turned humanity into a new deity, eradicating any sense of fear, but leaving us mentally homeless. Absolute freedom makes it possible, actually makes it a must for us to find meaning for ourselves, but the problem lies in determining what that meaning is, if it even exists. Nihilism suggests that there is no meaning at all, while existentialism maintains that we can actively choose and create meaning for ourselves despite its absence. Alternatively, absurdism proposes living according to our instincts, embracing the absurdity and irrationality of life, while remaining unsure of whether life has any meaning at all.

Thanks to the division of labor, mechanized mass production, and globalization, we've freed ourselves from arduous labor, no longer worry about food or clothing, and possess abundant leisure time and consumer goods. Therefore, the spiritual state of the middle class, in fact, has already extended to the entire society.

The middle class today is even better off. They not only have material wealth and ample leisure time, but most have also well educated, enjoy exploring their spiritual world. They have been exposed to various cultures since childhood, possess open minds, and value freedom. Many of them have grown up absorbing various forms of storytelling, leading to a deep aversion to traditional narrative patterns. Therefore, the anti-traditional and nihilistic framework of stories is more aligned with their tastes. In fact, nihilism and existentialism are a type of "affluenza," a thought that emerges when people have their fill. As Pascal puts it, when humans have too much time to think, they begin to ponder their own insignificance.

In contemporary times, the impoverished struggle to survive and prioritize their basic needs, leaving little room for philosophical musings. Meanwhile, the elite class, which includes figures like Musk, who possess the drive and resources to transform the world, are consumed by their ambitions and are already living their purpose. They are awakened by their dreams every day, are excellent practitioners, and simply don't have time to ponder the meaning of life, or, in other words, they have already found it.

The middle class is the only group that seems to be stuck in a rut, going around in circles like a washing machine, just like Evelyn, who manages a business she doesn't really love. After a night of mingling and drinking, during the long commute, after meeting a deadline, or upon hearing that a former classmate who performed worse in school is now making a million yuan a year, they are most likely to fall into a state of nihilism. The middle class, in reality, are forced to embrace nihilism without even noticing the truth. And this is exactly why the film EEAaO are highly popular, despite its poor quality.

Is love the real cure for nihilism?

There’s never a shortage of moving images that delve into exploring the nature of nihilism, as seen in shows like BoJack Horseman and Rick and Morty. EEAaO is also among them. However, compared with the former two works, which featuring intriguing lines in BoJack and imaginary plot twist and world-building in Rick, it may stand out only because it’s the first attempt to explore the theme in a film.

There's no doubt that nihilism is a subject worthy of exploration. However, without presenting any new perspectives, it can quickly become a tired and unoriginal topic. Unfortunately, EEAaO falls into this category. The film does touch upon some of the deepest philosophical questions, such as Joy's representation of the "evil force" of human nihilism and Evelyn's quest to free her daughter from nihilism and discover her own "meaning of existence".

But in the end, the movie relies on the concept of "love" to resolve these issues. The underlying message appears to be that love involves accepting differences, respecting choices, and remaining committed to someone even as they tumble down the cliff like a rolling stone. As for why this is the case, the answer is quite simple - the power of love.

The message at the core of this is: if the one you love wants freedom, you should grant her/his that freedom. If you deny his freedom, then you also deny your own. Nevertheless, Evelyn could not bear to see her daughter succumb to nihilism and ultimately rescued her with love. While the film did achieve a sense of harmony between mother and daughter, family, and society, it also fell into the trap of clichés.

Can love truly conquer all? Why must the mother blindly follow her daughter even if it means sacrificing herself? Why can't she live for herself? Where is the daughter's agency in all of this? And in the end, the solution is to go to the "Loop of Begal." How is that any different from a rebellious teenage girl leaving home to assert her independence?

Love alone cannot save everything. It's like a woman's beauty, which is only invincible when paired with other virtues. If multiple universes and the ability to jump between them really exist, it's the unwavering pursuit of the meaning of life that would make such a feat possible, not love, I believe.