A washed up actor, who once played an iconic superhero, battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career and himself in the days leading up to the opening of a Broadway play.
A washed up actor, who once played an iconic superhero, battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career and himself in the days leading up to the opening of a Broadway play.
People say it's pretty good movie, but not my taste!
Michael Keaton one off my favorite old actors crazy movie 5 off 10
*** spoilers ahead ***
in other words, this was his search for happiness - to feel himself beloved while living a life on earth - the question is... beloved by whom? ...and what kind of love are we talking about here?Originally Posted by source book
meaning: in the beginning of your life on earth you were ignorant, yet strangely, through living, the ignorance got slowly but surely removed bit by bit from your understanding of the world and unexpectedly, as if it was a virtue all along, the result was becoming free, comparable to the 'bird flying in the sky' motif, hence: the birdman
the opening scene was a major hint that the topic was going to be something spiritual, but it was overdone (to catch our attention?) since rarely anyone can achieve levitation by meditating in the materialistic world - this scene and other birdman abilities (telekinesis, flying,...) become increasingly out of place as we witness a behavior far from anyone that could be called spiritually advanced - his behavior was more akin to some confused, insecure, self-absorbed, over-emotional, obsessed, drugged-up, regretful, suicidal and ultimately rather clueless individual regarding the finer print of our reality - so rest assured, the final scene (hinting at his transcendence) did not happen, since such an individual is obviously not fit to ascend towards the next level
and his 'voice of truth' (the birdman suit) was more like a voice of cynicism & maleficence than inspiring advancement (but it did fit a hollywood view of these things, so it was adequate in this sense or as expected from them)
actually, you're right there where you belong at this point in your life - the character is hinting at human destiny/destination, however, in order to reach your destination, you must first go through this place, regardless of how you currently feel about it
also, it is logical that rampant ignorance of anything non-materialistic results in less than ideal societal and other conditions - the cruder the society, the cruder the (majority of) individuals raised within
this gets repeated at least 3-4 times so its pretty relevant, meaning: the kind of love they are talking about is unconditional love, loving something for what it is, not for what we want it to be (no pre-imposed conditions for the love) - it is also said that this is the kind of love that radiates from people who have achieved significant spiritual advancement, and it is the kind of love that is present within the heart of every single thing in existence, and it is the kind of love that is awaiting every soul upon reaching their destination - some call it universal, absolute, spiritual, divine, pure, real, true, essential, eternal, god's love,... but they all refer to the same thing, the thing that acts as a role model or archetype upon which other kinds of love are modeled and experienced as lesser kinds, aspiring to this ideal, to its absolute formwhat we talk about when we talk about love
love is absolute
the kind of love i'm talking about is absolute
if you ever wondered why is this world so obsessed by this elusive thing called love, why thousands of songs or poems or books or plays or movies speak of it, why is it such a persistent topic, why is it so often accompanied by unusual terms like: forever, eternal, for ever and ever, etc., there's your answer: it is an essential quality and everyone is consciously or subconsciously trying to experience it, or get closer to it in its pure form, present within one's true self - this goes hand in hand with the search for the meaning of life or your own true identity (beyond earthly role-playing)
hehe, other variations:a thing is a thing, not what is said of that thing
- a thing is a thing, not what is seen when looking at the thing
- a thing is a thing, not what is thought when thinking of that thing
hehe, a similar scenario like: the earth is just a tiny planet in a vast universe with millions of other planets, so it is not importantyou're scared to death like the rest of us that you don't matter
you're not important, get used to it
but guess what, it was important enough to exist in the first place, it was important enough to be the dwelling place for billions of advanced beings (humans, animals, plants,...), surrounded by innumerable other barren planets (in terms of advanced life), it is a place of your own birth/life/death - all undeniable facts showing importance to careful observers
and in the case of single beings, like humans - again: you were important enough to exist in the first place, to experience existence on an advanced level (compared to animals, plants,...), important enough to have a chance to advance in life (spiritually, knowledge, understanding, rising above the initial ignorance), to be a part of this whole universal scenario (interconnectedness, interdependence, all parts matter), or referring to the movie theme: to search for absolute love while experiencing existence - not too bad for 'perceived as unimportant', eh?
this is also an example of how others cannot or do not want to understand how different things are important to different individuals, just because it steers away from their own idea of what is important in life - many feel safe hiding behind what is societally sanctioned as important without bothering to question or verify it
sure you do, you just don't know exactly how it is you exist, in what way, what exactly are youi don't exist
i'm not even here
none of this even matters
(suicide)
you exist 'in your head', you exist in your consciousness, your consciousness is what you are, it just needs to be practically realized, as opposed to theoretical contemplation only
your own journey matters the most (directly) to you and indirectly to every other's journey (interconnectedness)
it is said that suicide causes reincarnation within more difficult conditions (so-called bad karma), thus it is not recommended - and common sense tells you it is an act of avoiding facing the problems (which results in problems 'returning with a vengeance')
well, you are, everybody is unique in their own way, even if their essence may be the same (likewise, in a materialistic sense it can be said that our bodies are made of the same kind of atoms, but with unique atomic constellations for every one of our bodies)constantly trying to convince me that i was special
see above under: 'a thing is a thing...'do you even know what that is (shows her a plucked flower)?
you don't because you can't see this thing if you don't have a label for it
you mistake all those little noises in your head for true knowledge
- looking at a thing does not give us true knowledge about what this thing really is
- thinking about a thing does not give us true knowledge about what this thing really is
- even living as a thing does not give us true knowledge about what this thing really is
- only by reaching the essence of the thing gives us true knowledge about what this thing really is
but,
in order to be able to notice and comprehend these differences, one has to live through these experiences and that is what we as humans are currently doing, until at some point we become ready to reach the essence itself - reaching the essence means absolute certainty through personal/individual practical experience, not looking or guessing or thinking or theorizing
so even if all those aforementioned experiences (looking, talking, thinking, living,...) may not instantly or directly give us true knowledge, they still represent steps towards achieving true knowledge, ie. they are an important part of this process (more unexpected virtues, eh?)
thus, an actor performing on stage or in a movie with conviction/inspiration is still role-playing, still pretending to be this character he plays, but the way he plays it makes him a role model of immersion in one's identity or it shows how one is supposed to experience his true identity, without any doubt or uncertainty (ie. with absolute certainty) - thus achieving closeness with absolute love elevates you towards absolute certainty about your identity and your following actions are pure and flawless in their unfolding - you become inseparable from your true identity, you become one with your one true role, the true self - how will you know? you will be consciously aware of it, you'll know it in your heart and your mind will agree (absolutely)
meaning: she is living a secure life of conformity to societal norms, playing it safe, by the book, not willing to risk it for some ideal/ideayou risk nothing
he is confusing the intensity of living or popularity or taking risks with importance or relevance of one's life, absolute certainty obviously does not necessarily mean wild extravaganza, though it does mean intense feelings & joy/satisfaction
he IS much more than that: a conscious being, experiencing existence (playing the earthly roles of an actor, of a movie celebrity is secondary here, regardless of how good he may be at it)so you're not a great actor, who cares, you're much more than that, you're a movie star
as he completes the transformation into the birdman (the screech, birdman's voice becomes his own, the only voice, while in a trance-like state) - the idea is that he becomes aware of his true self, the one that sets him free from the cycle of birth/death in the material world, so he becomes ready to depart from this earthly segment of his journeyyou're larger than life, man - you're saving people from their boring, miserable lives
you glimmer on thousands of screens around the globe...another blockbuster...you are a god... gravity doesn't even apply to you
but that does not mean becoming a god, only becoming aware of one's real identity (conditioned soul --> self-realized soul), so this part is typical materialistic exaggeration in their dreams of power & wealth (notice how the whole movie has this vibe of exaggeration and controversy, often mentioning the financial aspect of the business & fame in the media)
as for saving people, inspired acting performances or movies work not only as entertainment, but also as catalysts for contemplation about other things than one's living routine (even regardless of the director or studio intentions, no one can control your conscious thoughts on some audio/visual material or the resulting ideas), aka 'movies that make you think'
didn't icarus burn his wings by flying too close to the sun? just like riggan blew his nose off by getting too immersed in his acting/role (there is an inside joke here about the time keaton got too attached to or identified with his batman role, making him somewhat insane)
riggan... rigged, but it does speak of some fundamental things, even if somewhat hidden underneath the usual pile of hollywood nonsense, exaggeration and drama - how much of this was actually the director's intention is questionable
and it was kinda fun in its weirdness with intense acting all-around
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