Nietzsche's Ubermensch in Relation to Lord of the Rings

           In the movie Lord of the Rings, the characters in the Middle Earth displayed both being Ubermensch material and some that did not meet those expectations. Two of the characters that did meet criteria for them to be an Ubermensch are Frodo Baggins and Arwen. The characters that did not meet the standards for an Ubermensch are Boromir and Bilbo Baggins

Frodo Baggins

           Frodo Baggins represents being worthy of an Ubermensch because he goes through "the spirit becom[ing] a lion who would conquer his freedom and be master in his own desert" and he takes the ring to "create new value." Frodo takes the ring not because he has to but because he wants to get rid of it. When he goes to the Rivendell , which is the home of the elves, and he sets the ring down. As everyone fights about it Frodo screams that he will be the one to destroy the ring. This exhibits bravery on new levels. The 9 Nazgul are after him and he still volunteers himself to take the ring even at the risk of death. Frodo then receives the line from Gandalf that "to bear the power of the ring is to be alone" which then shows Frodo going through the lions faze because the lion is his own being and has no one to guide him. At the end of the movie when Frodo and Sam get on a boat and go across the lake by themselves, Aragorn says "Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands" which represents Frodo creating a new value and going off on his own. 

.           Arwen represents being an Ubermensh because her love for Aragorn was so strong that she was willing to "create a new value" by giving up her peoples immortality. She gives him her necklace and tells him that it is hers to give away. She then proceeds to tell him that she would rather live one life with love than a thousand lives alone. This shows that she is completely willing to change the value of her people and whatever will change and happen to them.

Arwen 

Boromir 

         Boromir does not meet the criteria of being considered an Ubermensch because he does not have a strong will power. He recognizes his own misdoing by saying "then you did what I could not, I tried to take the ring from him."he is not strong enough to be around the ring and he cannot be the one that guides Frodo alone. He also attacks Frodo when he is near him with the ring. He says all these things to Frodo but he really wants the ring for himself. This is also demonstrated when everyone is in Rivendell and he tells everyone to use the power of the ring against the enemy instead of destroying it.

Bilbo Baggins 

             Bilbo Baggins does not exhibit the character traits of being an Ubermensch because he is not strong minded and not capable of not caving into the rings demands. At his birthday party, as he is leaving the Shire, he has the ring in his pocket and has a hard time giving it up. He says to Gandalf that the ring is "his own, it's mine, my precious" which he says in a memorized voice with a deepened look on his face. Bilbo is only looking out for himself and he doesn't really care about the well-being of others including his nephew Frodo. He has had the ring for  so long he doesn't know what to do without it.

The Camel, Lion, and the Child

                          "Metamorphoses of the spirit" the camel, lion, and the child are all stages that we develop and go through. What Nietzsche is trying to describe is the conscious' in humans that transforms from one to another. The camel is describing burdens and how when they get heavy a camel will kneel down(he also does this when commanded to do so) just like how humans would stop and give in to the burden that we bear and we follow to commands when given. This stage is the humans way of doing what they ought to do, not what they think they should do. The camel switches to the lion when it realizes it wants to be his own ruler and have freedom.The lion has the desire to create his own freedom and essentially will kill to get it. Lions cannot create their own values but their might is needed for their freedom. The lion learns to be responsible for himself because their is no one to guide him. A child is innocence, there is no guilt and everyday is a new day for discovery and learning. The child is forgetful and doesn't remember the burdens that he bears (like the camel does). The child is a creator of his own values and paves his own path (which the lion is striving to do. The child is a new beginning. 

The Lion overcoming the Dragon 

                           In accordance to the lion there is a dragon. The dragon believes that he is the one on top and that he is the ultimate leader for all of existences. He is against all opposing opinions. The lion however is the one who wants freedom which the dragon possesses.  The lion must destroy the dragon in order to create new values and for freedom. When he destroys the dragon this is when he realizes there is no more guiding hand of existence. The Camel, lion, and child

"There is no such thing as accident; it is fate misnamed." -Napoleon Bonaparte

"I can control my destiny, but not my fate. Destiny means there are opportunities to turn right or left, but fate is a one-way street. I believe we all have the choice as to whether we fulfil our destiny, but our fate is sealed." - Paulo Coelho

Trinity, Neo & Morpheus 

                In the movie The Matrix, the prophecies said to three of the characters about their fate. I believe that this movie shows that fate has a stronger case than free will. I believe this in moderation though. We can choose the paths and roads we go down but I believe that things happen for a reason. These roads all lead to a place we are suppose to be and we are suppose to experience. The Oracle just stated three facts about three of the characters. She didn't state how they would fulfill these things, when they would come true, and how they would...she just said that these things would happen. The Oracle said these things so that they would keep them in mind. She told them the things they needed to hear not necessarily the things that are going to happen. For example, Trinity's fate was that she was going to fall in love with the one. She didn't want to admit it at first but Neo was the person she fell in love with. She didn't expect it and she even tried to fight it but it happen. Another example of fate is when the Oracle said to Morpheus that he would find the one. He searched and searched to find the one and he thought he found them on more than one occasion. When he saw Neo he had a kind of "love at first sight moment" but it was translated into "the one at first sight." He didn't pressure Neo into this fact but he just believed in him. Neo's fate was that he had a gift but he was waiting for something. I think that this something was not another life but faith in himself. Once he believed he could he did. That to me is fate and not free will because in life their are no accidents, things happen for reasons beyond our control and for our destinies.

The Oracle telling Neo what he needed to hear

"I Think Therefore I Am"

In the Truman Show, Truman is a man whose whole entire life has been a reality show and he is finally starting to realize this fact that cameras are constantly watching his every move. This concept for the movie can relate to Descartes and his demons. These demons that Descartes possesses are there to make Descartes not know what is reality and what is fake. Truman is feeling exactly the same way. Just like Descartes he feels like he is going absolutely mental (insane) and he cannot distinguish what in his life has been actually real and what in his life has been fake. Descartes knows for certain that if he is thinking than he is real and the demon hasn't one yet. He has the famous quote "I think therefore I am" which Truman feels because he is thinking and figuring out that he has been monitored his entire life. By him thinking and figuring things out the producers (who are essentially equal to Descartes demon) wouldn't have a show and their entire industry and profit would end. They need Truman in order to survive just like the demon needs Descartes to exist so they can have something to live for and a reason that would call for them to survive. An example in the movie of this is when Truman is discovering that his life is a television show and all the people in the town are actors/actresses. At the end of the movie when Truman tries to sail away and he eventually hits a wall he is discovering that the demon cannot bother him anymore. When the voice comes out of an intercom and says that he has two options which is to stay or to leave, Truman leaves because the demon is not a burden anymore. He can now think on his own without his life being controlled which in the end makes Truman fight off his demon and making him an actually person.  Truman has been hidden the truth like the demon holds the truth from Descartes.

Truman discovering that his world has been a lie 

Plato's Allegory of the Cave

In this piece of work Plato describes a cave where there are prisoners chained to the cave wall and they can only look forward. There are two sources of light, fire that is behind them and the cave opening. They were born into the cave. There are puppeteers and the prisoners were seeing shadows of humans and of animals. One of the prisoners breaks free and goes towards the light. At first he was blinded by the light and is experiencing all this stuff he has never seen before. The cave is a way to represent life because people are seeing the truth that we are told and we never actually know if it's the truth. Some people keep things hidden from us. We never really know what's truthful unless we experience it for ourselves

                      My drawing 

Image of the Cave

Groundhog Day and Buddhism

                In Buddhism, there are Four Noble Truths that everyone must go through to achieve nirvana or become enlightened with everything that happened in their lives. The Four Noble Truths:

 1.Life is suffering

2.The Cause of Suffering

3. The Cessation of Suffering

4. Freedom from suffering is possible by practicing the Eightfold Path.

                In the movie Groundhog Day, main character Phil Connors overcomes his suffering and becomes more enlightened by the end of the movie. Connors demonstrates the Buddhist practices to finally reach a happiness and become enlighted with repeating the same day over and over again. He goes through the first noble truth by suffering through the same day over and over again. He goes through the second noble truth by craving the day to be over and have it be able to move on to the next day so the suffering can end. He goes through the third noble truth by realizing that he will be living this day for a long time, maybe even forever, so he just comes to acceptance of it. He goes  through the fourth noble truth by trying to make that day the best day of everyones life. He saves an elderly man from dying, helps cross some old ladies across the street, saves a waitress from dropping her tray and spilling food everywhere, he saves a little boy from falling down a tree, he host a big celebration for someones birthday, saves a man from chocking, he pays for a mans dinner, and he does many other things for different people. He goes through the Four Noble Truths to become enlightened and free of his situation of living the same day over and over again.                      

Groundhog Day Stages of Grief

In the movie Groundhog Day , the main character Phil goes through each of grief in the Kubler-Ross model Stages Of Grief.

1. Stage:  Denial
2. Event: Phil experiences denial when he questions people about what day it is a few days in a row and he questions everyone's motives like he can't believe it is real.
3. Explanation: This is a sign of denial because when people normally ask questions about events they already know the answer to they are trying not to believe the actual truth.

1. Stage:  Anger
2. Event: He says the weather in a mean and mocking tone. He insults the people around him.
3. Explanation: When people are anger they usually find everything around them to be bad and insulting and they can't be happy about anything.

1. Stage: Bargaining
2. Event: When Phil goes to the doctor for therapy.
3. Explanation:  This is bargaining because he doesn't believe that he is sane and wants medication and a doctor to diagnose him with something so that he won't be living the same day over and over again.

1. Stage: Depression
2. Event: Phil tries to kill himself over and over again so that he won't have to live the same day over and over again.
3. Explanation:  This is depression because when people tend to kill themselves they aren't happy with their lives and they want the pain or whatever is on their mind to end.

1. Stage: Acceptance
2. Event:  He one day wakes up happy and answers everyone's questions.
3. Explanation:  He finally comes to terms that he is going to be living this day over and over again so he makes the best of it and learns new skills and helps people who would have gotten hurt that day.