Stranger than fiction

Sorry gentlemen. I have finally watched the film. I went to Radioshack and got the part to make my new DVD player work with our old TV. My impressions of this film were very good. I enjoyed the acting and the plot. I thought the acting was very good. Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson delivered their usual steady performances. Maggie Gellynhaal was sexy. She is not bombshell sexy like Halle Berry or any of the chicks on VIP but she definitely has a flare about her. Maggie was also great as Lee Holloway in The Secretary (2002) with James Spader. (The spanking scenes are great in that one) I was surprised by the performances of Will Ferrell and Queen Latifah. They played the straight man in this comedy??? Overall I must say I found this movie very entertaining.

I also noticed a few other interesting points. In the film everyone around Harold Crick saw him as the “crazy” one but he actually was the calmest sanest person in the film. Karen Eiffel the genius writer that controls all of Harold’s actions was on the brink of insanity. Jules Hilbert a totally rational professor is perfectly willing to see someone he knows and seemingly cares about die because it would make a better story. Then he is clearly disappointed that his friend’s life is spared. English professors, who can figure them out? I also thought about how Karen only narrated Harold’s life she was silent when other’s interacted with him. Who was controlling those characters? Were they actual people, were they the heroines in other stories or are they just extras in the story of Harold Crick? Do they even exist outside of Harold? I hope they do because Ana Pascal could headline any story. You cannot forget the theme of living your life while you have it. Harold does not truly live until he realizes he is going to die. Even though Harold realizes he is not in control of his life he wants his life to have meaning.

As I thought about this movie I though back to my childhood when I asked myself this question. Am I real? Did I do that or am I a character in someone else’s imagination. What if we are just the toys of a child who controls our movements like we are in a Sims game? That would truly be strange. To control the life of someone (in a video game) while someone else is controlling you… Isn’t that like watching the screen of a video that you are shooting of yourself watching the screen? The image could go on into infinity, thousands of smaller and smaller TVs within one TV. I guess one could also ask himself another question? Are we in control of our lives or do outside forces determine our fates? What I mean is, does god come from within or is god someone, or something that is outside of us?

On the above questions I would agree with René Descartes. He popularized the statement, "Cogito, ergo sum" (Latin: "I think, therefore I am") or Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum (Latin: "I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am"). We cannot be sure if this is the right answer but it is a good starting point. The definitive answer to the question of our existence will only come when we no longer exist