Philosophical Analysis Of The Film "Being John Malkovich" By Spike Jonze (Essay Sample)

Being John Malkovich Name Instructor Institution Course Date Being John Malkovich is a film that for the most part focuses on human desire and the need by individuals to ensure that they have a better life than they have currently. It seeks to promote the idea that despite having been provided with an opportunity to live in the best way that they can, they are not often satisfied, with a considerable number of individuals seeking to enhance their lives through an escape. Furthermore, this film considers the various social restrictions that were still prevalent in the 1990s, and the manner through which these restrictions ended up forcing individuals towards actions that can be considered unethical. The human desire for satisfaction is a driving force within this film because it shows individuals seeking to have lives other than those that they have been given. Rather than appreciating their lives as they are and seeking to improve them, they instead want to live in a fantasy world, where they have control over the life of another individual. This is the case in the film where the character of Craig makes a discovery of the doorway leading to the mind of John Malkovich. He shares this information with a coworker, Maxine, to whom he is attracted, and his wife, Lotte, with whom he has a sad marriage ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Jonze</Author><Year>1999</Year><RecNum>61</RecNum><DisplayText>(Jonze, 1999)</DisplayText><record><rec-number>61</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app="EN" db-id="axpfs2xwpvexwle0z05x2proe2rparfrx9pd" timestamp="1531180919">61</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name="Film or Broadcast">21</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Spike Jonze</author></authors><tertiary-authors><author>Michael Stipe</author><author>Sandy Stern</author><author>Steve Golin</author><author>Vincent Landay</author></tertiary-authors></contributors><titles><title>Being John Malkovich</title></titles><pages>112 minutes</pages><dates><year>1999</year></dates><pub-location>United States</pub-location><publisher>USA Films</publisher><urls></urls><custom1>John Cusack&#xD;Cameron Diaz&#xD;Catherine Keener&#xD;Orson Bean&#xD;Mary Kay Place&#xD;John Malkovich</custom1></record></Cite></EndNote>(Jonze, 1999). These individuals are all revealed to be dissatisfied by their current lives and find the mind of Malkovich as an ideal escape from their dismal lives. They are able to live out their fantasies in a manner that would not have been possible in their real lives; essentially showing that despite their lives being quite comfortable, it these individuals are still influenced by the human nature of wanting more. It is essential to note that among the most significant events that take place as a result of entering Malkovich’s mind is that Lotte and Maxine end up having a sexual relationship. It is revealed that Lotte is an individual that has transgender desires, yet cannot live them out as herself because of the realities in the 1990s...