The Strangest Philosopher in History - Samuel Beckett

[@PursuitofWonder]

As always, thank you so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed. And thank you to Blinkist for sponsoring this video. Get a 7-day free trial and 40% off Blinkist Annual Premium using this link: bit.ly/PursuitOfWonderJun24

[@sardonicsisyphus]

Picked up your two books on Amazon.. Great stuff!

[@josephbelisle5792]

I did. Thank you.

[@ldobbs2384]

Well you must truly be a special one indeed, making a video on Beckett BEFORE knowing how to pronounce Godot, instead of AFTER. Leave that to those basic boring channels right? 😃

[@videobob]

Very creative well done thank you

[@ChristIsKing777-hr9ki]

✝️ *God offers forgiveness of sins through His Son Jesus Christ. Repent and believe in the good news of Jesus Christ unto eternal life.* ✝️ *For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,* I Corinthians 15:3‭-‬4 NKJV ✝️ *that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.* Romans 10:9 NKJV

[@winstonsmith8240]

"What time is it ?!" ..... Pause;... looks at watch;..."Same as usual." Got to be one of the best bits of dialogue ever.

[@jerryshunk7152]

Marlboro Jones, almost as Glorious as ~~~ Pharaoh Ramses --- Yul Brynner, " His GOD, ( Moses',) IS GOD !!!"

[@numbersix8919]

That is pretty damn funny.

[@geoffreypiltz271]

8 o'clock, it's written on this piece of paper kzbin.info/www/bejne/qH20mYSJnqmFY80

[@sazennonumber]

That bit has an entirely different meaning to me now that I'm older. Magnificent.

[@edwenjones324]

Dialogue?

[@JimSuperwhite43]

Any Beckett fans out there remember this news item? "In 1985, the actor Jan Jönson staged Waiting for Godot with a group of Swedish prison inmates and planned a premiere at Gothenburg City Theatre that never happened because the prisoners escaped. Beckett apparently said, “That’s the best thing that happened to this play since I wrote it!"

[@CitizenMars999]

Fancy meeting you here, old friend. And loved your recountment of wise men who didn't wait around for Godot but hightailed it for parts unknown! For the record, any time I hear or read of another expressing their belief that life is utterly meaningless always puts me in good cheer.

[@garyconnors2104]

I would be alone at the Gothenburg City Theater waiting for Waiting for Godot.

[@joesanpatricio794]

I was born in 1985. I hope it was at the same time as when these men took their freedom.

[@ObsceneSuperMatt]

@@joesanpatricio794 Better than 9 months after, right?

[@sazennonumber]

Well yeah... they ran with it.

[@bellareid3488]

Thich Nhat Hanh said "Desire is the obstacle of happiness" That is what I get from this. Waiting for what we don't have steals our joy in the present

[@marshmellowkim]

ive heard that desire is the root of suffering. the duality is real.

[@qntkka]

It can also be the opposite. Imagine never feeling desire.

[@turtleanton6539]

Indeed😊

[@bepositive271]

if your emotions are attached to desire only then it's a obstacle to happiness Follow disattachement and then desire is one of the most life changing thing

[@Chris-cf2kp]

"Desire is the obstacle of happiness" is an amphiboly, which relies on your mindset and perspective of existence.

[@ianfenwick5189]

I’ve never found Beckett bleak. I think his nakedness is liberating so, while it might not be exactly joyful, his work does bring enormous relief.

[@justincase4812]

Beckett is especially bleak to busy body type people who are addicted to copium and denial (in the form of religion, obsession with wealth for examples) of his seminal delivery of this concept.

[@aclark903]

Most overrated Nobel Prize winner until Obama.

[@JoanKentBible]

😊

[@CarefulObserver1]

Relief just knowing that someone is articulating the meaningless banality of human existence.

[@aclark903]

@@CarefulObserver1 Life is only meaningless if you reject #God.

[@kimpeccable]

"Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett. This quote has been an rallying cry for persistence in the face of failure, but really, he was simply lamenting the the fact that he would never persuade the words to lie down on paper in a way that perfectly mirrored the thoughts in his head. But success was not his goal, it was the examination of his inner worlds and coming to terms with what could not be expressed or understood, only explored. That's why, though he might have wanted to quit, he could not. Language would not let him.

[@christopherbell1430]

Good stuff!

[@CarefulObserver1]

Language would not let him quit. Very good. I like that.

[@PromptStreamer]

As a massive Beckett fan, I thought your video was an excellent and accurate introduction to Beckett. I often cringe at or avoid layperson’s popularizations of various intellectual topics or writers, because they can cheapen, oversimplify or just plain misread the sources. But I felt that everything you said was spot-on. You have a good understanding of Beckett.

[@JoanKentBible]

“I can't go on, I'll go on.” Samuel Beckett. As I approach eighty years of age, this one resonates with me! Thank you, I really enjoyed your talk on Samuel Beckett. Many years back I saw Spike Milligan play one of the parts in Waiting for Godo. I remember almost nothing about it, except that Spike jumped in and out of bed quite a lot and interacted with the audience quite a lot. The audience loved him, his antics, and the performance and I have very fond memories of the play and a wonderful night out at the South Bank.

[@christopherbell1430]

That’s touching, Joan.

[@mossfitz]

An amazing thing about Beckett is that his writing is informed by highly intellectual sources yet can appeal to the most uninformed public because he has distilled the essential, universal human experiences his sources deal with, so very well. While i was working on a production of Godot, a quite uneducated acquaintance took it upon himsrlf to read it because we were close at the time, and he could identify so well with it that he was actually angry at me : "Why didn't you show this to me before?" He then went on to be a great help in putting the stage together.

[@Sophiedorian0535]

My study of Beckett has brought me the single most profound insight in my entire life: I don’t like to be kept waiting by the waiting.

[@KatieB-sx1gw]

So is humankind inevitably to turn on itself, maybe it's only the 'script'of incomplete , 'godless', phalice-less' individualism that made these characters look past each other, instead of turning to each other,- what other conversarions, insights or adventures they could have had if only they had seen and focused on each other? I think Eastern philosophy must have it over the remnants(?) of Western: Why even wait?Why not 'be' or 'do'?(If not instead of, at least 'while' waiting? Hmm, maybe I just don't like the inevitability presented: Like Godot's persistent absence is inevitable, why is our apparently universal(?) 'human' denial of this truth, and 'compulsive obsession' to deny it, inevitable? Or do outliers exist but they're only the exception, insufficient to drive collective history to the rational and the 'good'/peaceful?(Guess I'll have to read more!-including, Beckett)

[@Sophiedorian0535]

@@KatieB-sx1gw The characters don’t turn on each other, because they have a common goal that cannot be competed for. Beckett wrote this play during the aftermath of World War Two. Waiting for Godot is what peace felt like for millions of people. And it felt good, for a long long while, to those who had lived the Nazi occupation. Like my parents. I’m Belgian. Becket lived the Nazi occupation, in France. Becket wrote the play in French, although he was an Irish Protestant. Its format is that of the circus farce: clowns meeting each other in the imaginary middle of nowhere, improvising away. It’s comedy. French style. You laugh in anticipation, not in response to a punch line. You are having a low level of fun during the show, for no reward, at no cost, and at no-one’s expense. In the first years after the end of the occupation, this was all you wanted to experience.

[@pikiwiki]

but if the waiting are not waiting does that mean you have been too late?

[@zerostar1679]

Fire

[@zerostar1679]

@@KatieB-sx1gwfire

[@swealf-nonofficial]

Absurdity is kind of what makes life beautiful, we don't have to strive towards a common higher meaning of existence. We get to choose our path and create our own meaning.

[@OfWavesAndWinds]

We HAVE to create our own meaning because without it our lives ARE meaningless.

[@vivekkaushik9508]

That's one way to cope with reality.

[@steelearmstrong9616]

It’s still meaningless

[@siriuss_]

​@@vivekkaushik9508and that's sad

[@ericcartmann]

Sorry, its going to make life less beautiful over time as more and more people give up on life. The West was Christian Majority up until recently, with absurdist/nihilist philosophies taking over the West will fall. If you have children, their lives will be worse off then yours. If your children have children their lives will be worse off then them. Art in the next generation is not ironically bad 3D modelling of a head popping out of a toilet, and rehashing it over and over. Beauty is going down the toilet. I mean, of course; None of this would matter if you do not think anything matters. If nothing matters, then truely nothing matters that includes beauty, your friends, family, people, etc

[@scotty2dadout]

Im convinced that Pursuit of Wonder is regularly changing the titles of their videos as a social experiment that will be part of a future video. The amount of times ive skipped over a video when looking for an older video because the name was different than I remembered is... probably still in the single digits, but the fact that its happened more than 3 times astounds me.

[@samuelalmeida6479]

This is a common Yt practice. People who didn't click on the video before maybe get interested on the new title. Or maybe you are having quantum leaps of consciousness. 😅

[@Heseys.11]

It's an algorithm trick. Gets you more views

[@chrisbirch4150]

I have noticed this. I assumed it was if the first title was having an unusually low response

[@scotty2dadout]

@chrisbirch4150 I'm sure it's algorithm related, but the sheer number of times it has happened to me with this one specific channel and the psychological damage it has done as a result has left me to rationalize it as needing a higher purpose XD

[@NikolajA1995]

AB testing, bro

[@dillonblack4524]

This is my introduction to this channel.. this might be one of the greatest videos I've ever seen.

[@helencheung2537]

Everything's relative.

[@thebrocialist8300]

Must be a low bar for you

[@dillonblack4524]

​@helencheung2537 I've watched dozens more since this one and this one definitely hit me different still top 3

[@dansbike1]

The recent film The Banshees of Inisherin smacks of Waiting for Godot. Great film. Great play. They both exemplify that characteristic sardonic Irish wit. The back and forth parrying of subtle quips set against the backdrop of ho-hum hardships and the absurdity of daily ritual. Nobody makes the english language dance quite like the Irish.

[@austinmurphy6359]

Ive learned through experience is that when facing the truth will lead you to anxiety and depression. This happens because everything you think you know (your identity) is a fabricated lie and that is a hard pill to swallow. Stay strong and follow what you instinctively know to be right.

[@genealogiacolorada]

it's all behavior. The doubt is a collateral effect of the fuck we are. intelligence? pattern recognition? anyway it results in self-consciousness.

[@vaxrvaxr]

What is it you instinctively know to be right, and how does it solve the problem?

[@helencheung2537]

And what if your insticts tell you to face the truth and get over it?

[@ISayNukem]

​@@helencheung2537 Then that's what you do, of course.

[@ianfenwick5189]

Experience, of course, is the antithesis of learning. It’s simply one person’s reaction to a given set of circumstances. True learning comes from evidential facts. The question then is, ‘so what?’

[@ISayNukem]

I let all of that go a long time ago! It was one of the best decisions I've ever made. So much peace comes with it. Just see life as a gift and live a good and happy one. ☺️

[@glennmungra5476]

I've never read anything from Samuel Becket, but it makes sense to me. The act of waiting and longing for an end result is a practical way of giving sense to that experience and making the best of the current moment.

[@algo_home]

The only way it makes sense is if you haven't read it! Give Watt or Molloy a read, very good books :^)

[@harryknickerbocker9889]

Waiting For Godot, in my humble opinion, is the best and most accurate picture of humanity ever conceived by an artist.

[@AjwahMehak]

You never fail to show us a completely different perspective of the world in your videos They are really insightful Looking forward to this one as well👍☺️

[@JayTX.]

I like that he presents each one with equal excitement with no bias or very little criticism

[@Zagg777]

Beckett suffered from clinical depression, as did his mother. His principal theme is that life is pain, but the pain must be endured. The “black humor” is in fact music hall humor, as music hall was one of Beckett’s diversions.

[@EdDunkle]

I'm always amazed that people with clinical depression can be so productive. It makes me wonder.

[@johntuohy1867]

😢​@@EdDunkle The desperation of a downhill struggle.

[@logia7]

This is actually nuts, I was thinking about reading this play yesterday, not the first time I have heard of it.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Try Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead". 💪😎✌️ Play or film, take your pick; they're both by Stoppard. 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨

[@genealogiacolorada]

​@@Novastar.SaberCombatgonna check, thanks

[@whatcouldgowrong7914]

The answer to the riddle is to stop chasing meaning in a meaningless existence and to look behind the mirror and challenge the belief or pursuit itself. It is an itch that can never be scratched.

[@ISayNukem]

I let all of that go a long time ago! It was one of the best decisions I've ever made. So much peace comes with it. Just see life as a gift and live a good and happy one. ☺️

[@purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr]

yes. it damning

[@mikeoglen6848]

@@ISayNukem But, what, exactly is the "good life" and what is it to be "happy"?

[@rosanna5515]

Beilliant observation.

[@scottashe984]

You have to find things that have meaning to you. If you don't have them and can't work on them you will be depressed or worse.

[@marshallodom1388]

I believe that same idea was summed up nicely in the animated show Jungle Book, with the three vultures sitting on a dead tree branch, one of them ask "So, whatcha wanna do?", the other replys by asking, "I don't know. Whatch YOU wanna do?", both of them tossing the question back and forth between them, forever.

[@Thelatenightchipshopexperience]

Mind blown at the idea the tree is inspired by the Eden story. Never delved deep into Godot but have 20 years experience and a degree in study of Drama. I probably should rethink life!

[@The-Sea-Dragon-1977]

The most important realisation of my life was that the only thing that matters are the things that are important to me. I do not try to fit into other's expectations, my efforts are gauged by desire for an outcome, my outcomes are determined by what makes me happy. If I exert myself at work, it is only to further the lifestyle I have chosen to live and not to conform to a societal goal or pursuit of status. In this respect the work of Beckett and Camus is correct, because life is futile then it should be enjoyed to the fullest without infringing on others. A life with no meaning is not a meaningless life, it is a life packed with fun distractions and enjoyable whims free of guilt.

[@jean4186]

"Living well is the best revenge". Great quote but I do not know who said it first. I agree with your comments & well said. Thanks

[@johngilliam346]

I agree generally, but your first two sentences imply hedonism and narcissism as an ethics. We have a politician that has in practice adopted this philosophy and done so much damage. Maybe you mean to cover this by saying "without infringing on others"?

[@johnhough7738]

Guilt is both tool and weapon, but only for folks who are animated "conscience-free zones". It is also very powerful. The antidote is thinking for yourself ... but not everyone can do that. (Indoctrination since childhood has a powerful grip, the Pushers know and exploit the fact.)

[@Heseys.11]

We're all waiting for our own Godots.

[@fernandoorozco5968]

True

[@OfWavesAndWinds]

No. I know there are not any Godots, lol.

[@starzzz3774]

Become your own

[@HelloMyNameIsCody]

Gotto, are you out there?

[@josephbelisle5792]

I don't wait for godot. Not anymore.

[@bepositive271]

The fact that we have nothingness or meaninglessness in life makes it more interesting cause if don't have any meaning we can create it with out imagination we can live the life how we want it. That's why it's one of the best thing

[@saimbhat6243]

No. You cannot simultaneously acknowledge the nothingness and meaninglessness of existence, yet have any actual commitment to any self-created arbitrary meaning. Only someone with cognitive dissonance can square a circle. It is so preposterous to even assume that to be true. Nothing can ever be purposeful or meaningful while acknowledging the purposefulness and meaninglessness of it all. Sartre and Camus only pretended to believe it, their writings are miserable, so were they.

[@kaleabtam1783]

i get what you are saying. but not all see it as a way to create something they want rather once they understand nothingness they'll panic, they will go insane, they doubt themselves and what they been told. it does end good. not all are open minded about it

[@bepositive271]

@@kaleabtam1783 I think we all should take some time from our life to think about these types of question

[@bepositive271]

@@vaxrvaxr Living life with literally no meaning is very hard it creates depression and many things. I am not saying that life is not meaningless it is but that's the beauty of life that you can create something. It's like a empty canvas that you can draw anything with your imagination.

[@francisdec1615]

@@saimbhat6243 Exactly. Especially Sartre is so obviously a liar. In Nausea he first reveals that he's a pessimist, even darker than Schopenhauer, more like Mainländer, but then he starts talking BS and it ends with him moving to Paris! To put it short: he didn't have the courage to kill himself, but he also didn't have the courage to be honest, and he couldn't just live on either, despite being economically independent, because he had the need to stay relevant and famous. Mainländer was brave and killed himself. Schopenhauer was honest and said to the whole world that life is meaningless.

[@davidkent2804]

Very profound and truthful. I am glad Godot isn't coming. I hate to take a swing at people.

[@travisdsimmon]

I've watched Not I soo many times..still gives me chills

[@wpynaemnasuchegoprzestworo8336]

Beckett and Cioran were friends. What a wonderful duo.

[@davidscher4303]

"its too late to kill yourself'

[@k.1827]

Cioran crafted in such a magnificent way Beckett's portait in his last book called "Exercices d'admiration."

[@CheriePeden-o6i]

Beckett is everything that this culture spurns. Modest, intelligent, brilliant in a way so prophetic that his writing seems to come out of nowhere. His work makes it easier to question the existence of God without getting too upset about it

[@inevolution1]

Like no other thinker who ever walked earth. Through his extraordinary sensitive feelings what is eyes saw what his ears listened to … we all have had the pleasure and joy to observe and feel ourselves. Anyway who knew him in the early days all know not only did he have a style unto himself his character his integrity was holy like. He lived a very simple and pure life unattached to most of our earthly cravings and possessions. I loved him immensely my all time favorite thinker who wrote like no one else ever. And in that actually said the most profound statements where I constantly stopped reading and I was in another world of thought so expansive… to this day..✨ thank you I thought you did a ok job. You could talk much slower and be less loud and more spiritual depth brother Sam was deeply spiritual. 🌹

[@jonegan6807]

There's a story about how, in an effort to persuade Beckett to come to London for the premier of a production, his agent suggested buying him tickets for a cricket Test Match at Lords for the day after the show. Whilst walking towards Lords Cricket Ground, across St John's Wood, the Irish actor Jack McGowran, who was accompanying him, said; "Well Sam, the play was a roaring success, the notices were great, and now here we are, a beautiful summer's morning and the prospect of a fine day's cricket ahead of us. Sure, makes you glad to be alive." Beckett stopped, thought for a considerable interval, and at last replied: "Well, I wouldn't go that far."

[@patrickcole2356]

There is meaning to our lives. Ethics arise from the fact that we are aware, self aware, and have a form of free will. We can value independently, and choose to live lives characterized by kindness, love, curiosity, and shared experiences. The fact that our lives are finite does not diminish or undermine their value. Keep on living folks, take joy in it, and share that joy.

[@coolorphans]

Ethics comes from evolution.

[@Ionlydategoodgirls]

Beautiful theory but put it in practice is the hard job.

[@TimHunold]

"Hopefull" is never a word I would use. Waiting for whatever an uncaring universe will send us s'more appropriate

[@wkgall]

wow, really captivating video 🎉 can't wait to see what I rediscover about myself and self reflect on decisions I've made. POW has made me leap light years ahead instead of going through the Kafka Esq situations 😊 channels like these , we need more

[@stretke]

Bravo! This video is one of my favorites. Waiting patiently for my next favorite.......

[@SevenUnwokenDreams]

Well done. I love Waiting for Godot, Happy Days, and Endgame. I want to read more of his work. I don't find it confusing or frustrating. It is funny, brilliant, and so very true.

[@mohg7793]

I'm waiting for the world to end. I believe this kind of waiting is quite common nowadays.

[@pensionenichols]

me too. In the mean time I'll amble through the purposeless and try not to take everything so damned seriously.

[@4061earthabcdesong]

May i know why you 2 wait for the world to end? Is it because of the wars? 😢

[@youarewhatyourelookingfor4496]

I’m both waiting but not necessarily in a hurry either. All the suffering and horrors is like WTF man. For what? Why?

[@123jkjk123]

Yes, poor people have been fear-mongered badly. Sad to see, especially since people "waiting for the world to end" always seem to get manipulated into all kinds of craziness.

[@trinacogitating4532]

I relate to this. I think it's not uncommon, for those of us who were brought up with Cold War nuclear attack drills, and, I expect, everyone since then. And then there's the small (/s) influence of religion...

[@bogdansss]

For anybody who's curious of further exploring this, the clips are from a BBC series titled "Beckett on film".

[@Acacklingrugbug]

Big black cocktail?

[@chipkyle5428]

I have enjoyed this video and all of your comments. Wonderful ideas and thoughts.

[@alvaromd3203]

Absolutely fantastic video.

[@tamshort2719]

I am a self proclaimed schooler/student of and being. I preference you amongst the top of my go to lecturerers/storyteller with worthy knowledge and concepts to revisit or be introduced to, i have always found value in content enjoyable for those who consume information for contemplation and digestion to grow wisdom for its own fulfilmemt and become more at peace with all as we learn more of how much less we know. And its perfect discoving its all as it should be.

[@LCTesla]

it's a strange but enviable power. to lodge a phrase like "waiting for Godot" so deeply into our language like no work shorter or longer than it ever could. though I am probably naive for envying its author, knowing what I do about him

[@jonclay89]

Beckett’s work is joyful in a Spinozist sense because it’s so brilliantly creative.

[@TheDjcarlos67]

Always stimulating my mind with your content. Bravo. Becketts philosophy reminds me of Arthur Schopenhauer’s philosophy particularly in his thoughts on the importance of art

[@ME-fo7si]

We’re all in the waiting room of death.

[@trinacogitating4532]

Nice of them to let us wander in the garden. And the magazines are pretty good.

[@ME-fo7si]

@@trinacogitating4532 😂😂😃

[@angrypidgeon1714]

there is no death. Obviously because we are the same, eat, drink etc., consciousness that reflects more or less the same reality. Death is the fear imposed by the instinct of survival enforcing territoriality and individual survival, which ironically is false - everyone does die individually, but life keeps existing. Upon shedding individualism what is left is immortality. That is Christianity / Eastern philosophy. Individualism is a characteristic of western philosophy

[@davidwright8432]

Speak for yourself!

[@johnhough7738]

@@angrypidgeon1714 Wotever. Just don't give up the day job.

[@jacquieteehan6631]

I am a Beckett fan! not because I know all his works but because I believe life is futile. We are mortal, so we understand our existence through the prism of our cultural and social timeframe. My life is important because I'm living it right now.

[@HandleGF]

A Godot story from Vienna... it concerns the aftermath of an evening at the Gutruf bar, when Helmut Qualtinger's friend Otto Kobalek turned up at a performance of Godot. Kobalek suddenly appeared on stage, with a plastic bag in his hand. It held a copy of an old futuristic novel, set in that same year. The future had finally become the present. Waving the contents of the bag, he addressed the astonished actors and audience. "Godot ist da. Sie müssen nicht mehr warten" (‘Godot is here. You mustn’t wait any longer.’) Then he vanished back into the wings. A tickled Qualtinger called Beckett himself in Paris with the news. Beckett turned out to be very happy to hear it and sent his warm regards, as he too had always been waiting for this to happen.

[@juliettebouchery3550]

I saw a beautiful production of Godot last fall. A wonderful balance between funny and terrifying.

[@vintagethings9187]

I first saw the play ‘Not I’ as a television production and it was captivating. Much later. I saw a documentary (maybe on KZbin) about the making of a live stage performance of ‘Not I’. It was equally engrossing, telling the story of how difficult it is to stage, especially for the actor. Both are worth searching for.

[@ElkoJohn]

Once upon a midnight dreary While I pondered weak and weary On the thoughts of bygone lore Quoth the Raven ' 'Nevermore' ' Ghostly sights appear to me Imagine what it’s like to be With sorrow standing at the door Quoth my Raven ' 'Nevermore' '

[@mikeoglen6848]

You should write some more verses to this - it has Potential...

[@ElkoJohn]

@@mikeoglen6848 Yet Spirit Seeks with Shear Delight To find my Soul deep in the night The Beauty Found will never bend My sorrow dreams begin to end

[@yocappy-ve7jf]

We give birth astride the grave, the light goes on for one brilliant moment, and then...silence.

[@Some_odd_guy]

Absurd does not exist on it’s own. It is the consequence of inaction of an unconscious man that is manifesting itself into life. We all think that it is Estragon and Vladimir that wait for Godot. But in reality it is Godot who is waiting for both of them.

[@IFYOUWANTITGOGETIT]

Good stuff. I agree.

[@ThingsWorseThanDeath]

That’s one of the cooler takes I’ve ever heard on Waiting for Godot

[@dbddeclan7161]

🤔🤔🤔

[@josephbelisle5792]

Student of philosophy huh.

[@tracynonumbers]

a number of Beckett's characters are stuck...it's in the hopeful act of breaking free of routine and actively searching where one may find one's godot

[@joesanpatricio794]

Dang, homie. Idk how I haven’t seen your work before, it slappeth. You put me on w Beckett AND Blinkist in one under-fifteen minute video. Good aesthetic tambien. Firme, holmes.

[@bambledaczymbledek]

I played Clov in Endgame in the Seventies and it may have been the most singular achievement of all my years of trying to be an actor, or a human for that matter. It is a daunting technical challenge for the players in part because the language is simple and repetitive and slippery and at the same time very precise and unforgiving. I have Beckett's quote on failure on my desk blotter always. It both comforts me and fills me with dread. I'll leave you.

[@michaelcollins7738]

Superb!Thank you!

[@inevolution1]

Sam would say that love that. There was no one like him ever! There will never be. His time on earth was unique and in that time he wrote about what he saw what he left and absurdity of our society he was certainly aware of. How fragile we are all. How we don’t really believe in anything but ideas. Ideas are not beliefs. Can we even imagine what he saw in the wars in the surrealist movement. Sitting at the back of the cafe listening watching feeling everything so sensitive. I love him love his indomitable spirit!

[@shuddupeyaface]

I enjoyed watching and listening to this. Far more than I ENJOYED watching the play. But maybe that's the point 👍

[@keithmockett3810]

Excellent! Thanks for producing!❤

[@nickdomenicos5987]

Amen Amen Where there's no love There's only hate We look above But we only wait And our lonely hearts Only break Where there's no love There's only hate Where there's no breath There's only death We save and save But nothing left And at our graves No tears are wept For fading names There's only death For broken souls There is no mend Just gaping holes No one to send Who could cry "Amen, Amen!" For broken souls There is no mend And so we live Yet we die And kill and curse Our lonely cry Until the hearse Our last goodbye And so we live Yet we die.

[@joejones9520]

the actress who played the demon nanny in "the omen," billie whitelaw, was beckett's muse from 1963 til his death in 1989

[@Steven-w6h]

Excellent! Just wait and see!

[@madmaxx5280]

Search for meaning can be described as an Itching sensation we get sometimes. If we scratched it, it causes more pain then relief saying that one should keep moving forward without focusing on the itching part. Just like we do in our lives when its itchy.

[@nicolasrossi5978]

Thank you.

[@anthonyallen663]

I'd like to see you do a video on how the German Existentialists differ from the French Existentialists & how the World Wars may have played a difference in their outlooks.

[@mikeoglen6848]

I think the World cast and continue to cast, a very long shadow...

[@cobalius]

lol those philosophers kinda forgodot that it's really nice to look at bugs, moss and rain. it doesnt really matter what we're searching for, if anything, it's nice to be a part of it all

[@tbird-c2q]

Ur comment is fucking goated. elegant simplicity along with a pun?? have a great day pal :)

[@NoferTrunions]

Wow, Waiting for Godot instantly reminded me of The Book of Job (without pre and post additions) and an experimental film by Warhol I saw while at C-MU from 81-83 where the cast lounged on a couch looking at the camera - nothing happened - we eventually left. Was Warhol wagering on the average time of leaving? Can find no information on this film.

[@swealf-nonofficial]

It is because life is meaningless that we have to live it to its fullest, embracing the absurd nature of existence itself.

[@sandygehrmann6309]

That is one perspective, yes.

[@joelcilli9185]

that makes no sense

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Existence here is preparation for the possibility of what lies beyond the veil. But if you're not ready, YOU DO ANOTHER LAP. It's a hard reset, too (memory). I'm not even close to kidding around. Some souls been doin' laps for *far* longer than they comprehend. It's not endless, though. Darkness awaits any who run out of "méâna". 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨ "Before I start, I must see my end. Destination known, my mind's journey now begins. Upon my chariot, heart and soul's fate revealed. In time, all points converge, hope's strength resteeled. But to earn final peace at the universe's endless refrain, we must see all in nothingness... before we start again." 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨ --Diamond Dragons (book I)

[@josephbelisle5792]

​@@Novastar.SaberCombat wow, really? Wow.

[@josephbelisle5792]

Life is not meaningless. You are alive. That is the meaning. Do the best you can to enjoy it and to help others enjoy it. Life is its own purpose. How we live it determines how we all live it. In essence be good, kind, generous. If we all are, then everyone stands a chance at a decent life. Be greedy and selfish and not just you will suffer. The latter is the essence of religion.

[@nathanielmikkie7171]

I know a place, where I'll wait for my undefined uncertain end: pursuit of wonder channel

[@cinorom3803]

Sam Beckett. wasnt that the name of the character Scott Bacula played in the series Quantum Leap?

[@Wildrover82]

Yes it was. loved that show...

[@JamesSimmons-d1t]

Good analysis, writing less so. And GoDOT accent on second syllable. I read this in French grad school seminar at Princeton, 1972 or 3, as undergrad in English, with Frederic OBrady, AKA Marcel Hillaire in many films and TV shows. We all pronounced second syllable emphasized. In English as well. Long vowel before single consonant is a general rule in American English. Sam wrote this in French.

[@nicc8268]

lol

[@jimpartridge9634]

The moment you realize it is all absurd, is also the moment you are released to enjoy things free from imposed supernatural representations. Live, tinker, love (if you want to), enjoy, feel pain, and generally exist bc there is no higher purpose.

[@erik_1953]

I remember the older generation always started the conversation with, "before the war" or "after the war". Those that had to build up in Europe after the war had nothing. And it lasted until the mid-sixties before people earned some more money and started to breathe again.

[@barbaramoore6111]

Isn't the emphasis in "Godot" on the second syllable?

[@nancyoconnor4420]

Yes. Is it AI speaking.

[@romeoverso]

Thx, new pov unlocked 😅

[@ImTheDigitalAlchemist]

Went to a thing once called "Beckett Space", it had all of his plays being performed (live) and you could wander among them. Was an interesting experience.

[@nobodyreally]

4:50 ”how does one sustain meaning and create art… ” “The art of the people (Greeks) was not be accounted for by their whims and fancies; it was to be determined by need. What does not spring from necessity is not art. Unless a people need art as they need bread, how can their art be great?” - A. R. Orage: Friedrich Nietzsche, the Dionysian Spirit of the Age

[@mossfitz]

Yet 'uselessness' is one of the central definitions of Art as such agreed on within philosophical aesthetics.

[@tiredironrepair]

I sense the Ai equivalent of the Wonder Years television series narrator. Fred Savage, that's it. Ai Fred Savage, what a name, sounds very serious indeed. As if Ai Savage finds Sam Becketts' work fascinating and truly wishes to share that passion with us. That's so sweet. You know little ai's grow up so fast.

[@BOSScula]

Waiting for some outside God, nothing will happen. Wait an eternity. Look for God within, kingdom is within, realization can happen in a second

[@billmcanally7782]

I liked what you had to say about Mr. Beckett...although I must say, I, too, have never thought of him as a philosopher...rather as an artist with a penchant for philosophy...

[@nicc8268]

From roughly 5 to 9 mins is incredible.

[@13infbatt]

“When you’re up to your neck in s$”t, all you can do is sing” good advice for life . While living in France he used to drop a boy off at school , that boy would grow up to be Andre the giant .

[@pikiwiki]

oh wow

[@BenTrem42]

*_Lovely essay!_* I happened onto _ToA_ as a kid (early 1960s), along with Heinlein and Bradbury. Later, Camus and Beckett. All that seemed to fit that decade very neatly! p.s. working on Giraudaux's _"Electra",_ as though hoping to mount it in the local *_Fringe Festival._*_ (I'd have done theatre if military had not swept me away!_

[@NetsukePup]

Excellent. 👍🏼🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽👍🏼

[@FormsInSpace]

a friend turned me on to beckett in 2002. he had a bunch of real to real movies of godot, end game, what where, the goad, not I ect. "the goad" is my fav.

[@jamesbueker11]

The entire concept of waiting is not part and an inexorable part of the human condition. I adore examining it with an absurdist pov.

[@MikeDial]

My father was schizophrenic. It was difficult to read "Waiting for Godot" in college, because it sounded like the nonsense that good old Daddy-o would spout.

[@TulioG]

Great video... It definitely makes me curious to check more of his work

[@robinbergfeld5140]

The music starting 5.58 hits me, could anyone please share it's name?

[@wovfm]

One hit wonder who pummeled doubters with his Nobel. While he did not invent absurdism (the first man did) he did give the form greater exposure and possibility in the 20th century.

[@mr.miller5041]

Bizarre that this video should come up in my YT, because I just read Waiting for Godot two nights ago. I'd wanted to read it for some time, and only just got round to it after buying it at least a couple of years ago. I wouldn't say I was disappointed, probably due to the fact that it was such a short book. But I thought it was silly.

[@reginaldside4575]

That's not necessarily a bad thing.

[@JimSuperwhite43]

Great visuals.

[@KatieB-sx1gw]

Nice intro summary, thanks. Unsure if I've seen your other videos, I'm a subscriber,(so I think so - the metaphor of a couple who move a fair bit, go for walks in their neighborhood, and regularly pass an old man digging a hole, comes to mind...).Anyway, maybe this your videoes could include a series of critiques or reevaluations of some of these thinkers either from their time ir since -just for more balance/extra goodness :)

[@malking5226]

Godot: [meanwhile] ".... maybe this isn't the right place...?

[@TheTiger669]

Perfect Thank you

[@wolpumba4099]

*The Strangest Philosopher in History - Samuel Beckett: Exploring Absurdism and the Human Condition* * *0:22** Beckett's Dark and Innovative Writing:* Samuel Beckett is considered one of the most unconventional and influential writers of the 20th century, known for his dark humor and exploration of the absurd. * *1:18** Beckett's Early Struggles:* Despite academic success, Beckett faced numerous rejections in his early writing career and battled depression and anxiety, which heavily influenced his later work. * *2:27** Two Phases of Beckett's Career:* Beckett's writing can be divided into pre- and post-World War II periods. His pre-war work was more scholarly, while his post-war writing became more fragmented and focused on themes of futility and absurdity. * *3:06** "Waiting for Godot" and the Theater of the Absurd:* Beckett's play "Waiting for Godot" became an international success and a cornerstone of the Theater of the Absurd, a movement that emerged in response to the devastation of World War II. [From Comments] The play has been compared to "The Banshees of Inisherin" for its sardonic Irish wit and the absurdity of daily rituals. * *3:18** The Futility of Waiting:* In "Waiting for Godot," two characters, Estragon and Vladimir, endlessly wait for someone named Godot who never arrives, highlighting the futility and meaninglessness of human existence in an absurd world. [From Comments] Many see "Godot" as a metaphor for various things, including God, salvation, or the fundamental object of longing. * *6:57** The Abandonment of Humanity:* Beckett's work suggests humanity has been abandoned to grapple with a meaningless existence, left waiting for answers that will never come. [From Comments] This resonates with those who feel a sense of meaninglessness and the futility of waiting for external forces to provide meaning. * *7:03** Finding Meaning in the Absurd:* While acknowledging the absurdity of life, Beckett suggests we can find meaning and beauty in art, connection, and the ability to laugh at our predicament. [From Comments] Some argue that the play's lack of meaning allows for endless interpretations and invites audiences to co-create narratives while waiting. * *9:08** Beckett's Other Works:* Beckett's other plays, such as "Endgame," "Happy Days," "Play," and "Not I," further explore these themes of absurdity and the human condition in various bleak and often humorous scenarios. * *9:58** Nobel Prize Recognition:* Beckett's contributions to literature were recognized with the Nobel Prize in 1969, solidifying his place as a significant figure in 20th-century literature. * *10:12** Finding Value in Beckett's Darkness:* Despite the bleakness, Beckett's work offers a unique perspective on the human condition, allowing us to find humor and connection in our shared struggle with the absurd. [From Comments] While not universally appreciated, many find Beckett's work to be deeply profound and a powerful reflection of the human experience. This summary incorporates information from the comments that provide further context, interpretation, and personal reflections on Beckett's work and its impact. I used gemini-1.5-pro-exp-0801 to summarize the transcript. Cost (if I didn't use the free tier): $0.10 Input tokens: 25830 Output tokens: 696

[@detroitculture.]

He’s the greatest

[@nonny6990]

Brilliant. Thank you. 😊👍

[@justincase4812]

This is profoundly fundamental. Everything outside the concept is copium essentially. Everything else that busy body humans do is completely fatuous. And that knowledge gives me a very peaceful life.