Babel

I really enjoyed watching Babel. Having multiple plots not necessarily taking place in the order the movie presented them in added to the shock factor of this film. In the article The Contingency of Connection: The Path TO Politicization in Babel written by Todd McGowan the idea of idea of the contingency was explored in a detail that may have been written in a way that was a little bit over my head. In the same article the author writes…                     

“Recognizing structural incompetition requires an ability to see contingency at the point where explanations break down and where one typically posits the mysterious power of God. The place where a final signifier is missing represents the place where the contingent resides. But it is difficult to see the contingent as contingent and not interpret it according to some hidden necessity determined by the real Other behind the scenes.”

Very interesting comment on humans understanding of the unknown, but this film speaks to that idea of contingency. The Japanese father Yasujiro Wataya, gives a hunting rifle to Yussef and Ahmed’s father, who in turn lets them use it to shoot jackals, which results in the bullet hitting Susan, starting her and her husband’s journey to find medical care in Morocco. Even this very small part of the plot leads back to that idea of the unknown. It may seem very unlikely, as many things in life are, but can only be understood as random, or contingent.

This article continues to look at the role of contingence and connection. I may have missed the director’s original intentions with this film. There were some very deep philosophical messages being communicated. I did sense a lack of connection with Chieko, the two boys Yussef and Ahmed, and their father, the couple Susan and Richard, and so on. My original thought was that it was a comment on the children’s role in the parent’s life, and the parent’s effect on theirs. Almost every major scene is the result of an interaction between a parent and their child, especially towards the end of the film where Brad Pitts character is talking to his son on the phone, the nanny dancing with her son, the father comforting his daughter, and Ahmeds death.

This film was incredibly enjoyable to watch even with some of the dark themes. Reading it along with the article by Todd McGowan opened my eyes up to some of the unseen messages. The commentary on the role of contingence and connection is true to life and some of the unexplainable situations that we encounter. With out the randomness that contingence offers we would be living in a world where many of our opportunities to connect would be missed.