Aronofsky's Duality as Nihilistic It can (and I am just the man to do it) be argued that Darren Aronofsky's works of art "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream" are both nihilistic movies. More so, there is a distinct progression linking these two movies and two distinct views of nihilism. The story of "Pi" revolves around a reclusive mathematician named Max. Max's entire life is centered around finding Meaning in Pi. "Meaning" here should definitely have a capital 'm' because this meaning is an all encompassing meaning that is equated to God. This search is not altogether new for those of you informed into the physical/metaphysical debate about TOE (theory of everything). In "Pi," Max is not the only one involved in this search. There are three separate parties involved in this search, although Max is the only one who really knows what it is they are looking for. The first group consists of a group of Jews following the mystical Hasidic tradition. Similarly to Max, they are attempting to find "God" through numbers. However, their number set consists of the holy Jewish books, as opposed to Max's: nature. The second group consists of a couple Wall Street speculators. They seek to find a pattern in the stock market. Lastly, there is the group that contains only Max. As mentioned already, his number set is nature, and he attempts to find a unifying theory of everything. In the end, Max is the only one to find Pi. The reasons for this are obvious enough in such a philosophical/scientific movie. Max alone employs the scientific method, and he alone attains the fruits of his labor. The Jews did not find what they sought because they were merely trying to justify their belief in god. The speculators did not find their answer because they were merely trying to make some quick money. Only Max, who sought his Truth as an end in itself, was able to find what he was searching for. As of now, this description does not seem to be nihilistic, if anything it is the opposite. After all, not only does Max find truth, he found absolute Truth: "god." The nihilistic underpinnings show through after this profound revelation. Immediately after making his discovery, Max takes a drill and drills into his temporal cranial area. This is an example of one of the many metaphors emerging through out the movie. Briefly, throughout the movie, whenever Max is close to finding Pi, an image of a brain being destroyed is shown, illustrating the incompatibility between human life and Truth. So, Max finds Pi, cannot handle it, and "destroys" his brain. He had attained what philosophers and the religious had sought for all of time, and rejected it. Nihilistically, I reply that this is because he realized there was no meaning in even this. He had already rejected materialism and religion as sources of meaning; science was his last option. Upon realizing the meaningless of life in general, Max opts to entertain the "ignorance is bliss" lifestyle for the rest of his days. Illustrating this is one of the best endings I have ever seen. After "destroying" his brain, a young girl tests his knowledge, to which he answers "I don't know," as he stares happily into the sky. At his point he smiles, a profound statement because pains were made throughout the entire movie to keep Max from smiling even once, and always in a state of perpetual anxiety. Thus, the nihilism portrayed here is not that man lacks reason and can never attain certain knowledge (epistemological nihilism); it is an ironically more pessimistic tale. Man can indeed attain knowledge, even absolute knowledge, but every last bit of it demonstrates the meaningless of life (existential or cosmic nihilism). Moral: live the life you have always despised: self-distraction in religion, sports, utopianism, because this is the only chance you have for happiness, although it be an illusory happiness. Certainly there are other types of happiness besides that which is achieved through the search for knowledge and self-distraction? This is the question that is examined in "Requiem for a Dream." Similar to "Pi," this movie also cases a triad of groups seeking happiness. The forefront group consists of the main characters Harry and Marianne. On the side are the stories of Tyrone and Sara. The first scene in which Harry and Marianne are shown together is one in which they seem to be in pure happiness (the only true happiness in the film, contrasted with the only end happiness of "Pi). They had spent an afternoon together flirting and dreaming about their future life together. The next time these two are shown together, they are seeking a false happiness together, through heroin; marking the begininng demise of their love. As the main characters begin to cherish drugs more than each other, they begin to resent the other for standing in the way to their next high. So, we here have the prima facie moral: by seeking happiness through drugs, Harry and Marrianne destroy their chances of attaining the true love that had been latent within them from the start. However, this view is challenged by an offhand remark made by Marianne in the middle of the movie. Upon agreeing to have sex for money, she asks the pervert to turn off the lights. He replies, "Why? We never did before?" Thus, it seems that Marianne had cheated on Harry long before, and not even under the pretense of needed drug monies. A new moral emerges as: not only can you never find meaning/happiness in scientific pursuit, you cannot even find it in a love that seems so perfect. All is meaningless; knowledge, relationships, even search for knowledge and relationships. Is there anything else worth living for? Indeed, have you forgotten about the two ancillary stories already? The happiness that both Tyrone and Sara are searching for involves their memories. Tyrone finds happiness is reminiscing about his childhood and his relationship with his mother. Sara seeks her happiness in remembering her deceased husband and in the pre-drug-addicted Harry. So it would seem we have a new route in which to find happiness. Harry does not need true love, he merely needs to cherish the thoughts he had when he thought he had true love. In the end, this perspective does not work either. By living through his dreams about making his mother proud, Tyrone attempts to become a big-time drug pusher, and ends up in jail. Sara becomes addicted to diet drugs because of the obsession she has to be the same person she was when her husband was alive, and eventually loses her mind and winds up in a mental hospital. Obviously, searching for happiness in one's memories is not conducive to happiness. An underlying theme is hit upon with this juxtaposition of real happiness and fantasy happiness. Take the title for example, "Requiem for a Dream." Literally, "Death of a Dream." This sounds pessimistic, and it is, but it is meant to be more pessimistic than is gathered from first glances. The death of the dream is actually wanted, because of the incompatibility of life and the ideal. This idea is thread throughout the movie by a phrase used by Harry. When Harry first realizes that his mother is a near psychotic and living in a dream world inhabited by his dead father and his past self, he gets his first glimpse of this real/ideal polarity. The realization occurs when Harry knowingly lies to his mother, saying he plans to visit her. But, an ideal can never replace the real and bring about happiness. He understands that he cannot continue on his drug-filled ideal sort of lifestyle and breaks down in tears. After he fantasizes about getting high once again, this too-real idea is forgotten for the moment. Later, when on a six hundred-mile drug run to Florida, Harry makes the same statement to his girlfriend. Crying again (linking the two events once more), Harry tells Marianne to wait at home, that he will be there soon, although he knows there is no possibility of his doing so. At this point, he is somewhat closer to reality in the real/ideal spectrum; but it will take a much more intense reality trip to make him understand. After months of heroin injection, Harry's main vein is nearly destroyed. Stubborningly, he continues to shoot up in the same vein, eventually causing him to need an amputation. Thus the movie comes to an end, with Harry one-armedly wailing in a hospital bed. When the nurse attempts to placate him by telling him that his girlfriend will surely visit him, he responds, "No she won't," and breaks down once again. He has finally taken full responsibility for himself, and realized that there is no happiness in self-denial related to either the value of love or the value of the memories of love or in hope of an ideal. Therefore, the nihilistic progression of "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream" is evidently seen. Max realizes the futility of searching for meaning in science, or anything. Harry makes a similar conclusion about love and dreams; is there anything left? I do not think that Darren left any doors open. As I see it, the only meaning remaining is the meaning available in the christianic hope that there is meaning somewhere, but that is another paper in itself.