Flight from Death: The Quest for Immortality

i saw this movie at the silver lake film festival and wasn't quite sure what to expect going into it but the film was thought provoking and superbly entertaining. it actually ended up winning the best documentary award at the festival and i couldn't agree more with that. i have not been able to stop thinking about this movie and have since read Denial of Death the book on which the film is based. it's an important film that everyone should see. the ideas and the way they are packaged both in the book and the film really have a way of changing the way you think and look at the world. not many films have that kind of power.

I tend to agree more with the reviewer who gave it 2 out of 10, but maybe I'm 'siding' with him just because I'm afraid of death! ;-) He also mentioned that it was a "platform for politically correctish pontificating" and I really agree with that in that they talk about how we fight and have wars to reaffirm that our race/clan etc. Are the 'correct' ones and that the enemy is just some kind of evil heathen animal that believes in a different type of God than us so deserves to die, and in this politically correct, white guilt-ridden film, 'WE', means us evil 'white men' and our American belief system and our war machines, man! Yeah this is just annoying and difficult to even listen to because it's mainly just BS. Why didn't they show radical Islamist's threatening to cut off people's heads if he didn't convert to Islam, because THAT would have been a far better example of religious intolerance -- but since the film was made by the white activist, guilt-ridden types, then of course they had to keep the focus on the 'man'.

I do believe that the radical Islamist's DO fight for religious reasons and the payoff they believe they're going to get in a paradise after death and 72 virgins and endless wine etc., but I don't believe that most white people go to war for the same reasons at all. I've seen a lot of soldiers interviewed who fought in Iraq and they're really good people who simply wanted to kill the Taliban who were oppressing the public which to me seems perfectly righteous and is not linked to anything selfish or seeking divinity.

As for war and this supposed deep link to one's own religion and immortality etc., I just think this is all a big load of garbage. When you're talking about basic fights that break out (they show footage of street fights), on that level, people are just like Chimpanzees. I saw Jane Goodall in an interview discussing the Gombe Chimpanzee War, and she was mortified at the brutality the chimps inflicted, and before this happened, she had believed that chimps were 'better' than people, but they're clearly not, and I think chimps are a perfect example of what people are like. We really are not very far removed from them and to think otherwise is very arrogant.

Anyhow, I can't say I'm very impressed with the film and/or most of the professors interviewed and they didn't bring anything new to the table for me. I don't believe in any kind of life after death and think our lives end when we die just as the chimps lives end.

Below is some info from the chimp war if you're interested:

Jane Goodall, a famous primatologist, is well known for her unprecedented findings of native chimpanzee populations in her studies. The outbreak of the war came as a disturbing shock to Goodall, who had previously considered chimpanzees to be, although similar to human beings, "rather 'nicer'". Coupled with her 1975 observation of cannibalistic infanticide by a high-ranking female in the community, the Gombe war revealed the "dark side" of chimpanzee behavior. In her 1990 memoir Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe, she wrote:

For several years I struggled to come to terms with this new knowledge. Often when I woke in the night, horrific pictures sprang unbidden to my mind-Satan (one of the apes... she had probably named him Satan even before this for a good reason), cupping his hand below Sniff's chin to drink the blood that welled from a great wound on his face; old Rodolf, usually so benign, standing upright to hurl a four-pound rock at Godi's prostrate body; Jomeo tearing a strip of skin from Dé's thigh; Figan, charging and hitting, again and again, the stricken, quivering body of Goliath, one of his childhood heroes. ...

"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." – 1 Corinthians 15:26 The fight-or-flight response can be defined as "the biological response of animals to acute stress." However, these innate, mutually exclusive responses are simply inapplicable when applied to death.

While there are both antiquated methods to "fight" death (elixirs, elaborate religious ceremonies, and herbal anti-aging treatments) and new-age approaches in pharmaceuticals and genetics, death is impossible to defeat. Therefore, when it comes to considering the cessation of one's own life, fear and denial trigger the flight response.

Taking into account that humans are the only living beings knowledgeable enough to comprehend that they are simultaneously alive and doomed to die, people express anxiety about death. In addition, people fret over deserting their loved ones and spreading sadness. What's more, apprehension occurs in the anticipation of discovering if life after death indeed exists.

Cross-culturally, men and women ponder how the world will function without them, how their family and friends will cope with their death, and how those close to them will find comfort, security, and happiness through the grief. Think about it: in the event of your death, will the company you work for crumble? Will your spouse find love again? Will your kids' kids have kids? Speaking of adolescents, a long look into the face of an infant can truly reveal the power of life. Given that the human brain has a high level of plasticity during a child's formidable years (birth to three years of age), a baby represents fearlessness, innocence, and as close to a sense of immortality as one can imagine.

This is why Patrick Shen's and Greg Bennick's documentary Flight from Death: The Quest for Immortality begins with the faces of children. In its opening lines, Flight from Death asserts the fragility of human life: "To have emerged from nothing...to having a name, consciousness of self, deep inner feelings, and excruciating inner yearning for life and self-expression...and with all this, yet to die." From there, the film branches out in several directions, all of which center upon Ernest Becker's death anxiety ideology showcased in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Denial of Death. Various professors, authors, philosophers, and researchers (like Sheldon Solomon, Sam Keen, Dan Liechtry, Robert Jay Lifton, and Irvin Yalom) voice their scholarly views in support of and relation to Becker's claim that death anxiety motivates violence and aggression. The result is both thought-provoking and revealing.

Some of the very best material arrives in narrator Gabriel Byrne's (through Shen and Bennick's writing) words when he reads, "Human beings find themselves in quite the predicament. We have the mental capacity to ponder the infinite—seemingly capable of anything. Yet, housed in a heart-pumping, breath-gasping, decaying body, we are godly, yet creaturely." Likewise, Professor Sheldon Solomon exudes brilliance (through his Terror Management Theory and Mortality Salience Hypothesis) in nearly every word that leaves his lips.

At its weakest, Flight from Death loses its intimate connection when it goes global in its "Annihilation," "Looking for Evil," and "Violence Inherent" chapters. While these portions clarify the violence involved in the flight response, the segments that focus on a personal view of death anxiety are more profound than the attempts to paint the vast, cross-cultural picture.

In the long run, Flight from Death will cause you to dig deeper into the words of Ernest Becker, marinate in the thoughts of its writers, and seriously consider traveling afar to listen to the intensely engaging Professor Sheldon Solomon. It's full of beautiful images of grave sites, landscapes, and sunrises juxtaposed with brutal images of murder, violence, and outright shameful hatred. It's both eye-opening and daunting.

Just as certain as death itself, one thing's for sure: Flight from Death will never lose its relevance. At times, it's so utterly philosophical, didactic, and life-affirming that one can't help but to submit to its intrigue and run to recommend it to every fellow sentient being. After-all, "meaningful connections with other people make us feel fully alive and vibrant."

Flight from death is a "must see" documentary. I saw it three times since i've received the DVD last week and each time i discover new aspects. Images are beautiful and the commentary (narrated by Gabriel Byrne) are just outstanding. Before seeing it, i was a little bit anxious to see how they can translate in a documentary the rather complex thought of Ernest Becker. As a reader of Becker's books for many years i can tell that Patrick Sean and Greg Bennick had done a really good job. Each important parts of Becker's understanding of the impact of death anxiety on human behavior are explored and very well explained. I understand now why this documentary won seven prizes. Please do not hesitate to buy this DVD you won't regret it!

I'm happy to say it really does Ernest Becker justice!

It covers the major concepts in his book. They cover how Becker's concepts affect society, politics, and the individual.

They interview pertinent thinkers and those who actually knew Ernest Becker when he was alive. Some highlights are interviews with Sam Keen, Irvin Yalom, and Robert Jay Lifton. But I think it was Sheldon Solomon who really stole the show... that man has a way with words! Lol.

Gabriel Byrne does an excellent job narrating. My only complaint would be that I wanted more! I could listen to these great thinkers go on and on... maybe turn this into a docuseries or something.