James Skemp's StrivingLife

4/18/2006 10:01:26 AM #

thanks for that great script, i searched over the whole net and you did it, thx :)

zeuS9r

4/29/2006 1:33:05 PM #

I was just alerted to a synopsis of the movie, with questions (and spoilers) that is available at http://www.philfilms.utm.edu/1/waking.htm.

I've received a handful of comments from people who have seen this film in a classroom setting, but I've been unable to get more than a couple of the questions that they were asked.  This page was what I was looking for years ago ...

James Skemp

5/31/2006 10:44:39 AM #

great! I've get it! thanks a lot! I can't wait for read it...

PA

6/9/2006 9:58:58 AM #

thx for this! 'We are the authors' is my favourite and i kept looking for it and i finally found it :) *

Inês

6/21/2006 3:40:46 AM #

Ants! Thank you. I just finished watching the film for a third time, and the 'ants' scene gets me every time, and I've been wanting to read it from script-form. Thanks so much for providing that opportunity. The 'ant' girl's character is one of my favorites. I was going to dye my hair red like that because of Eternal Sunshine, but now I have another inspiration! :)

Kimberly

6/26/2006 3:13:08 AM #

I think everyone has missed something in this movie.  If you look into it more, you can look at
this movie as one moment.  Like they say at the end, life is just one moment.  So you look at
the part when he is lifted to the sky.  First he holds on, then he is unable to hold on.  What
changes?  The first time, he is wearing a watch.  The second time, he is not.  This may be the
fundamental theory behind the whole movie.  Look at how often the movie relates to time, and how
many times a watch is seen or a clock is shown.  Now draw the comparison of God and death.  If
you become one with God, and God exists outside of Time, doesn't that mean Time Travel exists.
I hope to see some discussion about this.

Time Traveler

6/26/2006 6:15:25 AM #

Ah, Donnie Darko.

Time asleep could perhaps be seen as our time with God, or our time with the oneness of all.  After all, we no longer perceive our own individuality, in that we no longer perceive our physical body.

Thinking about this, perhaps the movie is about a moment, but I think it's more about the transition from one moment to another.  At the end of the movie, if you care about Linklater's comment, then he could be saying 'I submit'.  Yet, before this, he was not willing to say this.  Instead, he had to work through it during much of the movie.

So, perhaps it's about the moment, but I'd rather think it's about the path, or the journey, to that moment.  "I have done well in this world - I'm ready to let go."

James Skemp

7/27/2006 3:08:22 AM #

Perception of self is not so much a recognition of our physical selves but a function of the mind that separates the inner space from the outer space.
Within a dream this distinction still very much exists, and so you can't say that the dream state is equal to a oneness with god, the universal consciousness.  
Oneness by its very nature, goes further than dissolution of self perception; it is infinite perception, and then some.

Ted Joseph

7/27/2006 5:40:54 AM #

Okay, good point - we are more than just our own bodies.  Yet, in the dream state, we are actually all that we 'perceive'.  We may believe that we are a separate self, because we don't believe that we are 'this and that', but in fact a part of us is.  Right?

James Skemp

7/29/2006 7:56:28 PM #

I love this movie. My boyfriend came across it and shared it with me. He has wonderful taste in film and theory so when he read some of the script to me, I knew I would love the production. I have watched it probably 7 times already since I have had it.

Raelasca

9/15/2006 12:54:02 PM #

This movie was awesome! It is destined to be a cult classic. An intellectual and philosophical cult classic. Thanks so much to you and all the others who worked on it as well.

Edward Spencer

11/8/2006 7:47:11 PM #

I think that the screen caps would be an excellent addition.

Sen

11/8/2006 10:36:04 PM #

Thanks for the comment Sen.  Comments regarding this addition have been very positive, so, Chapter 11 gets the very first image (since it's my favorite chapter of the movie).

If you have any thoughts on images that should be included, let me know.

James Skemp

11/24/2006 7:02:33 PM #

Someone pointed out that there's a Portuguese version of the script at http://1001gatos.org/?p=184.  Looks similar to my own in places, but since I don't know Portuguese ...

James Skemp

1/2/2007 1:12:36 PM #

Thank you SO much.

H. Brown

1/20/2007 7:34:11 PM #

To James Skemp
I'm doing a paper in school due in two days and we had to watch this movie and pick three of the vignettes and explain them corresponding to the following questions:
How and why does one search for meaning?
What is the function of art in life?
What is the relationship between goodness and evil?

Im not sure what vignettes to choose, if you happen to come on here in the next day i would be very appreciative for your input Thanks

RM

1/20/2007 10:28:17 PM #

Ah, an example of Waking Life being used in the classroom - I like it.

So, one question per vignette, or three questions per vignette?  If it's the latter, that's a great example of why I'm glad I don't have those nights where you wake up and think that you've got a big project/report due the next day :D ;)

Hopefully it's obvious, but The Holy Moment (Chapter 11 - strivinglife.com/.../ ) is my favorite part of the movie.  I think you could answer each of those questions using this part of the movie (and I think I'll give it a try next week myself).

Ants (Chapter 14 - strivinglife.com/.../ ) may be another good scene (or scenes) to answer these questions - at least the first two.

Good and evil is a difficult one - after all, what is good, and what is evil?

The one that seems to be the easiest to use to answer this is the end of Death and Reality (Chapter 5 - strivinglife.com/.../ ).  But the real challenge is asking what the movie tells you, if anything, about good and evil.  Are the people in this film talking about life, and how one should lead it?  Is that what goodness is about - leading a good life?

If you don't mind sharing, I'd love to read what you end up with - either as comments to the chapters you comment on, or personally at strivinglife at gmail.com.  If you don't want to - no problem :)

I hope that helps.

James Skemp

1/20/2007 10:52:58 PM #

Wow I was very impressed with your thorough web site and responses to visitors' comments, but i thought i would be out of luck with this assignment on such short notice - you proved me wrong.

The assignment is "to identify, isolate, and analyze three different vignettes within the movie in conjunction with the three essential questions noted above (I put these in my first post). In other words, match a separate vignette with each of the three questions."

She also wants us to maybe mention a few of the other works that we have read and watched so far this year (Man's Search for Meaning, Allegory of the Cave, the movie Antwone Fisher, The Bell Jar, and Hamlet) and how they connect to Waking Life

Before I read your comments, i had the holy moment scene picked out for the "function of art in life" question and maybe the man with the afro as the "search for meaning" vignette, but i was stumped with the good vs evil question
Again i appreciate any advice you can give and if i have any questions on sunday are you gonna be checking this or your email throughout the day?

Thanks Again

RM

1/21/2007 8:43:03 AM #

The Bell Jar?

Good choice on the search for meaning - “Speed” (Chapter 15 = strivinglife.com/.../ ) does have some very interesting points to bring up (albeit very compact and quick - the hard part will be doing the bit of translation necessary to slow it down :D ).

Another choice for the third - how about Alienation (Chapter 4 - strivinglife.com/.../ ) for good/evil?  Can evil be good? and vice versa?

Thank *you* for sharing how your school is using Waking Life in the classroom.  I enjoy hearing that Waking Life is making it into classrooms, and I'd like to see it happen more and more.  Can I ask what the focus of the course is?  Philosophy, literature, art, ... ?

James Skemp

1/21/2007 11:20:26 AM #

Its just a senior high school honors english class with the course theme of "The Aesthetics of Living"

RM

1/22/2007 2:51:26 PM #

Let me guess, you go to FLHS?

LJ

1/23/2007 9:20:56 PM #

that is correct whoever you are

RM

2/17/2007 9:27:56 PM #

RM... I also had to watch Waking Life in a classroom situation, i really enjoyed the whole concept of time. And all the one on one philosophical discussions. To some the movie may be hard to follow. But we were fortunate enough to be study Philosophy, and our teacher was really passionate about the concepts in the movie.

We also had to do a bit of a evulation on sigments that jumped out at us, and answer a series of questions about the theme of the discussion in a philosophical context. I went to St. Johns Grammar in South Australia at the time.

Andrew S.

2/22/2007 10:28:54 AM #

man RM you sure are lucky to have had the opp. to see the movie in your high school English class.. i wish my English teacher would have thought of something like that... i loved the movie. and own 3 copies of it.

Leslie

4/2/2007 12:38:00 PM #

Needs some tracking down, but "Sans Soleil" ("Sunless" in English) directed by Chris Marker shares something in common with "Waking Life" ie its open-ended reflections on "life".

Alan A Dale

6/29/2007 6:33:16 AM #

Hi Kim,

You may want to post your question on Chapter 2 (as well); you may get more responses.

But, I think the driver answers a bit of your questions in his long monologue.

In short, something to the effect that he believes that his actions should be an expression of who he is. In addition, he realizes, as many philosophers and psychologists do, that his outlook on the world shapes his perceptions of the world.

James Skemp

6/29/2007 11:26:28 AM #

It is unusual to see a boat being driven on a road.  What could be the metaphoric significance?  How does it shape all the other stories?  How does it frame the audience expectations of the following acts? What historical/philosophical precedents are being quoted here?

Could anyone let me know?

regards,
Kim

Kim

6/30/2007 7:08:38 AM #

Kim also asks:

“What is the role of the driver? How does that impact on the story. Is Wiley therefore dead, alive, asleep or awake, or in a lucid dream state? How is the message conveyed? How is the text organized, how are the obvious signs organized. What does the visual language tell us?”

James Skemp

7/5/2007 5:02:26 PM #

Loved the movie.  Also had it as an assigment and probably would not have read it otherwise.  Our questions are analyze how dream life in waking life is divided into categoriesn.  Name the categories or "explanation of dreams" and give specific examples to show the division and hw they function.  Any thoughts?  Angela

ANGELA

7/6/2007 2:52:52 PM #

the 1st time I saw this movie, it was only in bits and pieces. The 2nd time I ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms and was sure to leave myself a pad, a pen and plenty of pause time.

This film touched on a few points that I have already dedicated much though to, such as time and gravity...we don't know what they are or how they work, just that they do and their side effects.

10 ninjas

10/16/2007 5:44:32 PM #

I noticed that when anger was expressed or felt with extreme passion the charectors skin color would become more and more red. I realize that RM's project is already completed but i think that the color red plays an important part in the argument of good vs evil.

matt

11/3/2007 3:44:18 AM #

wow! I really enjoyed the movie. since the Matrix ihadn't seen such great movie dealing with philosophy and religion (ethics).

Bahram

11/11/2007 7:00:34 AM #

Thank you! I need this because of essay. It's very difficult to understang. So your script maybe help to me. SoooooooooO Thank you!

Cindy

11/22/2007 5:14:55 PM #

ok thanks
i put this as my link instead

zahra

12/7/2007 12:56:48 AM #

THANK YOU SOO MUCH!

I'll read it ^^

santi

12/12/2007 2:24:45 AM #

Hi there.
Love this film, I'm stoked that I found this but what I would really like is a trancript of the commentary or the subtitle commentary. If anyone knows where I can find one I'd really appreciate it.

Happy Dreaming.

Emerson

1/16/2008 6:39:30 PM #

I am also working on the same thing RM is working on. At first I was really confused about what to write and choose for my vignettes. But, reading your advice to RM really helped me make my mind up about what to choose for my paper. Thnx :)

FLHS

3/13/2008 7:38:49 PM #

Has anyone transcribed the commentary/ subtitles that are available in the "special features" section?  I want to use the film in the classroom, and would like to use the commentary, as well.  Thank You!

NC

5/31/2008 7:32:09 PM #

@NC: I'll be posting a rough version of the commentary, based solely on the subtitles, very soon (I'm shooting for tomorrow, June 1).

James Skemp

6/15/2008 4:36:08 PM #

hallo! thanx very much for making this effort!!!
i just watched the movie and want to read the script. I would recoment anyone that would be interested to read Robert Anton Wilson and Tom Robbins, cause most of the ideas and issues of this movie are things that you can find in Wilson and Robbins. Each one with his one personal style of course :)

I also think it would be nice if you guys could provide a print version of the script, just to avoid all this copy and paste and next and copy and paste again blablabla. Maybe i am asking for too much, hehe, but it's just a suggestion.

Thank you once more
Xemi

xemi

7/20/2008 3:12:18 AM #

thanks a lot. you just saved my ass. :p

anne

7/29/2008 10:13:47 AM #

Thank you so much for the effort!

Eric

8/14/2008 6:01:03 PM #

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Uyanan Hayat (Waking Life)

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9/1/2008 6:53:33 AM #

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10/1/2008 8:14:49 AM #

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11/3/2008 5:52:23 PM #

Happened across this movie on late night TV when I should've been enjoying sleeping life. I had to order it the next day. Very into it now.

TL

2/16/2009 4:21:28 PM #

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2/25/2009 2:42:28 PM #

Dear Mr Ryan C,
That Jim Henson live action filmed presentation(for Tele-vision) from the late 60's; where the main character subject is limited to inhabit a small grided box type structure, being visited by several arcetypal roles type characters. That is in a similar vein to Waking Life/Ghost in the shell i think.

Kind Regards, M. Parsons

M. Parsons

3/4/2009 3:39:10 PM #

Afternoon,

I'm aware this is *very* late notice, but I'm writing a paper on 'Writing and The Self' for an English Literature degree class, and I'd love to quote the Timothy Levitch section, specifically the concept that 'we are authors of ourselves'.

My question comes with how you'd recommend I reference this - I've tried to research whether or not the dialogue itself was 'directed' by Richard Linklater or if he simply filmed the dialogue and worked on the rest - i.e. should I be referncing Levitch, Linklater, or both?

Sorry if that makes no sense and seems entirely obvious - been in front of this PC screen for 14 hours so far, my brain is not in a good way!

Thanks in advance,
Alice

Alice

3/4/2009 6:48:13 PM #

Doing a Google search: www.ehow.com/...24_cite-movie-using-mla-style.html

Perhaps just use Levitch as the perfomer? So ...

Linklater, Richard. [u]Waking Life[/u]. Perf. Timothy Levitch. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2002.

If you find out otherwise, please let us know!

James Skemp

3/5/2009 8:19:30 AM #

You, dear sir, just saved my skin!

Got the essay handed in at 9am this morning, thank you so much for your input! Double checked it at the *very* last moment with my tutor, and she suggested I reference the text in much the same way as you did, but change it to match the Harvard style, i.e.

Waking Life. (2002), Linklater, R.(dir.) Levitch, T. (perf.), Fox Searchlight Pictures

Thank you so much again!
Alice

Alice

5/6/2009 9:33:28 AM #

THANK YOU! No matter how many times I rewind this scene, I can't understand a thing the guy says! (literally, as in he talks to fast to understand what words he's using)

To the people who hate this movie:
I see where you're coming from. It's a compilation of ideas which have very little real application to the real world, using nauseating animation and incomprehensible talking.
That being said, I think you should watch this movie in a new light (or read/skim the script), with the intent of thinking about what they say and how it relates to your own beliefs.

To the people who hate the people who hate this movie:
Shut up! Not everyone enjoys philosophy! It's applications to the real world are very limited, and some people just don't have interest in random, impractical ideas. It doesn't make them stupid (although the posts here are pretty stupid-sounding), they just have interest in more real things.


That being said, I like the movie, except for a few scenes where what they are saying is ridiculous (i.e. The free will one, which doesn't mention the possibility of a soul. I don't believe in souls btw, but they should address such an obvious weakness to their argument.)

Max

9/9/2009 6:30:12 PM #

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11/7/2009 3:42:10 PM #

Thank you so much for the wonderful script; really.
Wish you all the best =)

Liana Weber

11/25/2009 9:12:55 PM #

Waking Life is, by far, my favorite film.

It is difficult to discuss this film with anyone around me, though. I'm freshly turned seventeen and I attend an alternative school so everyone around me is on a whole 'nother thinking level. I fear I spend more time thinking to a philosophical than a normal high schooler; I spend to much time studying the meaning of my being rather than the studies I have to pass a class and do something with my life. A burden of a writer...? Or just an overly opinionated teenage soul?

All I understand is, Waking Life makes me look forward to falling alseep every night.

Dearest Kat

11/28/2009 12:31:17 AM #

Hey everyone.  I'm writing a paper for my ethics class, and I have to identify and explain the philosophical themes in the film, and compare and contrast them with the philosophers that I've studied this semester.  I've studied Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Buddha, Confucius, Hobbes, Hume, Kant, Mill, Marx, and Sartre.  Anyone have recommendations of particular scenes that I should discus, and themes that the movie shares with these philosophers?  I know that I can talk about Sartre and existentialism some, but I'd like to compare and contrast with some of the others also.  Its not required, but it certainly can't hurt anything.

metallifan

11/28/2009 7:29:36 AM #

@metallifan: It really depends upon what readings you read, since while they each focus on something in general (metaphysics, reality, politics, and ethics), the individual pieces have their own focus.

Generally, chapters 6, 7, 11, and 10 are others that are relatively easy to talk about philosophically. Without giving too much away, I could work with those 4 chapters to talk about most of the others.

James Skemp

11/29/2009 12:17:11 AM #

Thanks for the reply.  I've decided to talk some about the one very early on where Wiley is listening to his professor, and about the one that focus on alienation, relating them to Sartre and Marx respectively.  I'll have to choose a few other things to talk about, but I'm off to a good start.

metallifan

12/14/2009 5:33:21 PM #

I have a question. I recently watched this movie and was simply blown away by it. So I've been reading the script, and something contradictory came out of it. The boat man said that he just accepted life, and didn't interfere. But so many other dialogues are saying "Interfere!" I'm not sure if it matters, since the movie doesn't have to agree since it's different people, but in a round-about way many of the dialogues are saying the same thing.

Chris Gamble

12/14/2009 7:00:23 PM #

Hmmm, very interesting catch Chris.

James Skemp

12/14/2009 8:16:43 PM #

But, does it matter? The answer hinges on the collective message of the movie. Is it all saying the same thing? I guess, fundamentally, it's saying to question the norms of society. At the base of all the dialogues, it's saying to think differently. Looking at it like that, all the movie does have symmetry. But, again, does it matter? Was it meant to have symmetry?

I guess, like all great art, it's ambiguous to the highest degree. And this is great art.

Chris Gamble

12/18/2009 5:35:42 AM #

Thanks for excellent story!
I saw the movie for about 50 (may be more) times!
Great!

Sergey

1/22/2010 12:38:12 AM #

Very useful!

Cris

2/24/2010 4:46:53 PM #

thank you for the script. as i'm a foreigner, i couldn't catch all the lines and i think this will help me a lot to understand the movie 100 percent!!
the lines, the music, the rotoscoping technique,,, i was so mesmerized by the whole movie. never seen this kind of movie before! just can't stop watching it over and over again.:)

LEE

5/18/2010 11:05:03 AM #

So my grade 12 philosophy class has watched this movie and we've been given a list of 15 questions that correspond to the movie, i figured since everyone here seemed interested in questions about the movie and things along those lines i'd post what we've been given here. I would also like to say that the script has been a life saver considering the dialogue is quite difficult to understand at most parts.

1.  What did the boat driver mean when he said “It will determine the rest of your life!”?
2.  Do you believe the existentialist idea that even though there are six billion people in the world we as individuals can make a difference? Explain your answer.
3.  What does it mean when the character says, “we as humans need catastrophe”?
4.  How does the movie explain telepathy?
5.  What do you think about the idea of free will?  How might your response relate to choice and individuality?
6.  What is your response to the suggestion that because our cells regenerate every seven years we become, in essence, a new person every seven years?
7.  In the movie a question is asked about the most universal human characteristic that gets in the way of the progress of the human race – “…Is it fear or laziness?”  Why do you think humans resist change and continue to make the same mistakes?
8.  What is the difference between a dream and a waking perception?
9.  What is a holy moment? What are the implications of this dialogue?
10.  According to the movie, how are humans equated to ants?
11.  How can we explain original ideas in our dreams?
12.  "Life understood is life lived.” Write a brief response
13.  Kierkegaard’s last words were “sweep me up” – what did he mean?
14.  How can 50 A.D. be the same as 2003 A.D.?
15.  Why do you think that this movie was given a restricted rating?  In a brief response, discuss whether or not you agree or disagree with the rating?

Jordan

5/18/2010 12:02:07 PM #

Very cool Jordan. Thank you for sharing!

James Skemp

6/1/2010 1:23:31 AM #

Hi James, thanks for hosting the script for this movie. Do you recommend any sites to understand the movie better? There are some parts I don't understand completely so it would be really helpful

Thanks in advance

Smith

6/3/2010 11:38:54 AM #

ayee, we're working on existentialism in my senior english class, and I've had to make a slideshow and explain why this was an existential film. I used your website quite often for reference back to the movie and I just wanted to say thank you for making this so readily available, you helped tons :)

caitieee

8/18/2010 8:44:48 PM #

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