Earlier this week,
I had the privilege of sitting down and watching a movie with just me, myself,
and I; a luxury I am often denied simply due to lack of time. However, this
particular film made its way into my schedule as a pleasantly entertaining class
assignment. The Adjustment Bureau is
an action and adventure packed film with a philosophical twist. Its storyline
dares to ask one of today’s most debated questions: “Who is writing the script
of your life?” In a society full of people climbing the ladder with a
do-it-yourself mentality, this film lays out in modern terms what the debate
between free will and determinism looks like. It is an issue that has been
dividing people for centuries and one that we have not yet concretely agreed
on. But no matter how long it takes to reach an answer, whether our actions are
freely chosen or otherwise determined is conversation worth having. In response
to this film, I will be analyzing how The
Adjustment Bureau is, in some ways, like the modern church, and how David
Norris and his strong-will to follow the desires of his heart represents every
single one of us.
As mentioned
before, the issue of free will versus determinism has been on the debate floor
for years and yet we still struggle defining what is right versus what is wrong.
For David, that’s where The Adjustment Bureau comes in. The Adjustment Bureau
is group of men working for a mysterious man referred to as the Chairman.
Throughout the film, we see the Bureau tracking David’s every move and when it
appears he is about to go off his determined
path, they “nudge” him back on. As you can see, The Adjustment Bureau
represents one side of the issue called determinism. These are those people who
believe that, to some degree, all of their choices are predetermined.
It is interesting
to note that while The Adjustment Bureau’s job is to keep people on their
determined paths, they, themselves, do not know what the ultimate “plan” is;
only the Chairman does. In a way, this picture mimics the relationship between
God, you and me, and the church. Just as the church has the Bible to use as a
guideline to help “nudge” God’s people onto a better path, The Adjustment
Bureau has maps to help them overlook where David is going so they can help determine
for him what is the better choice. I assure you this is an earnest comparison
not meant to offend, but it does spark a wonder of what the director, himself, was
trying to say.
On the other hand,
there are people like David, whom we can relate to, who long for free will. His
character personifies the other side of the debate and that is the belief that
humans possess the power to make their own choices, in spite of outside factors.
Truly, I think all humans have a natural longing to take certain actions into
their own hands, but it is what they do with that desire that puts them on
either the free will or determinist end of the spectrum. Or, if you’re like Harry
and I—Harry is one of the members of the Bureau who specifically looks over
David’s life—you try to find a middle ground. These people are technically
referred to as compatibilists. Throughout the film, David exhausts his efforts
at asserting his free will, but I would argue that maybe he, too, is somewhere
in the middle. In a way, aren’t we all? There are questions we can spend our
lives searching to find the answers to, but at the end of the day, what is
unknown remains unknown and that is something we all have in common.
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