I just finished watching the George Clooney movie Up in the Air. It is the story of an isolated man who flies around the country firing people for a living. Both the writing and acting were good quality.

The dialog was insightful, but I think the overall theme is what made it interesting. While the movie obviously reflects on whether living in self-banishment can be fulfilling, I think the story is really a study in selfishness. We are shown selfish companies cutting their employees lose; selfish bosses who don’t have the heart to terminate their own staff; the selfish embrace of technology to dehumanize; a selfish man who lives in isolated luxury; a selfish woman who wants to live in two worlds; a young couple struggling with the idea of “till death due us part.” What’s surprising is this movie was normal. There was nothing shocking about the people or circumstances depicted. We all know, or are, these people. Just like with Percy’s novels, all this movie did was strip away the layers to hint at what is really going on.

This makes me wonder if our present-day consumer-obsessed culture of “me” is really the culmination of Western thought. Is our society going through a selfish phase, or is it hurtling along an immutable trajectory? God help us.

Tags: modernity, selfishness, Up in the Air

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