[The Patriot]

hey!

I randomly read the following quote from the film trainspotting earlier today (if you haven't seen it, do so, it's amazing). I was wondering if any of you felt it an accurate or fair description of life. In my depressed state I found it hit the nail on the head, but I wonder if anyone else thinks its a stupid view on life.


"Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a ****ing big television, Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed- interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a three piece suite on hire purchase in a range of ****ing fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing sprit- crushing game shows, stuffing ****ing junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing you last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, ****ed-up brats you have spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life."

[im so academic]

You used the word "choose" to begin all your sentences. In other words, everything you do and everything you have are the result of your own personal choices.

That's not really true, is it?

No one chooses to be homeless, to be cheated on, to have out-of-control kids, to have walls that are cracking, to be forced to wear the cheapest clothes etc etc.

[The Patriot]

(Original post by im so academic)
You used the word "choose" to begin all your sentences. In other words, everything you do and everything you have are the result of your own personal choices.

That's not really true, is it?

No one chooses to be homeless, to be cheated on, to have out-of-control kids, to have walls that are cracking, to be forced to wear the cheapest clothes etc etc.

I stress, I didn't come up with it. It's from a film.

However, IO agree to an extent. You often don't get to choose a lot of things. But you also often don't really get the choice to not conform.

[iSoftie]

You know.

Life's **** you live to work and work to live in my ****ing opinion.
The only thing that makes life different is the moments mate live it.

[im so academic]

(Original post by The Patriot)
I stress, I didn't come up with it. It's from a film.

Oh I didn't know that. Which film may I ask?

However, IO agree to an extent. You often don't get to choose a lot of things. But you also often don't really get the choice to not conform.

In other words, peer pressure and the pressure to conform are so strong, it feels that you don't have the option of doing what you want; as if you are forced to do what you are told/expected to do.

That would mean there are even less choices in life than you would normally assume...

[The Patriot]

(Original post by im so academic)
Oh I didn't know that. Which film may I ask?



In other words, peer pressure and the pressure to conform are so strong, it feels that you don't have the option of doing what you want; as if you are forced to do what you are told/expected to do.

That would mean there are even less choices in life than you would normally assume...

The film is called 'trainspotting'. I guess you missed the first part of the OP, but no biggie :L

Directed by Danny Boyle, starring Ewan McGregor. Its about a guy who is hugely into hard drugs in Edinburgh and tries to clean himself up. Such a great film. One of the best British films of all time.

As to the second part, in effect, yes. People do all the things in the quote, and it feels like a choice. But in reality, such is the level of peer pressure, expectation, and zombie-like passive acceptance of that as a life model, most people in that cycle never really consider it as a choice at all.

[im so academic]

(Original post by The Patriot)
The film is called 'trainspotting'. I guess you missed the first part of the OP, but no biggie :L

Directed by Danny Boyle, starring Ewan McGregor. Its about a guy who is hugely into hard drugs in Edinburgh and tries to clean himself up. Such a great film. One of the best British films of all time.

Thanks for that.

I thought the thread title meant that you were trainspotting one day, and as you were trainspotting, you were reflecting over your life. The text that you put in quotes was what you thought during the trainspotting.

As to the second part, in effect, yes. People do all the things in the quote, and it feels like a choice. But in reality, such is the level of peer pressure, expectation, and zombie-like passive acceptance of that as a life model, most people in that cycle never really consider it as a choice at all.

In other words, the text that you quoted, isn't [i]really/[i] true, is it?

[The Patriot]

(Original post by im so academic)
Thanks for that.

I thought the thread title meant that you were trainspotting one day, and as you were trainspotting, you were reflecting over your life. The text that you put in quotes was what you thought during the trainspotting.



In other words, the text that you quoted, isn't [i]really/[i] true, is it?

In my opinion, it's a reflection of the fake 'reality' we see everyday.

We think we choose all that stuff. But in reality, it's not a free-choice. So we do in effect choose it, but we were channeled into that train of choices.