A Serious Man

When the truth is found to be lies,
You know the joy within you dies.

- The Jefferson Airplane

Last weekend I saw the newest film by the Coen brothers: A Serious Man. When I left the theater, I felt that the film was good but not as excellent as some of their previous work. But the next morning, I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to find myself thinking more about this film. And it has been distracting me ever since.

I will not reveal much about the film, except to say that A Serious Man is a current day telling of the story of Job. Well not quite current day: 1967 to be exact. Is the film’s protagonist cursed? Or is he just being tossed around by the waves of life in a world that is essentially devoid of meaning? But what then of religion? Is there a God? Or does religion simply exist to comfort us with the belief that there is a divine order to what otherwise would amount to a chaotic existence?

Yes, we all like to believe that we are the masters of our fates. If we get an education, if we say our prayers, if we don’t smoke, if we eat less red meat, if we get a colonoscopy - then everything will be okay. But that is not the truth. The truth is that we are all going to die. Can we prolong our lives? Push that day further out into the future? Perhaps. But no warranties. More likely we are only as secure as the next roll of the dice on the cosmic table.

I once saw a man plead guilty to a traffic charge arising out of a motor vehicle collision. Unfortunately, the collision had been very serious; a woman had been killed. Notwithstanding the fatality, the judge fined the man a mere $100.00 and sent him on his way. But if the man had been in another place at the same time – say parked in a handicapped spot in front of the Jewel Food Store - the fine would have been $250.00 and the woman would still be alive.

There are a million stories like that.