‘And when I say we’re alone, we’re alone. Life is only on earth and not for long’ (Jusitine)
Yesterday I saw von Lars von Trier’s Melancholia. The question remains whether the destructive potential of Melancholia (the planet) is embraced by Justine because of her private melancholia, or because of her conviction that we are alone in the universe. According to Justine, we shouldn’t grieve for its… loss because nobody will miss it. At the same time, we shouldn’t grieve because life on earth is fundamentally evil. For me, the assumption that life on earth as such is evil is shocking and unacceptable. Nevertheless, the question remains whether we need to assume ‘life somewhere else’ (Claire) in order to be really able to grieve for the destruction of planet earth in our time. As long as it is conceptualized as a post-modern version of God’s all-seeing eye watching over us, I’m reluctant to assume ‘life somewhere else’. What we are in need of is a new concept of the ‘outsider’.
Vincent Blok 