What works in your opinion fit this description?
Heather Sell
1

I’d say most of the work trying to tackle “existential” ideas fits the description. Most of the work trying to tackle these ideas are too vague and too general and end up saying nothing because they are presenting themes without story. In my opinion, it takes more skill and thought to tell a specific story and let the viewer/reader glean existential/universal themes from the work than does hitting them over the head with lofty ideas. Every good story will touch on existential themes, but not every work featuring existential themes will tell a good story, so I think it’s more important to focus on the specifics, the nitty gritty elements of a story (like character and emotion), than the general philosophy inspiring the work itself.