East Asia and the Positive Nihilism conflict
Everything everywhere all at once has been applauded, deserving its title of a critically acclaimed film. Although it is appreciated by most who watched it, the true thesis behind the film is not as appreciated as the art of producing
The characters are not just East Asian for diversity but reflect the interplay between East Asian culture and the theme of positive nihilism.
Positive nihilism is finding comfort in that everything is meaningless, and this nonchalance is on the opposite pole to East Asian culture where everything matters too much. This is illustrated as soon as the film begins with tension: a house crowded with papers and receipts, the look of frustration on Evelyn’s face, the sound of the rice cooker, and Waymond’s disrupting comments. We are plunged into Evelyn’s world and in that moment want everything to be under control, and thereby empathize with the foundation of Evelyn’s character.
We then meet Joy, Evelyn’s daughter, and the film’s beloved antagonist. She looks into a rotating washing machine with a dreaded face, which alludes to the bagel that is the embodiment of nihilism, going round and round in Evelyn’s laundromat. Her dreaded expression is explained, as her desire to come out as gay to her grandfather conflicts with Evelyn’s desire to keep it a secret.
One aspect of East Asian culture is the lack of appreciation for individualism. Unlike other societies where expressing your style or character is praised, in East Asia we are encouraged to keep in line with what everyone else is doing, wearing, and saying which ties into how much reputation and other people’s perception of you matters greatly. So to be anything other than heterosexual in East Asia would effectively render you a defect.
It is clear through the strained dynamic between the characters that generational trauma brews beneath the surface, from Evelyn’s comment on how her father will not be proud of her to Evelyn shunning Joy from expressing herself. The reason why so many East Asian families have these strained relationships is because we have a culture of not resolving trauma as mental health remains a taboo topic and to seek such help will again, render you a defect that is looked down upon by society.
Evelyn, a first-generation immigrant, conditioned with all the traditional East Asian way of life and the struggles of surviving as an immigrant in America is put into a situation where all her beliefs are challenged.
We are told that in the alpha verse, the other version of Evelyn pushed Joy until she fractured, in faith that her daughter can be more, that she can make her proud, which led to her unprecedented power. It is interesting how this dynamic is reflected in their dynamic in their originating universe (albeit less dramatic). We see how through subtle actions, Evelyn shows her inability to accept Joy, which fuels Joy’s disappointment in her mother and herself, for her mother’s inability to show compassion and express love and her inability to be the poster perfect child that makes their parents proud and makes their sacrifices worthwhile.
The absurdity of the different universes challenges Evelyn’s constrained bounds of acceptance, and her ability to accept this leads to her ability to accept joy, her failures, and her identity. The action of opening up their hands to see through the multi universes represents the multi universes figuratively ‘opening up’ Evelyn’s mind.
A quote that resonates with me is that ‘right is a tiny box invented by people who are afraid’. I think this encapsulates the very conflict that I have been exploring, the conflict between the theme of acceptance and East Asian culture, the tiny box that we are put into to ensure we live up to society’s expectations, our family’s expectations, and our inability to accept things that depart from these strict ways of living.
