Yaşamaya Değer Filminde Varoluş Felsefesi ve Varoluşçu Psikoloji Perspektifinden Etik ve Estetik Karşılaşmalar
Ethical and Aesthetic Encounters in the Movie Yaşamaya Değer from the Perspectives of Existential Philosophy and Existential Psychology

Summary/Abstract: The need to give the meaning to one’s existence by placing it in a wider and deeper whole is one of the most fundamental human desires. The problem of the meaning of life, which is also one of the great and ancient problems of philosophy, constitutes a perspective that directs people’s vital efforts in everyday life. Replacing senses of internal lack, emptiness and loss in our existence brings the ontological-existential dimension of the search for meaning with the desire to find a spiritual and intellectual ground to the fore. Existential philosophy and existential psychology, which are based on human beings and their existence, focus on these inquiries and their effects on modes of existence. The movie The Hedgehog (Yaşamaya Değer, Mona Achache, 2009), adapted from the novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog (L’Élégance du hérisson, 2006) by French writer and philosophy professor Muriel Barbery, presents an ontological search through its characters representing different versions of their search for meaning. The film presents an attempt to question concepts such as the question of existence, life, death, suicide, otherness, choices and responsibilities in an ethical as well as aesthetic way through the intersection of philosophy, psychology and cinema. This film, in which the paths of Paloma, who is persistently searching for the meaning of life as if searching for a loss and plans to commit suicide on her birthday because she cannot find it, Renee, the janitor, and Ozu, the Japanese neighbor, cross with a sense of love and intimacy, brings an alternative perspective to the problem of meaning in everyday life. While watching the rather simple yet profound character of the contemporary search for meaning with these three characters, how the subject can position himself in the world despite the absurdity of it and the possibility of establishing a self-image by getting rid of the images he sees are also questioned. This study aims to analyze the basic existential themes, such as the meaning of life, selfrealization, suicide, death, loneliness and love in the film Yaşamaya Değer, within the framework of the basic themes of existential philosophy and Jungian psychology that influenced many existential psychotherapists. Paloma’s recognition of Renee after meeting Ozu, and the three of them encountering each other spiritually as well as physically is “good” when interpreted from an ethical perspective. These are joyful, auspicious encounters that have increased their power to act in each of their lives, and have brought the great aesthetics of fine and small things into their lives.

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