Richard Linklater on how ‘Waking Life’ examines free will
The films of Richard Linklater have delivered several strands of the human experience over the years, from the coming-of-age motifs of Dazed and Confused to examining addiction in A Scanner Darkly to straight-up comedy in School of Rock and romance in Before Sunrise and its sequels.
One of Linklater’s most memorable movies, though, is undoubtedly his 2001 experimental adult animation Waking Life, which explores highly philosophical concepts ranging from metaphysics, reality, dreams, existentialism and the purpose of life.
In an interview with Pop Matters, Linklater once explained how Waking Life is an examination of choice and free will. “This whole movie’s such a journey, he’s travelling in his mind, and everything he meets is helping him to become aware,” he said. “If you’re human, you don’t even have any choice. You’re kind of on until you’re off.”
“It’s one of those questions that you dig into, and it’s always fascinating,” the director continued. “Something as random as that little cootie-catcher or whatever you call it, it seems to have a fate to it, depending on what number and colour you choose. But if he had said ‘7’ instead of ’15’, then what?”
This idea is expressed in several moments of Linklater’s movie, but perhaps none more so than when the protagonist encounters a female character he’s previously seen in his dreams. Initially, he decides not to speak to her, but doubts his first choice and goes back to spark conversation with her. Funnily enough, the two discuss free will and what might have happened had they not properly met.
“These are really fundamental questions you ask yourself at an early age, but you never really answer them; you just circle around to it again,” said Linklater. “Free will, that’s a good one; that’s right up here with God. Depending on your religious views, those questions can go hand in hand.”
He continued: “I love the athletes who thank God. It’s like, if you hit a home run, then God was with you but not the pitcher? I’d like to see someone once say, ‘No thanks to God, except for creating the universe. But beyond that, we know you haven’t done shit for about 15billion years!'”
Waking Life is an excellent film that brings us closer to the deeper questions at hand and guides us gently towards our own answers rather than providing Linklater’s own through any explicit sense of didacticism. Check out the movie’s trailer below.
