All the Days of a Dull Life: The Film Lütfi in the Context of The Myth of Sisyphus and the Three-Step Theory of Suicide
Duygu SevimThe thought of death always evokes negative and unpleasant feelings and thoughts in individuals. Witnessing the cycle of life and death in nature, where other living beings die and are reborn, while being aware of one’s own impending death, instills an individual with fear. The progression towards such a tragic, fearfilled, and inevitable end, especially when it occurs voluntarily, has always been difficult to understand. This pursuit of understanding is why the concept of suicide has been studied extensively. Research has been conducted on the motivating factors that lead individuals to suicide and on concepts such as how suicide can be prevented. This study uses philosophical and psychological concepts to support the concept of suicide. The philosophical foundation of the study is based on Albert Camus’ (1942) concept of the absurd man as presented in The Myth of Sisyphus, in which he explores ideas about life, its meaning, death, and the concept of suicide. The psychological boundaries are drawn by the Three-Step Theory (3ST) of suicide proposed by David Klonsky and Alexis May (2015). The film Lütfi (2016), directed by Cahit Kaya Demir and not previously studied, has been subjected to examination using the phenomenological method guided by the hermeneutical principle of The Myth of Sisyphus and the three-step suicide theory. During this examination, the study explores answers to such questions as “Can the individual become the absurd man between life and death according to Camus?”, “Can the meaninglessness of life be accepted?”, and “How does the acceptance of the meaninglessness of life affect the individual?” and attempts to test the requirements proposed by the three-step suicide theory.
Donuk Bir Yaşamın Bütün Günleri: Lütfi Filminin Sisifos Söyleni ve Üç Aşamalı İntihar Kuramı Bağlamında İncelenmesi
Duygu SevimÖlüm düşüncesi bireye her zaman olumsuz, nahoş duyguları ve düşünceleri çağrıştırır. Doğada kendinden başka canlıların ölüp yeniden dirildiğini gören ancak kendinin yok olacağının farkında olması bireye korku verir. Böylesine acıklı ve korku dolu üstelikte kaçınılmaz bir sona bireyin kendi isteği ile ilerleyişi her zaman anlaşılması güç olmuştur. Bu nedenledir ki tarih boyunca intihar kavramı üzerine çalışılmıştır. Bireyi intihara yönlendiren motivasyon kaynakları, intiharın nasıl önlenebileceği gibi kavramlar üzerine araştırmalar gerçekleştirilmiştir. Söz konusu çalışmada intihar kavramına felsefe ve psikoloji kavramlarından destekle gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışmanın felsefi dayanağı yaşam, yaşamın anlamı, ölüm ve intihar kavramı üzerine düşünceler üreten Albert Camus’nün Sisifos Söyleni’nde ortaya koymuş olduğu ‘uyumsuz insan’ olgusu oluştururken psikolojik sınırları ise 2015 yılında David Klonsky ve Alexis May’in üretmiş olduğu Üç Aşamalı Kuramı ile çizilmiştir. Daha önce üzerine çalışmanın yapılmadığı gözlemlenen Cahit Kaya Demir’in Lütfi isimli filmi, nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden fenomonolojik yöntemin hermenötik ilkesi ile Sisifos Söyleni ve Üç Aşamalı İntihar Kuramının öncülüğünde incelemeye tabi tutulmuştur. Bu inceleme sırasında ‘Ölüm ile yaşam arasındaki birey Camus’nün uyumsuzuna dönüşebilir mi?’, ‘Yaşamın anlamsız olduğu kabul edilebilir mi?’, ‘Yaşamın anlamsızlığının kabulü bireye nasıl etki eder?’ sorularına cevap aranmaya ve Üç Aşamalı İntihar Kuramı’nın öne sürdüğü gerekliliklerinin sınanmaya çalışılmıştır.
Despite the absolute certainty of death for every living thing on our pale blue dot, humans often avert their gaze from its inevitability. The thought of death, with its extinction, exhaustion, and anxiety-provoking finality, is simply too fearful to confront. Thus, people continue their daily lives, ignoring death’s existence while simultaneously making future plans and striving to leave an unforgettable mark on the world. This contradictory approach of ignoring death while seeking immortality is a curious characteristic of the human species.
However, not everyone chooses to ignore death’s call. A significant number of individuals actively choose to end their own lives, drawn to suicide for a multitude of complex and subjective reasons. This phenomenon has captivated the attention of numerous disciplines from psychology and sociology to philosophy and theology, each seeking to understand the motivations behind this act.
Ever eager to unravel the human mind, psychology has been particularly active in this field. Through research and various theoretical frameworks, psychologists have attempted to understand what drives individuals to take the figurative “sickle” from the Grim Reaper’s hands and walk towards death (Baudrillard, 2001, p. 258), meticulously studying genetic and environmental factors that might influence suicidal tendencies and developing strategies to prevent self-harm. The Three-Step Theory (3ST) of suicide serves as a useful framework for analysis and posits that suicide unfolds in two distinct stages: ideation and attempt. Klonksy and May (2015, p. 116) argued that the initial stage hinges on the potent combination of pain and despair and that both must coexist for suicidal thoughts to take root. The second stage, known as commitment, signifies a crucial shift – the disappearance of the will to survive. When the individual’s connection to life severs, and the pain-despair cocktail intensifies, the transition from ideation to attempt becomes more likely.
Albert Camus, whose philosophical musings form the backbone of this study, took a firm stance against suicide. For him, philosophy boils down to a singular, existential question: Is life worth living? In his iconic work, The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus (1942) answered this question through the lens of the absurd man. This individual, unwilling to compromise his authenticity, grapples with the inherent tension between hope and death with an open mind. He readily acknowledges his estrangement from both himself and the world, embracing the limitations of human knowledge and finding solace in acceptance. He lives fully, aware of the consequences of his actions, and chooses to continue living even in the face of life’s inherent meaninglessness, a concept Camus described as the absurd. According to him, embracing this absurdity is the key to genuine living, and humans are, by nature, predisposed to this incompatibility.
To delve deeper into these ideas, this study focuses on the 2016 film Lütfi, directed and written by Cahit Kaya Demir. The film narrates the story of Lütfi, a man haunted by the loss of his wife 12 year prior and consumed by a profound lack of the will to live. He repeatedly attempts suicide, only to be thwarted by seemingly mundane circumstances. One day, Lütfi makes a pact with Salih, his apartment building’s caretaker, to end his life. This agreement brings Lütfi a strange sense of peace, and he begins to rediscover joy in life’s simple moments. However, when Salih arrives to fulfill their pact, Lütfi, fueled by an unexpected surge of survival instinct, fights back.
Through a detailed analysis of Lütfi’s suicide attempts, the study utilizes Martin Heidegger’s hermeneutic principle, a cornerstone of the phenomenological approach, to explore the film through the lens of Camus’ absurd man and the three-step suicide theory. By examining Lütfi’s journey, the study seeks answers to profound questions such as can an individual teetering between life and death embody Camus’ notion of the absurd man, can accepting life’s inherent meaninglessness be liberating, and how does this acceptance impact an individual’s experience of life itself. Ultimately, the analysis will test the applicability of the three-step theory within the film’s narrative, shedding light on the complex inner world of someone confronting the abyss.
