Examples Of Existentialism In I Heart Huckabees

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Every individual goes through different experiences that mold them into who they are. The combination of their genetic makeup, the environment in which an individual is exposed to, peers, culture, and many other factors determine who they are as an individual (Twenge & Campbell, 2016). This is also what is considered to be an individual’s personality. It is the greatest influence on how an individual will react in any given situation; not everyone will react the same in any situation. Personality is the recurring patterns of thoughts, behaviors, and feelings that can be seen across all situations and time (Twenge & Campbell, 2016, p. 6). If an individual’s personality includes being highly extraverted, then reactions and responses should be …show more content…

Existentialism poses an unusual question when it comes to personality; does personality exist? The existential detectives in the movie suggest that "everything is the same even if it is different...shut down everyday perceptions and give up your usual identity that you think separates you from everything" (I Heart Huckabees, 2004). It even goes as far to suggest that everything is the same for humans and object such as the Eiffel Tower. This theory is represented by the blanket; everything is under the blanket, and everything that is under the blanket is the same. This means that despite the obvious differences that are seen in everyday life, there are no differences and that the differences that are thought to separate and individual from something else is only a perception of one's self. How is that possible? The idea of existentialism is one rather difficult to make plausible. How is one to overlook the differences seen between two individuals? An individual who possesses the trait of generosity is not going to be considered the same as one who is …show more content…

The textbook discusses multiple different types of assessments; some of these include a self-report measure, informant reports, and by measuring behavior. Self-reports are usually manifested in questionnaires where an individual is asked to assess their own personality by ranking themselves based on statements or adjectives. On the other hand, informant reports come from people involved in the individual’s life. These usually work best for undesirable traits because an individual may not be aware of these traits or may not want to report that he possesses the traits. Measuring behavior is done through means of observation much like what is done in the movie I Heart Huckabees (Twenge & Campbell, 2016). ELABORATE A LITTLE ON