Nietzsche on Death: Barbie’s Philosophical World

Want to better appreciate Greta Gerwig’s highbrow screenwriting, or been wanting to read some philosophy but need a bubblegum pink excuse? Join philosopher Ryan Miller for a series in which we read and discuss classic philosophical texts in conjunction with brief scenes from Barbie.

I’m definitely not thinking about death anymore.

The movie opens with the instrumental theme of Richard Strauss’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and soon enough Barbie is thinking about death—an important theme of Nietzsche’s book of the same name. While the work contains many discussions picked up in Barbie—metamorphosis, despising the body, joy and passion, ugliness, a flight to the land of culture, redemption, return, drunkenness, and lots of dancing—we will focus on chapter XXI which encourages (spoiler alert!) voluntary death.

Before the session, please check out the following:

• Pages 12-20 of the Barbie screenplay (or see transcript for musical notes) and/or this clip of Barbie thinking about death
• Richard Strauss’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra
• Chapter XXI of Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra

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