Analyzing Perspective Through the Film Everything Everywhere All at Once
How 'Nothing Matters' and Practical Ways to Improve Mindset
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Hey everyone! I hope everyone is having a super duper week so far! I’ve been quite busy since my last blog, traveling to both LA (Los Angeles) and LA (Louisiana - New Orleans). In that span, a lot has happened as well, notably the end of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Thanks to some clutch performances on the last day of the competition, the US was able to tie the gold medal count with China, thus putting us at the top of the medal leaderboards since we won more silver and bronze medals (we better step it up for 2028 though). The most memorable performance was Team USA basketball, which was in a remarkably close game against the home nation France until Chef Curry absolutely cooked them from downtown (if you haven’t, go watch it).
In other sports news…the football season is back…almost. We’ve kicked off the preseason which is always the time to catch up on which players are on new teams, new rules that are being introduced (like this year’s new kickoff), and most importantly for bragging rights, new fantasy football teams. Aside from catching up with the family and eating an egregious amount of food from all my favorite spots in NOLA, I went back home to draft my fantasy football team in my hometown league. Since everyone in our league is a huge football fan, it makes the league fun, competitive, and a great way to stay connected. Here’s what I came away with for a team. Would love to hear some thoughts.
I will most likely be starting all blog intros talking about football in some way, shape, or form for the next 5 months, so I hope you’re ready. However, I’ll spare you any deep football talk for this week’s blog as I focus on a topic that came to my mind after watching a moving on the flight back from Los Angeles. Let’s dive in.
Does Nothing Matter or Nothing Matter?
While one of my biggest red flags is that I have never once watched a TV show all the way through (sorry…I'm too busy watching sports), I try to make it up by being a huge movie fan. Thus, when I was on my five-hour flight from LA to NYC and I saw the critically acclaimed 2023 Oscars dominating Everything Everywhere All at Once was on the movie list, I had to give it a watch. I usually don’t care what the Oscars have to say about what movies should be perceived as excellent or not, but I will admit that they the nail on the head with this one. This movie was incredible.
For those who haven’t seen it, here’s a quick summary presented by yours truly, Chat GPT (with a few tweaks):
Everything Everywhere All at Once is a wildly inventive sci-fi action-comedy that follows Evelyn Wang, a disillusioned Chinese-American laundromat owner, who is thrust into a multiverse-spanning adventure. Struggling with a faltering marriage, a tense relationship with her daughter Joy, and an impending IRS audit, Evelyn discovers she must connect with alternate versions of herself across countless parallel universes to stop a powerful force threatening all existence. As she navigates through bizarre realities, Evelyn confronts the emotional distance between her and Joy, whose own multiverse counterpart poses a grave threat. The film masterfully blends frenetic action, surreal humor, and deep emotional resonance, exploring themes of identity, family, and the infinite possibilities of life while delivering a profound meditation on the complexities of mother-daughter relationships.
While there are many thought-provoking dynamics in the film, such as the one with Evelyn and her husband Waymond (which I could probably write a blog on itself), the one that this movie truly centers around is between Evelyn and her daughter Joy, along with her evil alternative version Jobu Tupaki. Right from the get-go, the two characters are at odds with one another and it gets even worse after Jobu Tupaki takes over. The core concept that the two disagree upon is the idea that “nothing matters”.
From Joy/Jobu’s perspective, she has experienced every possible version of herself across the multiverse. This overwhelming exposure leads her to conclude that nothing in life truly matters because every choice, every outcome, and every reality exists simultaneously, rendering individual decisions and actions seemingly insignificant. This nihilistic perspective is symbolized by the "everything bagel," a literal bagel that contains everything in existence, collapsing into a void that represents the futility and meaninglessness that Jobu feels. She believes that because nothing holds ultimate significance, there's no purpose to life or anything within it, and thus comes to the conclusion that the best path forward is to not exist at all.
Evelyn comes to an entirely different conclusion by the end of the film. After almost being swayed to believing Joy’s worldview before having a change of heart thanks to her husband Waymond, Evelyn learns that even in the face of infinite choices and the apparent insignificance of any single life, the small, personal moments—especially those shared with her daughter and husband—are what give life its true meaning. Thus, the film suggests that while "nothing matters" on a cosmic scale, we can still create our own meaning through love, kindness, and personal connections. The conclusion uses the same “nothing matters” line that really hits home (with tears):
As someone who is an optimist, I loved how this film ended and think it concluded with the appropriate view to have. However, this contrast seen in the film made me think about one thing, how can two people come to the same conclusion about a point (they both think “nothing matters”), but have wildly different ways of interpreting that point?
The Role of Mindset in Life’s Challenges
The end of the film makes it clear that Evelyn and Joy have a completely juxtaposing view of the idea that “nothing matters” which can be most accurately described by the meme below. Joy’s nihilistic view leads her to despair while Evelyn’s shift in perspective allows her to see beauty and meaning where her daughter sees emptiness. This difference underscores a fundamental psychological truth: our mindset directly influences how we perceive and react to life’s challenges.
Our mindset profoundly shapes how we perceive and respond to the world around us. The same situation—whether it’s the vastness and uncertainty of life or a challenging personal experience—can be seen in completely different lights depending on our mental and emotional state. For someone like Joy in Everything Everywhere All at Once, the infinite possibilities of the multiverse become a source of despair, leading her to conclude that nothing matters. Her nihilism stems from the overwhelming realization that every choice and outcome exists simultaneously, making individual decisions seem insignificant. However, Evelyn’s journey in the film highlights how a shift in perspective can transform this same existential realization from something terrifying into something liberating. By viewing the multiverse through the lens of love and personal connection, Evelyn finds profound meaning in the very moments that Joy dismisses.
There have been many psychologists who have studied how a change in mindset can affect how people look at specific problems. One of which is Carol Dweck whose research on mindset is a useful lens through which to view this dynamic. Dweck’s theory, which is highlighted in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success suggests that individuals with a fixed mindset—like Joy in her belief that nothing matters—tend to see their circumstances as unchangeable and often feel overwhelmed by them. In contrast, those with a growth mindset—akin to Evelyn’s eventual outlook—view challenges as opportunities for growth and see meaning in even the smallest victories. As an example, imagine a situation you have previously been in either in school, work, relationships, etc. where there was a big hindrance in your way. One view makes you see that obstacle as insurmountable and not even worth trying to overcome while the other depicts it as a chance to overcome.
Another example comes from Viktor Frankl and his world-famous book Man’s Search for Meaning which chronicles Frankl’s experiences as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps during WWII (I’ll admit…I haven’t read this yet, but I just ordered it). In this book, Frankl observes that the prisoners he knew who were able to find meaning in their objectively miserable lives were the ones who had the best chance of survival, which indicates how mindset can play a role. Furthermore, one of the more famous and profound insights that arose from this book was that while we cannot control our circumstances, we always have the freedom to choose our attitude towards them. As Frankl famously stated:
In the context of Everything Everywhere All at Once, Evelyn and Joy are going through very similar circumstances where they both realize how they exist with infinite possibilities in the multiverse. Where Joy is unable to find meaning with this knowledge leading her to a dire conclusion of ending her existence, Evelyn finds meaning in the connections and relationships with those around her. Additionally, Evelyn’s approach aligns with the core principles of Frankl’s Logotherapy by finding meaning in her work, experiencing love, and finding courage in the face of suffering.
Practical Mindset Shifts
While it sounds easy to simply switch into a more positive and uplifting attitude when facing struggles as shown in the film, like most things, it is a lot easier said than done. I’ll even admit, if you are someone who considers themselves more closely aligned with Joy than Evelyn and are looking for a change, I am probably not the best person to give you advice. Throughout my life, my parents, work colleagues, sports teammates, and anyone else who has spent a decent amount of time with me would classify me as a positive, energetic, and optimistic person who falls pretty close in line with Evelyn’s views. Some of my family friends even tell me that ever since I was little, I always seemed to have a smile on my face regardless of the circumstances. Don’t get me wrong, I have had some hard times in my life, but I generally seem to deal with them positively. However, I still have a few suggestions for those willing to hear me out.
First and foremost, I think journaling is an incredible and often underutilized tool by many people to help them get through whatever it is they’re dealing with. Many times, people get way too caught up in their thoughts often leading to a state of inaction. The first step in tackling any sort of struggle is to identify that struggle and journaling forces you to articulate your thoughts clearly and coherently. This makes it easier to begin tackling your situation but also provides an opportunity for you to reflect on what your mindset to approaching the problem looks like. This one is very easy to start doing as well. All you need is a pen, a sheet of paper, and 10 minutes of time to just sit down and write out whatever is on your mind.
My next suggestion, which touches on something that bothers me more than anything about my generation, is being present. This sounds obvious, but there are too many examples that I can think of where people are ignoring everything happening in their surrounding world and staring at a phone screen 5 inches from their face. Trust me, in an age where your phone is notifying you about some important new thing every three minutes, I succumb to the trap as well. However, I implore you to just put it on silent during two situations to achieve incredible results: when you are doing things you enjoy or spending time with people you love. This will deepen your appreciation for these activities and people and will thus help improve your overall outlook on life.
Lastly, practicing gratitude is a great way to completely alter your approach to how your life is. I’m not talking about the Gweneth Paltrow-esque, incredibly demeaning, and cringe celebrity way of practicing gratitude atop an ivory tower like this infamous video from Sami Clarke demonstrates.
I’m talking raw, down-to-earth, and real forms of gratitude. It’s something that not enough people in the US think about, to be honest. In a country where we have some of the most incredible innovations in our country, more people dying from eating too much than eating too little (an extreme oddity historically), and one of the highest GDP per capita in the world, it is alarming how our happiness is decreasing. Is our country, perfect? Far from it, but in all honesty, most people have it pretty good here. I suggest following an example such as the one Steve Harvey provides in this clip to help provide a more optimistic mindset to approach your problems.
Conclusion
Ultimately, Everything Everywhere All at Once offers a profound lesson on the power of perspective. The film’s contrasting views on the idea that “nothing matters” show us that the same realization can either lead to despair or a deeper appreciation for life’s small, meaningful moments. By shifting our mindset, we can transform our outlook on life, finding purpose and joy even in the face of uncertainty. Whether through journaling, being present, or practicing gratitude, we can all learn to approach our challenges with a mindset that not only helps us survive but also thrive. After all, if nothing inherently matters, then we have the freedom to decide what does—and that can be an incredibly empowering realization.
Thanks for reading! One of the reasons why I love writing blogs is that I can find inspiration for them anywhere; even on a brutal six-hour flight from Los Angeles back to NYC. I guess that’s what happens when you approach life with the right mindset: you find diamonds in the rough. I have a special blog coming out next week, so make sure you give that one a read. Until then, so long amigos.
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