Last Wednesday, while watching a recent episode of New Girl, I saw some similarities between that episode and Sefer Kohelet. Schmidt realizes that he is not a good person, and goes to his Rabbi to find out how to improve himself. His Rabbi tells him that he should put others needs before his and be kind to others. Being nice to others will make him a better person. While walking out of the Rabbi's office, Schmidt sees a man riding on his bike, choking. Schmidt goes to save him and realizes that he did something nice, and is now a good person. For the next few days Schmidt continually praises himself for doing something so amazing for another person. He decides to go visit the man, who he had saved, in the hospital, so he could tell him how he is a good person.
While at the hospital, Schmidt sees another man, severely injured. This man was hit y a truck while making a bake sale for children with cancer. Schmidt, seeing that bad things could happen to good people, was back in turmoil. He then runs into a Bar Mitzvah class, that is being given by the Rabbi, and began to shout "YOLO!"
Just like in Sefer Kohelet, Schmidt was trying to do good and find a purpose in being a good human being. He then realized that even a very good person can have bad things happen to them, and concluded that if bad things can happen to good people, then being a good person is pointless. If being a good person is pointless, then we might as well just do whatever we want before we die, because being good doesn't do anything. #YOLO
I watched the episode after y'all were talking about in class. SO TRUE. Do you think the writers of New Girl learned Kohelet? Hehe.
ReplyDeleteThe ideas presented in New Girl relate to the Amal. At first, the Amal wanted to do amazing things and help people. The Amal's philosophy drastically changes in his final speech when he decides that we can't create perfection so we might as well go nanners until we die.