My Dinner with Andre

I took notes on this movie like I was rewatching an Econ lecture and trying to write down what I missed while I was distracted in class doing the NYT crossword. I had to rewind so many times to listen again what andre or Wally (usually andre because he likes the sound of his own voice, evidently) said and I still think I missed so many little bits of their conversation.  I guess I didn’t see it as a movie that much hm. I need a much lighter movie to watch next bc now I can’t think straight because of everything they talked about and my brain generally turning to mush with each passing year of my life. Also what andre said about how we like banality of our lives and we built our own prison sort of confirmed my worst fears which is a great way to view the world as a freshly-minted 19 year old. Lucky me! Yippee!  I’m sleepy so these are my notes mwah mwah: - When I was a kid all I thought about was art and music now I’m 36 and all I think about is money (he mentioned growing up on the UES so is it that as a kid you think about this or is this more so tied to class?) - Andre goes all around the world to have these experiences and yet he doesnt seem he knows what he’s doing or gain any meaning from them or make sense of them —> Kant and noumena theres a difference between what exists, independent of our perceptions and what we make of them  - Kant also never left his hometown (ofc he didn’t) and made sense - Agnes Callard essay on why travel is stupid (she’s incredibly painful but I had to agree with this essay mostly)  - Andre goes to india and feels like a tourist. western tourists come to eastern places and export this “idea of self” why would the place change you hello??? you can run away from your problems but going and sitting w a yogi in Rishikesh isn’t going to change you. Has to come within. Hm also you only know things as yourslef (hm Kant)  - The waiter def hates Andre  - The story about the Norwegian director is basically how Wally sees Andre. Or at least how I see him.  - Halfway through Andre has this moment of profound self-awareness (squandered his life, intellectual vomiting) - Yeah passive-aggressive culture is annoying  - Why did the salad course come after they got their entrees  - Perceiving reality seems to be a low priority now  - “If your life revolves around your career and how you’ll achieve it, it doesnt matter what you perceive or how you experience things” - We do stuff out of habit “are you really hungry or are you just stuffing your face with it” - We’re not conscious of our reality  - Electric blanket  - The convenience of our lives makes us forget, or maybe never even see, what reality is - Comfort is a dangerous tranquility  - Why do we accept mediocrity in the face of struggle? (Theatre dying) - Art is a reflection of our lives - Is everything now contributing to making us a robot? The guy who doesn’t read, look at the newspaper, or watch TV. But now doing those activities are what people do to sort of keep them alive and not engage with all the slop online.  - Have we built our own prison? - This movie just sort of confirmed my worst existential fears  - 1960s were the last time we could be humans  - Wally says Andre shouldn’t be concerned with this stuff but just enjoy the details of everyday life… drinking coffee.. seeing your family - There is some good: we have some order in the universe  - The universe isn’t sending us signals—Its just there