THE THEODICY OF SUFFERING AND THE COSMIC VOYAGES IN THE TREE OF LIFE AND MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN

Abstract

In The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick presents Jack O’Brien’s attempts to come to terms with his past. The most traumatic experience in his past is his brother’s death which gives not only Jack but also other members of the family a great agony. Similarly, Miracles from Heaven deals with affliction. Inspired by a true story, Patricia Riggen dives into the lives of the Beams projecting both physical and psychological agony since the 10-year-old daughter Anna (Annabel) suffers from a deathly illness. Even though Anna is miraculously healed in the end by divine intervention, both films interrogate death and suffering as a process that threatens the meaningful order of a cosmos ruled by an almighty powerful transcendental creator. Pondering on especially the term theodicy as a theoretical framework, this paper elucidates how these two films deal with the problem of suffering in which humanity loses touch with a meaningful cosmos and how they offer spiritual solutions to this problem by engaging in cosmic voyages.

Keywords

• The tree of Life
• Miracles from Heaven
• Max weber
• theodicy

HAYAT AĞACI VE CENNETTEN MUCİZELER FİLMLERİNDE ACI ÇEKME TEODİSESİ VE KOZMİK YOLCULUKLAR

Abstract

Hayat Ağacı (The Tree of Life) adlı filmde, Malick Jack O’Brien’ın geçmişi ile uzlaşma çabalarını sergiler. Geçmişindeki en sarsıcı deneyim sadece Jack’e değil ailenin bütün bireylerine büyük bir acı veren kardeşinin ölümüdür. Benzer bir şekilde, Cennetten Mucizeler (Miracles from Heaven) filmi de acı ile ilgilenmektedir. Patricia Riggen, gerçek bir hikayeden esinlenerek, 10 yaşındaki kızları Anna (Annabel) ölümcül bir hastalıkla boğuşan Beams ailesinin hayatlarını hem fiziksel hem psikolojik acıyı yansıtarak sergiler. Anna ilahi bir müdahale ile mucizevi bir şekilde iyileşse de, her iki film de ulu, güçlü, aşkın bir yaratıcı tarafından hükmedilen bir kozmosun anlamlı düzenini tehdit eden bir süreç olarak ölümü ve acı çekmeyi sorgular. Özellikle teodise kavramını teorik çerçeve olarak düşünerek, bu çalışma bu iki filmin insanların anlamlı bir kozmos ile temaslarını yitirdikleri acı çekme problemini nasıl ele aldıklarını ve kozmik yolculuklar sergileyerek nasıl bu probleme ruhani çözümler önerdiklerini açıklamaktadır.

Keywords

• the tree of life
• miracles from heaven
• Max Weber
• teodise

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