Examining Existence
Self/less in the Context of Individuality
Photo: Stefano Pollio on Unsplash
Spooky season is creeping in, and that means science fiction is a fright night must. It is one of the best genres for exploring monsters, especially those revealed to be lurking inside each of us.
Defining oneself may be one of the most difficult things to achieve in the physical world, given the brief amount of time provided to each individual before they are gone. Tarsem Singh’s underrated science fiction film Self/less (2015) grapples with these complexities as it explores the theme of serving others to ultimately attain self-identification clarity and purpose. The piece focuses on Damian Hale, an absent-father billionaire with terminal cancer and six months to live, who makes the irreversible decision to undergo “shedding” by Albright at Phoenix Biogenic so that his psychological self can continue to live on before his physical body gives out. During this process, Damian’s mind is implanted in another body under the pretense that it is “genetically engineered.” Overwhelmed by another’s memories, he discovers this physical frame formerly belonged to a husband, father, and soldier named Mark Bitwell, which he tries to suppress with pills to assume total control. Overall, Self/less suggests the power and importance of being a living individual by depicting philosophies of the self that include personhood, existentialism, and the denial of death.
The question of how personal identity is constructed is apparent in this film through Damian’s two primary personas that investigate the significance of life as an independent entity. Shai Biderman in “Recalling the Self: Personal Identity in Total Recall” analyzes how characters in the iconic 1990 film by Paul Verhoeven, demonstrate “the sameness of person” using four different theories (three of which can explain the claiming of personhood in Self/less) such as “the body criterion” where “a person’s continuity of personhood is defined by having the same body over time so that A at time T1 is the same person as B at time T2 if and only if A and B have the same body” (41). Using this logic, Damian is not the same person after he “sheds” since Damian’s mental capactiy after the procedure has transferred bodies from his own into Mark’s. It would be more accurate to say that Mark continues to be the same person using this perspective since he remains in the same body before and after the procedure. In fact, Madeline and Damian (in Mark’s body) deal with this issue directly after the two share a kiss, and she asks him to tell her about himself so she remembers he is not her husband. In this example, Madeline points out that Damian may look like her husband, but is not because his identity is vanishing as the former remains. She expresses that there is pain felt by those around a person who is not 100% their individual self, as Damian’s conscious invades Mark’s physical space. Both men cannot be considered the same person using this perspective because they have not always shared the same body; hence, it is apparent that there is a clear division between the two. Both personas are separate people who happen to share the same body after undergoing an artificial process, but each individual is still more or less mentally in existence.
Likewise, “the memory criterion” also applies to Self/less by explaining the importance of personhood. Biderman argues, “identity is grounded in the idea that A at time T2 is the same person as B at time T1 if and only if A can recall the experiences and events that B has experienced” (43). As a result, one can conclude that the improved Damian after the procedure is the same person as the ill Damian before the procedure. The protagonist proves he remembers “shedding” by making the early assumption that “It didn’t work,” as soon as he wakes up; therefore, Damian is just as he was before his mental perception entered Mark’s body. Biderman’s “memory criterion” argument about Quaid not being Hauser because he does not remember Hauser’s past is also relevant to this film when the author adds, “Quaid has certain traits that can be traced back to Hauser: Quaid has a yearning to visit Mars, he has the know-how to disarm and kill threatening opponents, he has the mental acumen to remain hidden and escape the agents chasing him on Earth…” (45). This evidence proves Damian cannot be considered Mark using memory ideology. Like Quaid’s dreams about Mars that have non-specific ties to Hauser, Damian only hallucinates non-contextual pieces of Mark’s memories about his sick daughter in St. Louis or time spent in the Army—he does not remember explicitly. Limiting oneself to previous experiences defines a person in this way.
The “psychological continuity criterion,” however, can also contribute to the conversation about the importance of personhood in Self/less. It can explain Damian’s vivid thoughts and his ability to strategically fight/avoid Albright’s men, like Quaid’s character in Total Recall, because “A inherits a set of mental features from B” (Biderman 45). This means Damian gains some personal background and muscle memory from Mark. For example, Damian is escorted from the nursing facility and escapes by kicking, punching, and strangling Albright’s goons. It can be assumed these characteristics are partly attributed to Mark’s background in the military since random stylistic hallucinations are inserted in the middle of the fight. Unfortunately, he may be unable to win with this advantage because Damian’s mind is less well-versed in combat and working in friction with Mark’s training because Damian continues to take the override pills. One can see the fight for individuality between both men even as they overlap and blend together. The struggle between characters within one body throughout the film symbolizes the internal conflict individuals experience as they attempt to find a clear sense of who they are. According to Self/less, personhood emerges when internal originality intersects with external influence.
Second, Singh’s film presents the importance of establishing a self through existentialism. The existentialist perspective is described as one in which people are capable of making their own meaning out of life based on the personal choices they make (Biderman 48). At the beginning of the film, Damian commits to “shedding” and, therefore, starting a new life when he contacts Albright for the second time in medical care saying, “I don’t feel immortal,” after Albright asks him if he felt this way during his consultation. Here, the protagonist chooses to live rather than wait for death and opts for a life of independence. This is reminiscent of the 1953 existentialist play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett which details the choice made by two vagrants in trouble to wait for a man who may never arrive to help them. Rather than making the conscious decision to sit and hope a mysterious individual will rescue him from his dark fate, Damian is proactive in saving himself. He contacts Albright, as opposed to Albright contacting him. The character seizes control of who he is and what will become of him at this moment by surrendering to a life he can only live for and by himself; hence, he continues to reproduce his selfish behavior. He does, however, act as someone who is willing to go the extra mile and do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Choices are always being made and the ability to make them is one of the most powerful gifts individuals can use to their advantage throughout life.
Existentialism demonstrates how people already have the capacity to improve within themselves, as well, through the decisions they make. According to Biderman, existentialism supports the idea that “the human being can take a stance toward his past, which help him shape his identity as he projects himself into the future” (48). This is proven in Self/less as the protagonist chooses to die by resisting the red pills, so that Mark may live on to be with his family. In the end, Mark wakes up in a bedroom and watches a video Damian made thanking him for the spare time his body provided, describing the events that had previously transpired, and explaining why he stopped taking the pills. Damian redeems his identity, which once was lost in his own shallow pursuits, by making the choice to benefit someone else besides himself. The decision of whether or not to take a pill of the same color is also present in Total Recall when Quaid is encouraged to swallow one in order to return to reality and leave the dream he is allegedly in; however, he spits it out and eventually helps lead a rebellion. Like Quaid, Damian refuses to take the pill to avoid the blinding narcissism that prevents him from living freely. Damian sets himself apart from others by making the deliberate decision to choose a death with the greater purpose of helping others. Consequently, the slash incorporated in the title of the film becomes clear as one sees how Damian decides to both literally lessen himself until he no longer exists and figuratively gives all of himself away as a sacrifice to support others. Damian proves it is never too late to alter one’s fate for the better because helping Mark means helping himself. Existentialism is a common feature in this film used to exhibit the significance of individuality by humbly choosing to die so that others may live.
In addition, the denial of death can also be understood from the perspective of the individual presented with their own end in Self/less as characters become desperate to maintain the power and control that comes with living. More specifically, Jennifer L. McMahon references Ernest Becker’s “‘defiant Prometheanism’” in “The Existential Frankenstein” when she argues, “Rather than using the conventional technique of repressing anxiety about death by avoiding thought about it, the individual who is fascinated with death attempts to inoculate himself against anxiety by conjuring the hope that death can be controlled, even conquered” (76). In one scene, a Google search on Dr. Francis Jensen describes, “His research on shedding and transhumanism gave the world hope of a life after death.” Here, death is avoided by trying to eliminate it entirely because of the unknown that lies beyond it. In Singh’s work, the whole premise revolves around the denial of death for the protagonist once he initiates the inciting action of the plot. By body-switching with the technology at Phoenix Biogenic, he may no longer be victimized by cancer that is consuming his physical form. In fact, even the name of the company suggests rebirth and defiance over death by using the term for a recognized mythical creature that is known to reemerge from ashes. In this case, Albright’s organization is explained through a metaphor that connotes strength and dominance in the prevention of death as clients rise from the destruction of their former bodies without fear. This does not last long, however, considering the film ends with Damian’s mortality. As a result, death is understood to be inevitable—even by those who spend the money trying to avoid it. The removal of death is proposed in this film to contemplate how precious life is for individuals and the extent to which people will go to combat it.
Likewise, Self/less depicts the denial of death as a method of showing its powerful effect on a specific person’s life as it relates to others, such as a parent. Gavin de Becker in his article “Waging War Against Death” claims people prefer to both foresee and ignore death in an effort to avoid it while adding, “Because most parents will not see their children die, and because children are a part of us that can keep living for a long while, they are, for all practical purposes, immortal (to us)” (53-54). This is the case when Anton tells Damian how Mark sold his body to pay for his daughter’s medical bills so that her life could be saved at the expense of his own. Mark denies the death of his daughter by facing his own end in her place. Her illness functions as a warning that permits him to come to terms with his own death just enough. It is not an option for his child because he loves her immensely and knows he will live on within her mind and looks as she grows up. Mark does this because he is unable to cope with the unnatural chance of his offspring passing on before he does; hence, the character keeps the world in balance by exiting it first. The active prevention of death by parents is a noteworthy natural occurrence that results from the intensity of living.
Self/less presents philosophies of the self throughout the work in order to express the importance of life. It covers vast topics ranging from how personal identities are constituted, the effects of individual choice, and the attempted circumvention of an inevitable conclusion. This film is significant because it emphasizes individuality and uniqueness without downgrading the importance of community, as seen with the presence of family. Self/less proves that no matter how perfect science may seem, death will always be more advanced than the humans trying to stop it. The point is to take advantage of the liberty provided within the window of opportunity given. Selflessness, in this case, implies that being whole is achieved by people who give pieces of themselves away.
Despite its density, Self/less is a brilliant monster film to return to this October. And, thankfully, the seasonal, fun-sized wrappers of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Milky Ways, and Starbursts may be our only tickets to solace when coping with this identity nightmare.
