Austin Magruder - Trancendence

On of the ideas we discussed in class this semester was the idea of transcendence. “Berger defines signals of transcendence as "phenomena that are to be found within the domain of our 'natural' reality but that appear to point beyond that reality" (59). Prototypical human gestures are defined as "certain reiterated acts and experiences that appear to express essential aspects of man's being, of the human animal as such" (59). Berger notes that they belong to the everyday world of human existence rather than unconscious Jungian archetypes (60).” The film Requiem for a Dream conveys this idea. The characters in this film are attempting to transcend their reality. They refuse to deal with or cope with what is real and use drugs to escape the “natural reality” that Berger talks about. The characters abuse drugs to make a failed attempt at trancendence, they are unable to get out of their natural reality.