The Anthropocene Reviewed

by John Green

Darkness Visible, William Styron’s wrenching memoir of depression, he wrote, “What makes the condition intolerable is the foreknowledge that no remedy will come—not in a day, an hour, a month, or a minute. If there is mild relief, one knows that it is only temporary; more pain will follow. It is hopelessness even more than pain that crushes the soul.” I find hopelessness to be a kind of pain. One of the worst kinds. For me, finding hope is not some philosophical exercise or sentimental notion; it is a prerequisite for my survival.

thought the problem was me, at my core. I was worthless, useless, helpless, hopeless. I was less and less each day.

Exactly

Despite not being a traditional hero of any kind, Elwood is profoundly heroic. In my favorite line of the movie, he says, “Years ago my mother used to say to me, she’d say . . . ‘In this world, you must be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant.’ Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant.”

I can hear Jimmy say this, in his stye and pace

As Emily Dickinson put it, “Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all -

I give Harvey five stars.