Brad Pitt and Michel de Montaigne

I’d venture to say that not many people have written about the link between Brad Pitt and Michel de Montaigne, but why not give it a shot.  Reading Chapter XIX of Michel de Montaigne’s To Study Philosophy, the chapter entitled That To Study Philosophy Is To Learn To Die, I was reminded of a scene from the 2004 movie Troy:

Here's something they don't teach you in your temples

But before we get back to the Troy, lets discuss Montaigne’s written work. Montaigne makes a number of smaller points throughout this chapter concerning death and how one should deal with it. Several of these smaller points support a larger idea: death is necessary to a fulfilling life. Due to this necessity, death should not be something one cowers from, but something one respects, appreciates, and prepares himself for. The scene from Troy, which I posted above, reflects this idea of Montaigne’s; however, I feel the parallel goes deeper than that. While there is this clear parallel of content, there is also a parallel of context.

            Throughout this chapter Montaigne makes many smaller points, often through anecdotal stories, that when seen in tangent with each other work together to convey several “medium” ideas. These “medium” sized ideas work together to convince the reader of his final point: understanding death leads to a more fulfilling and peaceful life, “he who should teach men to die, would at the same time teach them to live”(87). One of these medium ideas, which range from him arguing that a pleasure is defined by the pursuit of said pleasure, rather than the actual final achievement of it to the convincing the reader that he himself has learned to embrace and appreciate death, is that mortality is much greater than immortality.

“Do but seriously consider how much more insupportable and painful an immortal life would be to man than what I have already give him. If you had not death, you would eternally curse me for having deprived you of it.”(95)

This idea is directly reflected in the scene in Troy, where Achilles, played by Brad Pitt, says, “The gods envy us because we are mortal, any moment could be our last”. Yet this idea of mortality being a blessing isn’t the end of the content parallels. Both Montaigne and Pitt use this point as a steppingstone to achieve a larger idea. Mortality should not be feared but rather embraced is the first step, but both extrapolate this to make the point that this finiteness of life is what makes life beautiful, above anything else. As Pitt puts it, “everything’s more beautiful because we are doomed”.

            Beyond the parallel of content, is the parallel of context. As this is as much a class of the history of philosophy as it is a class on the actually content of philosophy, it is important to understand the context in which Montaigne is writing and the audience to whom he is writing. Montaigne is writing in a time where religion is relatively absolute. Wars are being waged with religion, rulers are being selected with religion, and many people are justifying their life and their death with religion. The view Montaigne takes on death is not the view taken by the general population of France, almost all of who are Christian and believe in the afterlife.  The audience Pitt’s character is addressing is similar. The character is a priestess who serves almost no role in the movie outside of this scene. Why is it then that the main character of the movie is giving this insightful monologue to a character with no name? Because she is a priestess and therefore represents society’s relationship with religion. Not only are Achilles and Montaigne both conveying similar ideas, but both are also conveying their ideas during a time where religion is the most powerful force and to people whose views on life and death are shaped by religion.

            Often directors use their movies to convey opinions or ideas on seemingly unrelated topics. This scene is a clear example of that; it holds little relevance to the overall plot and as it is one of the few scenes where Pitt is actually wearing a shirt it seems the goal of the scene is something other than selling tickets. Of course, one of the goals could be, and probably is to an extent, to develop Achilles’ character further, but this scene serves more than just that purpose. The scene is a medium for the filmmakers to express insightful ideas on life, death, and religion and they are ideas that parallel Montaigne’s 19^th chapter closely.