This blog post explores the tedium and loss of meaning in repetitive daily life depicted in Revolutionary Road, examining why we linger in familiarity and hesitate to change our lives.
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was condemned to a terrible punishment for deceiving the gods: rolling a massive boulder up the steep slopes of a mountain in the underworld. Sisyphus would push the boulder with all his might, but the moment it reached the summit, its own weight would cause it to tumble back down the mountainside. Thus, Sisyphus was condemned to roll the boulder up the mountain forever. The most cruel aspect of this punishment was its endlessness. A wretched fate of repeating meaningless labor without any achievement or reward. This symbolically represents the feelings of futility and frustration humans encounter in life.
A similar punishment existed in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Jewish prisoners were assigned the task of moving a high pile of dirt from one side to the other. It was unknown whether this was a task that could be completed in a day or took several days. However, once they had moved all the dirt to the other side, they had to move it back to its original location. Why did they choose such repetitive labor as the most severe punishment? It was likely not to inflict physical pain. If that were the goal, torture or execution would be a more effective method. Their labor holds no purpose, no outcome, no change, no hope. Only empty repetition and immeasurable, eternal time exist.
Ultimately, isn’t the most terrifying thing the boredom and futility that come after pointless labor? Waking up in the morning, spending the day working, eating, sleeping, and repeating the same routine week after week. True suffering begins when the question “Why?” surfaces within that boredom. We sometimes feel this meaningless repetition in our own lives too. Waking at the same hour every day, repeating the same tasks, meeting the same people. A mechanical existence where everything moves only within predetermined orbits can sometimes leave us feeling powerless, even robbing us of the will to live. We seek an escape from this situation, but does an escape even exist?
The film ‘Revolutionary Road’ tells the story of a man and a woman standing at a crossroads of choice, in a moment of boredom and disillusionment. The film intensifies and expresses the powerlessness we feel in our daily lives. In the opening scene, at a party with music playing, the man and woman’s eyes meet. They are April and Frank, soon to be married. In a corner of the hall, they converse. When April asks what he does, Frank replies, “I’m a dockworker. Starting Monday, I’ll have a more respectable job.” April, a night cashier at a restaurant, laughs and asks back, “I mean, besides making money. I mean, what are your interests?” ” This brief exchange hints at the longing and dissatisfaction hidden within both of them. Not just working to make ends meet, but a yearning for what they truly want to do, for a meaningful life. Yet this longing gradually fades within the reality of married life.
After the party, the film skips all the preceding events and jumps straight into their utterly tedious seventh year of marriage. April is performing in a play. Though she dreamed of being an actress, her lack of acting skill ruins the performance. To the frustrated April, Frank offers only the hollow compliment, “You were great.” The next scene depicts Frank’s commute to work. People wearing identical bowler hats, identical suits, heading to identical companies pour out. Finding Frank among them is no easy task. They are all people living in similar orbits, in the same way. The daily commute, endless meetings, and returning home to pass the time watching television. The more this monotonous routine repeats, the more passion for life gradually fades.
April was originally a woman who wanted to live freely as someone special, different from others. Frank was a man who didn’t want to live like his father, who only worked at the company until he passed away. But for the woman who realized she lacked the ability to achieve her dreams, and the man who realized he was just an ordinary being no different from others, all that remains is a tediously repetitive daily routine. Like Sisyphus. The life they dreamed of and the life they live now are worlds apart. And that gap creates deep conflict within them.
Suffocating in her empty routine, April suggests to Frank that they emigrate to Paris. To find what they want to do and start a new life. After much deliberation, Frank accepts his wife’s proposal. Excited by the thought of Paris, they regain their vitality for the first time in ages. But one day, just before he was set to resign, Frank’s boss, impressed by some documents Frank had casually submitted, offered him a promotion. Frank wavered again. Ultimately, unable to let go of his current comfort and familiarity, Frank rejected April’s proposal.
What confuses them is the paradox that their current life is just bearable. It’s boring, but there’s no great suffering. They have a nice house everyone envies, a great car, and two children. They also have enough assets to last them a year without worry. Whether to continue this meaningless life or take the risk and leave is by no means an easy question. Should Sisyphus, should the Jew, rebel? Frank and April make completely different choices.
April is the ‘one who wants to leave’. To her agonizing husband, April says, “If living meaningfully is crazy, then I’m willing to go crazy anytime.” That’s how desperately she craves a meaningful life. A life filled with emotion, a life where she feels alive in every moment. When a neighbor, upon hearing of her Paris trip, asks, “You wanted to out,” April replies, “No, I wanted to in.” Her current empty life is, to her, the ‘outside,’ and so she can leave without hesitation.
Frank, on the other hand, is the ‘one who stays’. For him, the stability of the present is more important than unknown challenges. So when an opportunity arises to make his already stable life even more secure, he is easily swayed. In pursuing an economically stable life, a life others envy, the so-called middle-class life, he represents the majority of the masses. Of course, he isn’t unaware of his current emptiness. But while April’s desire to live uniquely is pure, Frank’s is far weaker, being an artificial construct shaped by others. Frank vents about the company’s tedium, saying, “I never wanted to live like my father.” During a marital fight, he shouts, “I’m sick of playing the dull husband role on the outskirts for you.” Even his desire to live uniquely stems from comparison with others, or the process of trying to become what others expect. This is why Frank, who vowed not to live like his father when the boss said, “Your father must like promotions too,” ultimately has no choice but to reply, “I want a promotion too.”
Ultimately, this film vividly shows how the emotion of ‘boredom’ threatens human daily life. In modern society, we live like Sisyphus, rolling a boulder. To avoid losing life’s meaning in repetitive routines, we must constantly question ourselves. What am I doing this for right now? What life do I truly desire? Only when we find answers to these questions can we finally escape Sisyphus’s punishment.
