Andrew Garfield on the World’s ‘Epidemic of Meaningless’

Andrew Garfield, actor is struggling.
He said it on Wednesday’s TIME100 Gala red-carpet. He is fresh from his recent success in roles, such as Spider-Man has no way homeThe lead in The Banner of HeavenJonathan Larson, playwright and author tick, tick…BOOM!,He was awarded the Academy Awards Best Actor Nod.
Garfield doesn’t want to be content with his accomplishments and shy away from greater mysteries of the universe. Garfield is facing these questions face-to-face.
“There might be an epidemic of meaninglessness,” he posited, when asked on the TIME100 Gala red carpet about what he sees as the most pressing challenge facing the world right now.
Philosophy and poetry were his concerns. His concerns included soul music, and an underground network made up of fungi threads.
Instead of paraphrasing his response on the red-carpet, this is it in its entirety:
“There might be an epidemic of artlessness and meaninglessness we have to address.
I think there’s been a movement psychologically away from soul. We have one of our great soul artists down there, Jon Batiste, and he’s someone that I think has some answers. Poetry has answers, I believe.
I think John O’Donohue, the great Irish philosopher-poet, has some answers.
Because Indigenous people are so connected to the planet and are closely related, I believe they have many answers.
This creates interconnectedness like the mycelium below the earth’s surface. With that, there is deep meaning. There is community.
We are encouraged to forget this, even if it is not necessary. [do], all the time, we are bound to fall into an abyss of nihilism and meaninglessness.”
Garfield gave his wisdom and then laughed at himself. “What did I just say?” he asked. “I think I said some stuff.”
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