English IO Script - Jimmy Zhang

## Introduction Today my IO is in the field of Beliefs, Values, and Education, and my global issue is the impact of nihilism / lack of purpose. I chose this topic because nihilism is a signifcant topic that can manifest differently across contexts: as existential detachment in individuals, as normalized violence in communities, and as institutional collapse in governance. I will explore this globlal issue first through the novel The Outsider by Albert Camus, in which Meursault -- a man whose complete indifference leads him to commit murder. And then second, through the short film good kid M.A.A.D City by Kalil Joseph, which depict communities where systemic violence has drained life of purpose. Both works illustrate pictures of living in a nihilistic world and explored its impact on the human experience. ## Literary Extract First, let's look at an extract from The Outsider by Albert Camus. My extract takes place at the end of Chapter six and at the novel's most significant turning point, when Meursault fired five shots into an Arab man because of the sun -- the action that will define the rest of his life. I chose this extract because it illustrates the nihilism at its peak -- a murder without emotion or purpose. ### Disconnection from human experience My first point is that through Mersualt's experience, Camus shows how a nihilistic lack of purpose leads to a disconnection from human experience -- when life has no inherent purpose, even morally significant acts are purely physical events. We see this right away in his motivation for walking down the beach at the end of line 10. He's not looking for a confrontation but just "thinking of the cold, clear stream behind" the rock. He's driven by a simple, almost animalistic desire for physical comfort—to get out of the heat and find "the pool of shadow." This complete lack of engagement with the human drama shows how his nihilism has emptied him of emotional connection with the world. After the first shot in line 38, he doesn't say "the man I just shot," but calls him an "inert body." The cold description reduces a human being to a lifeless object. As a result, nihlism breaks the connection between self and others and transforms a significant human encounter into a meaningless and deatched event. ### Environment determinism My second point is that Camus uses detailed descriptions of the environment to argue that nihilism leads to environment determinism -- meaning that when a person has no internal purpose, physical forces, rather than conscious choice, dictate their action. Camus personifies the sun, turning it into an active enemy. He describes the light in line 3 as "presses itself on me, trying to check my progress." he feels "a hot blast strike my forehead," as if he's being attacked. The verb choices—"press," "check," "strike"—personify the environment as an aggressor while reducing Meursault to a victim. When he finally shoots in line 34, Camus uses passive description -- he said, "The trigger gave" -- not that "I pulled the trigger" or "I decides to shoot", but as if the trigger pulled itself -- an involuntary action instead of concious choice. This demonstrates the dangerous impact of nihilism -- Because Meursault's mind is a vacuum devoid of purpose or values, the physical world rushes in to fill in. He becomes a puppet of his environment. ## Literary BOW ### Emotional Apathy Zooming out from the extract to the entire novel, overall, Camus demosntrates that nihilism leads to Emotional Apathy. In other words, Mersault is not able to put emotional signifiance to any his actions. We see this in his relationship with Marie. When she asks if he'll marry her, he says, "it didn't matter much to me, and if she wanted to, we could get married." Marriage — one of society's most significant in emotional commitments — is reduced to complete indifference. This apathy reaches its extreme during his trial. You'd expect anyone facing execution to engage and to actively defend themselves, or at least to fear or regret. But Meursault remains utterly detached. Just as the lack of emotions during his murder, he is apathetic to the court's decision on his life. Meursault's apathy is the authentic result of living without purpose. He cannot access the emotinoal framework that would make his choices significant. ### Collapse of meaning systems Mersault's emotional apathy further reflects how his nihilism causes society’s established systems of meaning to collapse when they try to judge or define him. Again, we see this during his trial. The legal system is supposed to be about facts and motive. But because Meursault shot the Arab "because of the sun"—the system can't process it. So, the prosecutor builds his entire case around Meursault not crying at his mother's funeral. Camus uses absurdism to highlight the system's collapse under nihilism. The legal system, has to invent reasons to convict a man who refuses to play the game. So, the ultimate impact, and the link to our global issue, is that a life without purpose actively challenges and dismantles the purpose-driven systems around it. When faced with nihilism, those conventions and rules of the world are revealed to be fragile and will collapse into absurdity. ## Non-literary Extract Next, moving on to the non-literary extract. I chose the extract at the faily early stage of the film, when it's building up the envionrment and first introducting the audience to the general vibe of the Campton community, when nihilism begins to minefest. ### Normalization of Death & Violence First, Joseph demonstrates that nihilism's erosion of purpose causes the normalization of death and violence. In image 1 the arrest scene, Joseph employs documentary-style framing with grainy, handheld quality that resembles live-action news footage, suggesting this violence is routine. The coffin scene in image 3 reinforces this normalization. For context, there is a coffin by the window. Joseph uses a low-angle shot toward a the harsh, indifferent light which reflects psychological numbness. Joseph uses misse-en-scene -- a coffin lying casually in a mundane domestic space -- to show that repeated loss is normalized. Importantly, the chaotic rapping in background music comes to an abrupt stop in this scene, signifying how life is short and fragile, and death can happen at any moment. Furthermore, from the lyrics, for example in line 11, "it got ulgy" uses understatement or euphemism to minize what refers to extreme violence shown in other parts of the film. It demonstrates nihilism's corrosive effect on the normalization of violence. ### Collapse of Meaning System Furthermore, Joseph reveals that nihilism extends beyond individual experience to corrode institutional meaning systems. Government structures meant to provide moral order become complicit to or detached from violence. In image 2, Joseph uses a tightly cropped, low-resolution close-up of a smiling political leader. His eyes are half-closed, almost relaxed, as if in casual amusement. Stripped of context, it contrasts violently with the images elsewhere in _m.A.A.d_ of surveillance footage, death, and community trauma. This visual juxtaposition implies a structural disconnect: while marginalized communities endure cycles of violence and meaninglessness, the highest political authorities appear serene and untroubled. It exposes the moral numbness of institutions that should provide order, purpose, and protection. This dissonance embodies the collapse of the governmental “meaning system” as a result of widespread nihilism and violence at the grassroot level. ## Non-literary BOW ### Fragmented consciousness Zooming out, across _m.A.A.d_ city, Joseph constructs a fragmented consciousness to show how nihilism shatters the ability to experience life as a coherent narrative. The film stitches together shaky VHS footage, and disorienting jump-cuts. The editing rarely follows linear logic, and the soundscape blends overlapping voices, shoutings, and sirens. These techniques uses sensory overload to overwhelm the audience and portray a world where meaning is no longer dependable. In environments shaped by nihilism, individuals cannot form stable stories about themselves because the world offers no consistent structure. Thus, through nonlinear editing and sensory disorientation, Joseph portrays fragmented consciousness as a psychological impact of nihilism. ### Existential liberation & rebellion However, Joseph also suggests beyond destroying meaing, nihilism, can paradoxically create existential liberation. In _Black Mary_, another short film by Kalil Joseph, he focuses on the genuine scream of the female character. The raw expression becomes an act of defiance—refusing passivity and asserting her own presence when external systems are meaningless. In the film, one main scene is shot in black-and-white while another in a warm, dim, amber-lit light. While the black-and-white scene symbolizes nihilism and lack of purpose, the warm lighting represents her newfound meaning and her transformation from emptiness to self-authored purpose. Through expressive performance and use of color, Joseph portrays how when meaning collapses, the self can break free from oppressive structures to define their own existence. ## Conclusion Ultimately, both _The Outsider_ and _m.A.A.d city_ explore the impact of nihilism / lack of purpose on the human condition. _The Outsider_ examines nihilism at the individual level—how lack of purpose disconnects Mersault, makes him vulnerable to environmental forces, and causes society's meaning systems to collapse. Meanwhile, _m.A.A.d city_ explores nihilism at the systemic level—how entire communities become numb to violence, how institutions fail to provide moral guidance, yet how individuals can still rebel to forge their own meaning. The issue of nihilism is significant in our present-day world because with increasing institutional distrust, and social fragmentation many find their life without a sense of purpose. As a result, understanding its effects helps explain rising apathy and violence, while also revealing how it imght give rise to the creation of new meanings.