This post comes from my final paper on Immortality; I think it is very interesting stuff!
So, what do we do then with immortality? Is it a good thing? Would it be good if it were possible on earth? Certainly not if you were one of the very few people who were granted it. This is the Highlander formula; the ‘there can be only one’ case. This limited case immortality is explored in various Japanese Anime stories as well, such as Vampire Hunter D, the title character of a book series by Hideyuki Kikuchi (two movies have been made as well). D is half vampire/half human, so mostly everybody hates him, and his business is ridding the world of vampires. In the first book, D encounters a vampire named Magnus Lee, who gives a monologue about being a vampire in an early scene, after abducting a young girl:
"I've lived for almost ten thousand years. Believe me you have no idea what that means: boredom. Everlasting and hideous boredom. A never ending search for ways to pass the time... and mating with a human female is one of the few I enjoy. Eventually they become tiresome. For in spite of their vitality, they are fundamentally stupid creatures who couldn't survive without the nobility [vampires] to rule them. Perhaps now you'll understand my wanting to have some fun every thousand years or so?"
(from the IMDb database, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090248/quotes)
This really hits home with the boredom argument. From Count Lee’s view, a life on earth with the humans is unendingly boring, which is pretty easy to believe. This doesn’t seem like a good reason to want immortality on the earth; even if everyone were able to live forever, I believe everyone would eventually end up bored. The timeline of life that we all work against keeps us moving, ever looking for a noble pursuit.
What do you guys think?
So, what do we do then with immortality? Is it a good thing? Would it be good if it were possible on earth? Certainly not if you were one of the very few people who were granted it. This is the Highlander formula; the ‘there can be only one’ case. This limited case immortality is explored in various Japanese Anime stories as well, such as Vampire Hunter D, the title character of a book series by Hideyuki Kikuchi (two movies have been made as well). D is half vampire/half human, so mostly everybody hates him, and his business is ridding the world of vampires. In the first book, D encounters a vampire named Magnus Lee, who gives a monologue about being a vampire in an early scene, after abducting a young girl:
"I've lived for almost ten thousand years. Believe me you have no idea what that means: boredom. Everlasting and hideous boredom. A never ending search for ways to pass the time... and mating with a human female is one of the few I enjoy. Eventually they become tiresome. For in spite of their vitality, they are fundamentally stupid creatures who couldn't survive without the nobility [vampires] to rule them. Perhaps now you'll understand my wanting to have some fun every thousand years or so?"
(from the IMDb database, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090248/quotes)
This really hits home with the boredom argument. From Count Lee’s view, a life on earth with the humans is unendingly boring, which is pretty easy to believe. This doesn’t seem like a good reason to want immortality on the earth; even if everyone were able to live forever, I believe everyone would eventually end up bored. The timeline of life that we all work against keeps us moving, ever looking for a noble pursuit.
What do you guys think?
posted by Brett Boote at 8:44 AM
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