Citizen Kane. Dir. Orson Welles. Perf. Joseph Cotte. RKO Radio Productions, 1941.

Film.
The film Citizen Kane is an older film created by Orson Welles. It focuses on a
publishing tycoon who dies making news reporters hope to discover the meaning of
his last words rosebuds. It recounts over his life and everything he went through
to explain why he said those words.
This source will relate to my thesis by showing the nihilism within the film. Charles
Foster Kane searches in his life for wholeness because of his nihilism. He sees
everything in the world as being objects that he would rather like to own than
looking into the deeper meaning. The only values he has in life is the amount of
things he owns and the amount of money is his bank. When he dies, all his
possessions become meaningless, showing the irony of his whole life.

The Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Perf. Heath Ledger. Warner Bros, 2008.
Film.
The Dark Knight is a movie by Christopher Nolan about Batman. Christian
Bale stars as Batman and Heath Ledger, who I hope to focus on plays the Joker.
Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent launch an assault on the mob, they let out the
Joker turning Gotham on itself and bringing any heroes down to his level. I have not
seen it in a while so I will need to rewatch it to understand the Jokers character
better but I know that he is very nihilistic.
Specifically, Heath Ledgers character, The Joker, is what I will focus on. He is one of
the largest representations of evil among the bad guys in film. His appearance in
the film is almost demonic and comes off appearing bestial, ugly, and not worthy of
redemption which is exactly what his character is. He destroys and creates more
than a true nihilist could ever amount to. His combination of nihilism and evil
creates a perfect portrayal of how this film incorporates nihilism.

Falling Down. Dir. Joel Schumacher. Perf. Michael Douglas. Warner Bros, 1993. Film.
Falling Down is a movie starring Michael Douglass who plays William D-
Fens Foster, an unemployed defense worker who is frustrate with the various flaws
in society. Throughout his way home he beings to psychotically and violently lash
out against all the people in his way.
In this movie the character himself has already reached destruction in his own life.
He failed as a husband, a father, an employee, and basically as a human being.
Because he cannot accept this so he murders many people trying to make it home
even though he is not wanted there. His lack of morality and his total destruction of
the streets of Los Angeles, show how nihilism is represented in this film.

Fight Club. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Brad Pitt. 20th Century Fox, 1999. Film.
Fight Club is a movie made in 1999 starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton.
Edward Nortons character is an insomniac office worker who needs desperately to
change his life. One day he meets Tyler Durden, a soap maker and they create a fight
club the evolves in to something bigger.
This film is nihilistic because of its anarchy and violence that takes place. They reject
capitalism and consumerism that society typically holds onto. They reject the fact
that violence is bad when they create their club. There are many examples on
atheism and rejection of a God. This movie is without a doubt one of the most
nihilistic films to date.

Harris, Brandon. "On the Coen Brothers and Nihilism." Gaijin.com. N.p., 8 Sept. 2008.
Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
This website is a blog that talks about how basically Ethan and Joel Coen are
actual nihilists based on the movies that they have made. Some of the movies they
have directed include No Country for Old Men, Fargo, and The Big Lebowksi. With this
site I hope to be able to look deeper into the works of the Coen Brothers specifically
and how they relate to nihilism. Many of the characters in their films are nihilistic as
well as just the story lines of their movies being nihilistic themselves.
It is a short source which may need another source but for now it will work
perfectly. It explains reasons why these films are are nihilistic and why the Coen
Brothers make nihilistic movies as well as continues to explain what true nihilism
really is. This source will really help in deciding whether certain directors make
nihilistic movies or not.

Pulp Fiction. Dir. Quentin Tarantino. Perf. John Travolta. Miramax Films, 1994. Film.
Pulp Fiction is a film made in 1994 starring many famous actors including
John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, and Bruce Willis. It incorporates the lives of many
different people including two hit men, a boxer, a gangsters wife, and a diner bandit
couple. All four stories include violence and redemption and somehow all match up.
This film is also one filled with nihilism. It is the transformation of characters in the
film. John Travolta and Samuel L. Jacksons characters reference much pop culture in
the film as a way to make sense of their lives. This shows how in the past people
connected with say religion to show how life is bigger. But these two characters
dont have religion, so something bigger than them is pop culture. This disbelief in
religion is just an example of one of the many ways that nihilism is represented in
this film.
The Strangers. Dir. Bryan Bertino. Perf. Liv Tyler. Vertigo Entertainment, 2008. Film.
The Strangers, is in my opinion one of the scariest movies in recent history
because of its nihilistic ways. A couple stays at a vacation home after a wedding
party and is greeted by some strange guests late in the early morning. These people
spend the whole movie trying to kill the couple and later in the end before they are
killed, when asked why they are doing it the stranger responds because you were
home. Most the time in horror movies there are reasons why the killer kills people
but for this movie to kill people because the victims were simple home is absolutely
horrifying.
Because of the way the killers choose to kill their victims makes this movie nihilistic.
They do not care about the people they kill, they just want to kill innocent people
because of their lack of morals. Simply because they were home, does not make it
right to kill anyone.