Malik, Zahra and Baig 1

Subaina Malik, Sabeen Zahra and Maryam Baig

Ma’am Hurriam Saba

English-431: Post War Literature

20 May 2023
“Absurdism in White Noise”

Abstract

This research paper investigates the theme of absurdity in the modern movie,

“White Noise”. The purpose is to highlight Albert Camus’s philosophy of absurdity “The

absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence

of the world” and how to respond the absurdity. The qualitative approach has been adopted

to carry out the research. Since the article is based on the analysis of the movie through the

lens of Albert Camus’s philosophy, we opted for the inductive method of research. The

article critically analyzes White Noise by Noah Baumbach so as to prove the philosophy of

Albert Camus. While analyzing the protagonist, Jack Gladney, of the novel, our aim is to

affirm that absurdity still exists in human nature. The purpose of the research is to highlight

the themes of absurdity caused after WWII. This article aims to find the solution to

absurdity for modern man. The research is delimited to the absurd person’s relationship

with his family in the modern world. In the movie, Jack is an absurd person who fascinates

death and he imagines death that haunts him in his dreams. He believes that life is

meaningless and he should die before his wife. This research concludes that modern man is

busy trying to fill a vast empty void that seems impossible to fill up.
 Malik, Zahra and Baig 2

Keywords: Absurdism, Jack Gladney, Albert Camus, White Noise, moderns.

1 Introduction

According to Han, Absurdism is based on the needs of the time and this

philosophy relates to the satisfaction of human demand to answer the question, “How

and why should I keep living”, after the Second World War. The human spiritual and

religious effects were destroyed in the Second World War. People were not enough

hopeful regarding religion. Everybody was hopeless. Even science betrayed people

which were once their pride. The atomic bomb destroyed people’s lives which they

believed to be a lifesaver. Ultimately, their worship and their trust in science and

reasoning also collapsed. Consequently, the worship of reasoning, science, and

technology also collapsed. Additionally, technology was focusing on mechanizing

people and was trying to reverse the relationship between man and machine which

caused the ultimate deprivation of characteristics and personalities. All of these above

lead to powerlessness, loneliness, emptiness, and hopelessness about life.

In other words, living in such an absurd world people were not able to find the

meaning of their lives and despair day by day. People highly needed a new philosophy

instead of religious belief to rebuild their mental health. Under these requirements,

absurdism was born. The philosophy of absurdism is also known as Albert Camus’s

absurdism.
 Malik, Zahra and Baig 3

Albert Camus was born in 1913 in French Algeria, add spent his childhood in a

poor neighborhood. His main topic of writing was meaninglessness and absurdity. The

Second World War was the most significant event in Camus’s life. He was in Paris when

German invaded France in WWII in 1940. In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus states “Man

stands face to face with the irrational. He feels within himself his longing for happiness

and for reason. The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the

unreasonable silence of the world.” The content of his philosophy can be divided into

two parts—The absurdity and how to respond to the absurdity. In the following sections,

these two concepts will be further explained in the context of “White Noise”.

The researchers have worked on screen literature. The publication of The

Cambridge Companion to Literature on Screen satisfied the logical fact that Literature

on Screen has finally arrived. It was literary for film studies and based for literary

studies. However, it has tended to occupy an uneasy place between the two and

considered departments of literature in main.

It is pertinent to know the summary of White Noise. White Noise is a novel-based

movie featured in 2022 by Noah Baumbach. The movie is based on absurdity and

comedy. The protagonist of the movie is Jack Gladney. He is a professor of Hitler

Studies at the college who knows all about Hitler, Nazis, and World War II. He always

talks about his death before his wife because without her life is meaningless. Her wife

agrees that there is nothing meaningful in life without her husband. Gladney fascinates

by death so much that he started imagining the death. His study of Hitler and the Nazis

haunts him at night and he dreams about death because of the Nazis and Hitler. On the

other hand, his wife, Babette fears death and just because of this fear, she takes some
 Malik, Zahra and Baig 4

unknown drugs that cause nothing in her life. She has the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

However, her husband does not take it seriously although forgets many meaningful

events. For her husband, it is usual. Jack’s four ultramodern offspring always seem busy

in nothingness. Lastly, nun comes in the movie and she clearly states that she does not

believe any existence of God and Heaven which states the idea of absurdism.

1.2 Objective questions

To critically analyze Albert Camus’s philosophy of absurdism under the context of “White Noise”

To find the solution to absurdity according to Albert Camus’s philosophy

To find the absurd behavior of modern man due to WWII.

1.3 Research question

1. How Albert Camus’s philosophy of absurdism “The absurd is born of this confrontation

between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world” is applicable in the movie

“White Noise”?

2. How modern man can come out of absurd behavior?

1.4 Delimitations

Absurdism is a broader term; this article discusses Albert Camus’s philosophy of

absurdism “The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the

unreasonable silence of the world” under the context of “White Noise”. The research is

further delimited to an absurd person’s relationship with WWII. In the movie, Jack

Gladney is an absurd person, his thoughts of Hitler and the Nazi haunts him and he

believes everything is meaningless.

 Malik, Zahra and Baig 5

1.5 Significance of the study

This study will pave the way for future research into the inner awakening of

individuals. Addressing the problems of the contemporary world suggests that people find

absurdity in the modern world. The purpose of the research is to prove that absurdity

caused by WWII still exists. This research will help to find the solution of absurdity in

modern man.

1.6 Research methodology

The qualitative approach has been adopted to carry out the research. Since the

article is based on the analysis of the movie through the lens of Albert Camus’s

philosophy, we opted for the inductive method of research. The article critically

analyzes The White Noise by Noah Baumbach so as to prove the postulate of Albert

Camus. While analyzing the protagonist, Jack Gladney, of the novel, our aim is to affirm

that absurdity still exists in human nature.

Literature Review

Absurdism is a philosophical concept that emerged in the mid-20th century and was

developed by the Algerian-born French philosopher Albert Camus. Camus introduced the idea of

absurdism in his essay The Myth of Sisyphus (1942). The essay takes its name from the Greek

mythological figure Sisyphus, who was condemned by the gods to roll a boulder up a hill for

eternity, only to watch it roll back down each time. Camus uses this myth as a metaphor for the

human condition, arguing that life is essentially meaningless and that human beings are caught in an

absurd struggle for meaning in a universe that is indifferent to their existence (Camus 1942)
 Malik, Zahra and Baig 6

According to a study of Martin Esslin the disharmony between human longing and the lack

of answer can generate a profound sense of the absurd. It highlights the tension between our innate

desire for meaning and the inherent meaninglessness we encounter in the universe. Result of the

study was; individuals find themselves confronted with the ultimate responsibility of creating their

own meaning and purpose (1960). According to Thomas Nagel absurdism examines the tension

between human desire for meaning and the absurdity of life. Outcomes of the study were that

absurd arises from the clash between our rational aspirations and the irrational nature of reality

(1971). Another study conducted in 2016 by Irfan Ullah and Liaqat Iqbal on ‘absurdity in Samuel

Beckett’s Play Waiting for Godot and Albert Camus Novel The Outsider. The outcomes of the

study show absurdity in the form of chaos in life and meaninglessness of life without any goal. Both

the plays show absurdity in actions and characters as well. Another study conducted in 2020 by

Farah Qamar about the concept of absurdism. She talked about Eugène Ionesco concept of

absurdity. Lonesco viewed absurdity as being devoid of purpose and disconnected from religious

and metaphysical life. Outcomes of the study show that existence is absurd and meaningless.

This article aims to focus on the theme of absurdism by applying it on screen literature

‘White Noise’. The movie successfully captures the essence of absurdism by portraying the

inherent meaninglessness and chaos of life. This article also focuses on give the solutions to the

contemporary modern man absurdism.

Analysis

“White Noise”, the American absurdist comedy-drama film, both written and directed by

Noah Baumbach is a remarkable adaptation of the “National Book Award for Fiction-winning

novel, also called “White Noise” by Donald Richard Delillo (1985). Back in its time, the novel was
 Malik, Zahra and Baig 7

inclined more towards projecting the emerging pervasiveness of media and technology, which was

both menacing and comforting at times. This is mainly because one of the only positive outcomes

that came from the catastrophic abyss after World War II was technological advancement,

especially in the context of the military. During the Second World War, aircraft technology

advanced dramatically, most notably with the invention of jet aircraft in 1939. ECT News Network

reporter “Peter Suciu” quoted senior Historian and curator at the “National Museum of the United

States Air Force”Jeff Duford in his article “World War II’s Indelible Influence on Technology”:

“Aircraft and weapons development advanced exponentially during World War II — major

advancements included jet engines, guided bombs, air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles, cruise

missiles, radar, and operational helicopters,”. “White noise, the movie, on the other hand, is more

focused on depicting the eminent Post-War theme of absurdism in the same story. Food, culture,

and film writer “Alissa Wilkinson”, in her online article “What Noah Baumbach’s White Noise is

really about” went far enough to call the movie “a valiant attempt to capture DeLillo’s book”. The

movie is made with an absurdist approach to fathom the struggles of a modern man with his modern

family by his sides with a slick comic twist.

The theme of absurdism is contorted, dismantled, and dispersed in the movie with more than

a mask on it. The fear of mortality lies in the core of the movie and the characters tackle it with

different approaches. The protagonist deals it with an ambivalent blend of fascination and terror.

Jack Gladney, with his expertise in Hitler studies, is intrigued to the notion of death when it is

discussed with regard to the World War II. Jack’s beginning statement in one of his classes is “All

plots tend to move deathward. This is the nature of plots.” initially alludes to the assassination

attempt on Hitler. But when it becomes evident that Jack's biggest fear is death, the sentence

quickly assumes greater importance. Later on, when he is exposed to the toxic gas of the airborne
 Malik, Zahra and Baig 8

explosion and is marked by death itself, he becomes obsessed with the idea of death and spends a

lot of time thinking about it. He neglects his work on the Hitler studies, which he built himself and

his career upon, just because he was laced with the fear of death, lingering in the shadows, ready to

take him into its custody. The fear of death leads Jack towards an absurd life, where he begins to

find everything without purpose or meaning, adopts a satirically negligent attitude towards his

surroundings, and is left feeble, waiting for his inevitable end. His shooting of Mr. Gray, Babette’s

drug supplier who slept with her, is a vital instance that shows how devoid of thought Jack’s mind

is that it made him shoot a person.

Babette, Jack’s fourth beau deals with death in a completely antithetical fashion to Jack.

Babette fears death to the point that it drives her insane enough that she has to seek comfort in

drugs, that too by getting herself involving herself in a relationship with another man. When

Babette develops symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, a strange panic settles in her, to which she

seeks out help and comes across an experimental trial for a new drug. She agrees to participate in

the medication experiment under a secret deal with Mr. Grey, the trial's project manager: in return

for the “Dylar” pills that were intended to cure her ailment, she would routinely have sex with him.

It is only at the end of the movie that Babette confesses all of this to her husband and daughter that

she was living her life drenched in the fear that death could knock at her door anytime and despite

taking the pills, her fear never left her. Babette's personality changes from being jolly and caring to

being cryptic and cynical illustrating the film's constant preoccupation with the shifting and flimsy

nature of identity, depicting one of the gravest problems modern man was left with in the aftermath

of the war.

Murray Jay Siskind, the other college professor’s take on death is quite sane and

unproblematic in contrast to the Gladney couple. Stereotypes and generalizations are easy for
 Malik, Zahra and Baig 9

Murray to do and he takes delight in upsetting the status quo and making people angry. During a

conversation, Jack confesses to Murray that he is unable to understand why others don’t fear death,

and that is why he is the only one living in a constant dilemma. To which, Murray answers that

everyone is equally afraid of dying. The only thing that sets Jack apart from other people is that he

has never truly learned how to suppress his emotions. He believes that “... the only people who fear

death are those who are afraid of life.” This depicts modern man’s surrender and defeats towards

his circumstances, along with his acceptance of life and his ambition to find meaning in a sea of

loss. These varying perspectives regarding death portray the absurdist scuffle modern men deeply

encounter in finding the meaning of life and those who even survive enough to find some

semblance of control and purpose, the fear of losing the will to live never abandons the mind.

Another glimpse of absurdism is also flagrant in the walls that modern man built in between

himself and reality in order to divert himself from his own truth of mortality. An important aspect

of Jack's personal existence is represented by his bewilderment about what is genuine and what is

just a hollow appearance. Jack has developed a venerable, professorial persona for himself in Hitler

studies, but he is still acutely aware of how completely made-up this persona is. Jack successfully

conceals his inability to speak German, which would seem to be a prerequisite for the study of

Hitler. Not out of an impulsive desire to learn more and ace his subject, Jack is rather motivated to

learn the language only when an academic conference threatens to expose his deception. Jack uses

Hitler's surface to reinforce his own flimsy sense of self-worth and self-identity by relying on

Hitler's larger, more powerful appearance. This shows how the modern man’s life is devoid of

meaning and how he wears piffled facades in a vain attempt to fill his inner abyss.

The title too is vigilantly kept by keeping an absurdist perspective in mind a couple of

others. Although, Don Delillo’s initial preference for his novel’s title was “Panasonic” since he
 Malik, Zahra and Baig 10

intended to use the word "Pan" part—which means "all"—to symbolize how the "noise" of the

current world permeates everything. The only issue was that one of the biggest electronics firms in

the world also had the trademarked name Panasonic. It turns out that they didn't like the idea of

having their name attached to the title of a book that criticizes consumer society quite harshly. His

second preference was “White Noise” which luckily his work just as much justice. White noise

alludes to how media is constantly bombarding people with information and other distractions from

life's realities. It also delineates how the eternal presence of lingering death in people’s minds.

Merriam-Webster's definition of the expression “White Noise” today is "a constant background

noise, especially one that drowns out other sounds: meaninglessness and distracting commotion,

hubbub or chatter." With this current definition of the term, Noah Baumbach decided not to tamper

with the original title and carried it out for his movie as well. White Noise is the deafening

compounding resonance of all the bells and whistles of contemporary life, including media, society,

politics, and fame, as well as academia, family, religion, and most evidently, death. It is so

overwhelming that it makes it difficult to live one's life. While having a conversation with his wife

on the substance of mortality, Jack says “What if death is nothing but sound? Electrical noise. You

hear it forever. Sound all around. How awful. Uniform, white.” Jack's acute awareness of the noise

around him has been a crucial component of both his demeanor and narrative voice. For Jack, his

existence is a continuous buzz of sounds that come from the radio, television, air, traffic, and the

people in it. No matter where he is, he can hear sound, which is now logical given his fear of dying.

Many of Jack's decisions in life, from his study of Hitler to his split from his wives, have been

driven mostly by his fear of death. Throughout the film, it is clarified how this dread links to his

experience of reality as a collection of noises. To some extent, Jack already resides in the White

Noise he so vividly fears of drowning in.

 Malik, Zahra and Baig 11

Absurdism solution in the contemporary world

Absurdism started before WW II and still exists in the modern contemporary era. Man is

involved in nothingness. Man has a fear of death but doing nothing. Man is trying to escape from

difficult situations rather than facing them. The existence of God has still meaningless in the

contemporary era.

The first important thing is to accept the reality rather than escape from the situation.

Modern man escapes from difficult situations either with alcohol or travel or sometimes by showing

anger at everything and sometimes through procrastination. However, we cannot hide from the

reality. Today or tomorrow, we have to face it. The earlier we realize the less our expectations get

hurt.

Modern man’s absurdism is fear of death that does not give him enough courage to involve

in challenges. Modern man should involve in challenges with a fearless spirit. Death is written.

Escapism is not the solution to ignoring the truth. Modern man should fight against challenges and

get victory.

Modern man should accept reality rather than spend precious time on metaphysical things,

his focus should be on concrete things to make his present better. Modern man is always busy

taking the stress of the future and worries of the past. Modern man forgets the present and is always

busy with anxiety, and depression. Taking the stress of something which is gone is meaningless.

Taking the stress of something which is not experienced yet is also meaningless. Modern man

should focus on the present and put effort into concrete things. His future will ultimately be stable if

the present is stable.

 Malik, Zahra and Baig 12

Modern man needs to create a balance between science and God. The existence of God is

evident through nature. On the other hand, science is also giving us useful things and sometimes

creates disasters. Covid-19 is a disease that created disasters in human life and science created the

cures of it. However, science cannot be considered God. Science cannot take the place of God.

To sum up, in order to come out of absurd life, firstly, modern man needs to accept the

reality of life and expect less. Modern man needs to face situations either joblessness or personal

issues with full courage rather than escaping from the situation. Secondly, modern man should

accept the phenomenon of death and get involved in the challenges of life rather than spending his

whole life in fear and doing nothing. Lastly, modern man needs to focus on the present and forget

the past.

Conclusion

Both Donald Delillo’s and Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise” remarkably shows man’s

rampant intrigue with the technological advancement. But it is the film that articulately displays the

bizarre and unorthodox absurdist lifestyle the modern man has acquired which is only leading him

to the brink of losing himself fully. The movie eloquently shows man’s shackled dependency on its

cultural, stereotypical and surrounding white noises that the notion of living without is almost

lethal. The abrogation of God’s existence and the aftermath of the war turned man against his own

kind and has cajoled him to create an illusion of control by gaining refuge in futile facades. The

comedy in the movie also doesn’t feel like out of taste because it also aids in conveying the

sensation of absurdism. Characters making jokes on grave subjects such as death depicts modern

man’s blissful ignorance to his inevitable tragic end shows that man electively insults his own

existence. The movie immaculately fits with Albert Camus’s view of absurdism, which dictates that
 Malik, Zahra and Baig 13

the conflict between human need for structure, purpose, and happiness and the natural world's

indifference to those things is what gives rise to absurdity. The movie evidently shows the

enigmatic essence of man’s life being replaced with his goal to survive in the world.

“White Noise” is not only an epitome of absurdism but it also a treasure chest for post war

researchers and enthusiasts. The film entails numerous other themes of post war literature in it. For

instance, the consumption of resources was an evident feature of the post war era and is depicted in

the movie by the character’s obsession for shopping in marts. The protagonist Jack often goes to

shop in order to suppress his dread of death. "White Noise" draws the assumption that modern

capitalism works for liberated freedom but eventually falls short of tackling the issue of human

mortality. The movie also shows the aspect of social secularization which is another great motif of

the post-modern time. In the first half of the film, while delivering a lecture on his Hitler studies,

Jack says after the lecture “When people are helpless and scared, they are drawn to magical figures

Mythical figures.” Although the statement is spoken in context of Hitler’s fame and popularity, but

in the rear this line also expresses modern man’s mindset regarding spirituality. It is only when man

is left with restless terror and helplessness that he seeks salvation and starts believing that an

invisible force might help him out if his misery. When Babette sees a picture of Jesus Christ

hanging on the wall, she asks the nun, Sister Herman Marie about heaven and if it still the way it

used to be. Sister Herman replies “Do you think we are stupid? We are here to treat the sick and

injured. You want to talk about heaven, you find another place… It is our task in the world to

believe in things no one believes. If we abandon such beliefs the human race would die out. That is

why we’re here, a tiny minority… Hell is when no one believes.” This also vividly shows the

rampant secularization of the modern era. It shows that people who claim to be piously religious are
 Malik, Zahra and Baig 14

doing nothing but chanting hollow prayers with zero devotion. Religion to the modern man has

come as low as to just hang photos of their Holy deities, just as shown in the film.

The aim of this article is to serve as proof enough that Noah Baumbach has remarkably

justified Don Delillo’s “White Noise” as a screen production. The cast of the movie has splendidly

absorbed the element of absurdism and have developed accurately modern characters accordingly.

Their conversations with one another mirrors the chaotic meaningless of it and each character’s

behavior tends to display a paradoxical side of absurdism. Fear of death makes Jack take everything

for granted whereas Babette’s fear makes her restless to find a loophole in the nature of life and its

end. Their children are all aware of the dangers that surround them after the “airborne toxic event”

yet they show their illogical concerns in finding their ski masks or in wondering if sheep have

eyelashes. Overall, the movie is a modern marvel and although it is set in the 1980s, the absurd

attachment with media, the capitalistic consumption and man’s absurd individualistic struggle

makes it easy for a person of today to find himself relating with the film.

Recommendation

The researchers have taken the theme of absurdism according to Albert Camus’s philosophy

of absurdism and applied it to the movie “White Noise”. However, the theme of fear of death is also

applicable in this movie.

 Malik, Zahra and Baig 15

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Camus, Albert. "The absurd man." The Myth of Sisyphus: And Other Essays (1942): 65-92.

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