Candide ou l'Optimisme (2/2)
This is a silly video that was for an AP European History project. It's an adaptation of the great philosophe Voltaire's epitomial work: "Candide".
Main Characters
Candide (played by the girl in the sombrero): Main character of this story who is helplessly naïve and gullible to his mentor Pangloss and whose optimistic views are challenged by the brutal realities of the world.
Pangloss (played by the big dood): Character who represents an exaggerated depiction of and Enlightened idea that this world is "the best of all possible worlds" and everything that happens is part of "God's greater divine plan".
Cunégonde (played by the girl in the colorful outfit): An also naïve character whom Candide madly loves and will do anything for.
The Farmer (played by me!): Character who leads a simplistic, yet happy, life by indulging in cultivating his own garden. This practice acts as a solution to the disillusioned trio (Candide, Pangloss, and Cunégonde) that has been through so much.
Main Themes
The Downside of Optimism: Throughout the entire novel, Pangloss's secluded, exaggerated optimistic teachings are challenged by the characters' actual experiences in the real world.
The Ineffectiveness of Philosophical Speculation: Pangloss's philosophical analyses do not actually provide aid a current situation nor are they practical; they are simply based on irrational thinking rather than empirical knowledge.