Eat Pray Love: NOT tin-pot philosophy

I went to see Eat Pray Love last night. I thought it was my duty as a spiritual practitioner to know what all the fuss is about. And when I say fuss, I mean fuss. Apparently, heaps of people are really, REALLY annoyed with this film (and also Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling book), which are exactly the same. (Warns one reviewer, “If you read the book and hated it, you’ll hate the movie even more.”)

When Eat Pray Love was first released as a travel diary read (and Oprah fave), people left loads of snarky comments on Internet chat forums: words like ‘self-absorbed’, ‘self-indulgent’, ‘navel-gazer’ and ‘overblown ego’ were used to describe the protagonist. Last night at the cinema, the enormously fat woman next to me had more of the same to complain about once the credits started to roll. “So self-indulgent!” could be heard over the rustling of Choc Top wrappers.

Maybe I’m missing something here, and please email me if I am, but why are Westerners so incredibly threatened by the concept of a person who seemingly has it all — and yet is unhappy? (‘She’s got a gorgeous husband, New York loft, travel writing career and good looks. What has she possibly got to complain about?’) Why do we feel uncomfortable when a 30-something upper middle class woman tries to find herself? Why do we have a guilt complex about the idea of spending hours doing emotional ‘self-work’, rather than closing a business deal or running on a treadmill?

The critics complain that Elizabeth Gilbert / Julia Roberts is “a privileged woman who ends her marriage for vague reasons”. You know what? There are a loooottttttt of ordinary, semi-boring suburban people out there with perfectly OK, ‘normal’ lives (most of whom I do psychic readings for!) who feel that something inside them is missing. There’s a yearning for… what? They’re not sure. They have the nice childhood, university education, husband, children, steady income, lovely friends, tropical holidays. So why do they feel a scary, hollow, empty feeling deep inside? They push the feeling away – ‘I should be grateful for what I have!’ – but it persists. It leads to stagnation, resentment, feeling lost and trapped cycles. If you ask me, it has to do with people forgetting or disconnecting from their life purpose, soul contracts, and losing alignment with their true inner selves.

Elizabeth Gilbert / Julia Roberts experienced all this. Yes, she happened to have the financial backing to jet off around the world and spend time contemplating these questions in exotic locales. (Don’t hate her for it. You’re just jealous because you wish you have the money and/or courage to do exactly the same dammit!!!) Don’t accuse her of being “self-absorbed, spoiled and emotionally reckless”. (Finding yourself often means pulling away from others, to gain perspective and listen more closely to your quiet inner voice. If this threatens the people around you, that’s their own insecurities.) Don’t complain of Orientalism because she chose to visit some of the world’s most sacred sites in order to connect, ground and centre. (Pilgrims have been doing that for centuries. Yes, you can ‘find yourself’ while staying at home in your own living room, but if you had the time and money to travel further afield and create a ‘pattern interrupt’, why wouldn’t you?)

Let’s get one thing clear: I don’t particularly love Julia Roberts. But the fact is, despite the slamming critics’ remarks (“bumper sticker sentimentalising”, “white girl problems”, “bourgeois self-reflection“, “this gal makes a career out of thinking of nobody but herself”), I feel I understand what Eat Pray Love is trying to say. So I challenge the critics to ask themselves:

What do you define as ‘self-indulgence’?
(Trying to dissect your own problems? Eating wonderful home-cooked food? Meditating for hours on end? Spending time in beautiful natural settings?!)

What do you find so challenging, off-putting and confronting about a Westerner doing any of the above?

Some interesting comments on Eat Pray Love from the World Wide Web.

“Hi! I’m an upper middle class white woman who doesn’t like her husband. I’m going to let a bunch of cute people with accents change my life. Fix me, brown people! Your poverty & inability to escape your problems centers me. Me. Meeeee. MEEEEEEEEEEE!”

“Hate that when she’s ‘finding herself’ it’s ultimately a man that makes her happy and whole.”

“Frankly, most women do struggle through life… soothing our hearts with a $5 pint of premium ice cream, trying to find meaning however we can, and trying to find love and support wherever we can. All while holding down jobs, putting ourselves through school, trying to make relationships work, and supporting family and friends.”

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Category: Miss Psychette says...