“Nothing matters.” Everything Everywhere All At Once uses this statement to describe both the problem and the solution. Jobu Tupaki, a nihilistic version of the main character’s daughter Joy, discovers this “truth” as she creates the everything bagel, a physical manifestation of literally everything. She adds “all [her] hopes and dreams, [her] old report cards, every breed of dog, every last personal ad on Craigslist, sesame, poppy seed, salt.” Through verse-jumping and experiencing all possible iterations of reality, Jobu realizes that:
“This life as you now live it and have lived it you will have to live once again and innumerable times again; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh and everything unspeakably small or great in your life must return to you, all in the same succession and sequence - even this spider and this moonlight between the trees, and even this moment and I myself. The eternal hourglass of existence is turned over again and again, and you with it, speck of dust!”
The Gay Science, Section 341, Friedrich Nietzsche
Jobu discovers eternal recurrence (“ewige Wiederkunft”) and concludes, as Nietzsche did, the answer to the question in each and everything is that nothing matters. “If nothing matters, then all the pain and guilt you feel for making nothing of your life, it goes away,” Jobu reasons. The film visually reinforces the theme of eternal recurrence with shots of circular mirrors, characters drawing circles, and spinning laundry, harkening to other symbols like the ouroboros, wheel of time, and dharma wheel. The IRS agent, Deirdre, even staples a Post-It with a circle to her forehead as she transforms into the nihilist version of herself.
The film disagrees with Nietzsche and Jobu’s conclusion as the other characters try to stop her. It offers a solution to nihilism with the second utterance of “nothing matters.” Jobu/Joy’s mother, Evelyn, says this at the movie’s end as she and her daughter begin rebuilding their relationship. As she hugs her daughter, Evelyn says, “We can do whatever we want. Nothing matters.” This second mention of “nothing matters” is a clear nod to optimistic nihilism, a common derivation of Nietzsche’s nihilism. Popularized by Youtuber, Kurzgesagt, optimistic nihilism squarely puts the onus on its users. “If the universe has no principles, then the only principles relevant are the ones we decide on. If the universe has no purpose, then we get to dictate what its purpose is” (“Optimistic Nihilism,” Kurzgesagt).
Optimistic nihilism gives us the appearance of choice and control in a crazy, chaotic world. At the same time, it exposes its most dangerous proposition. Optimistic nihilism doesn’t discern one option from another. The philosophy gives us no guardrails, no framework on how to choose. It only instructs us to choose. It does not differentiate between right or wrong choices. Thus, all choices are created equal. Cynicism, destruction, and chaos are just choices. Just like love, forgiveness, and acceptance are just choices.
Experiences inform our range of choices. So it stands to reason that false and incomplete experiences produce false and incomplete decisions. What a suicidal person or a disaffected youth chooses may be detrimental to themselves and others. So how are we to choose well in a world of limitless options?
Everything Everywhere All At Once provides one possible choice. Evelyn is determined to fight Jobu using her method by looking into the abyss and fracturing her mind in an attempt to fulfill her potential. Things only become more chaotic and more violent, however. Waymond, Joy’s father, proposes an antidote to Jobu’s nihilism. In an impassioned monologue, he concludes that we must “be kind. Especially when we don’t know what’s going on.” Evelyn takes this advice to heart. Instead of using her abilities to fight, she helps people. She alleviates their pain and suffering, the exact opposite of what she does in every reality. Evelyn breaks out of her cycle of eternal recurrence and helps those around her break out of their cycles. She recognizes the abuse she learned from her father and perpetuated with her daughter and begins the healing process. The movie ends with a feel-good reconciliation.
Remember that in optimistic nihilism, there is no such thing as a good or bad choice. Evelyn’s early choices are equally valid as her later choices to accept, love, and heal. In every universe, Evelyn prioritizes something else over her loved ones, whether her career, hobbies, or heaping so much pressure on Joy that she transforms into nihilistic Jobu Tupaki. However, we know that Evelyn’s choices are not equally valid. Moreover, we understand that all choices are not created equal.
Evelyn’s early choices lead to dissatisfaction, an IRS audit, and an estranged daughter. When Evelyn prioritizes love and acceptance, she reconciles with her daughter, husband, and father. She even gains the sympathy of the IRS agent, helping with the audit. All fell into place once she reordered her priorities, directly rejecting the core principle of optimistic nihilism. Through kindness, Evelyn can empathize and understand her enemies. To serve the value of being kind, Evelyn chooses to help instead of hurt, effectively breaking those around her out of their nihilistic trances. If nothing truly mattered, she would be equally happy and unhappy in every reality.
The choices we make are by-products of our values. To choose well, we need to know what we stand for. Values need to be concrete, actionable, and not feelings-based. People who value making money above all else will choose to work instead of spending time with their friends and families. People who value maximizing pleasure will avoid suffering to the detriment of their development. They decide to play video games over doing homework or, in the case of Evelyn, live in a dream world of what-ifs over building meaningful relationships.
This is not to say that enacting our values can’t or won’t produce positive feelings. We mustn’t build our values on a foundation of feelings. After all, human beings are very good at avoiding discomfort and suffering. However, discomfort and suffering are essential to growth. For example, going to the gym and working out causes discomfort of muscle soreness and benefits us.
Thus, our values must serve something bigger than ourselves, like God, friends, family, or our communities. Choices come with trade-offs. By doing one thing, we are giving up another thing. By being accountable and responsible for something, we are less overwhelmed by our options, capable of choosing well, and at peace with the trade-offs. Finally, our values should not harm us. Suicide bombers are an extreme example. They’re serving a higher purpose but to their detriment and everyone else around them.
Identifying our values helps us determine if it’s right to move to a new country, get a new job, or switch majors. We can also choose with conviction and confidence that we’re choosing well. Optimistic nihilism, in its pretension of equality, deliberately avoids providing any hierarchy of choices and ultimately leads to emptiness. If the unhappiness and stress in Everything Everywhere All At Once are caused by prioritizing the wrong things and choosing the wrong things can hurt and harm, then things do matter.