While the little known 1990 flick “Joe vs. the Volcano” starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan can easily  be gleaned over as a quirky or even silly film, it should not be overlooked completely because it holds some seminal themes about capitalism, life in the work place, and the pursuit of happiness.  After Joe learns that he has an incurable brain condition, (what his doctor refers to a “brain cloud,”)  he quits his miserable job where there is only artificial light and accepts an offer to throw himself into the mouth of a fiery volcano and save the people on the island of Waponi Wo.  Are you with me so far?

The opening sequence of the film is of particular interest as it is a summation not only of Joe’s pathetic existence but speaks to the same physical pain that renders many of us limp before we pry ourselves out bed each morning.  Young Joe pulls his car into a decrepit lot and walks into puddles of muck and over splintered asphalt.  The camera pans out and reveals a crowd of hundreds,  joining the protagonist as he walks a jagged path to a ubiquitous and equally ominous industrial facility.  Marching shoulder to shoulder with colleagues who are equally miserable and depressing, Joe trudges on while Eric Burdon’s version of “Sixteen Tons“, the soundtrack for the film swells.  A single daisy manages to survive in between the cracks of the asphalt and is no sooner squashed before Joe has a chance to save it.   The lyrics “16 tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper and debt.  St. Peter don’t you call me because I won’t go, I owe my soul to the company store.” This song hark ins to one my first posts from July 4 and the examination of “Fight Club” in American culture.  The irony of the song of course is that the melody is so catchy but the reality of the words utter a bitter truth.  The interior of Joe’s office, like most of the bland interiors of working America, is devoid of sunlight and illuminated by harsh fluorescent bulbs that cause Joe to become a fidgety, squinty, mess.  The instant coffee comes out in clumps, none of the surfaces seem sterile, and the only salvation that Joe finds is his lamp that he conceals in a drawer-  sweet melody sings from the lamp as the cool blue and purple shade depicts a beautiful island.  A call of the Sirens from a life neither seen or understood but Joe feels confident in its existence.  Currently my salvation is a photograph of Travis Bickle’s Taxi license.  Interpret that as you will.

It is only when Joe leaves the office to visit a doctor (again) that he learns of his terminal neurological condition of which there is no cure.  The diagnosis, which later turns out to be bogus, is Joe’s savior as it drove him to tell off his boss exactly and quit his job.  Work is inevitable.  It pays the bills, keeps us fed and clothed, and maybe even affords us a savings account that we never touch.  I’m not proposing we quit our jobs on a whim, but wonder where we can find salvation like Joe found in that lamp.   How do we reconcile the decision to sell our souls “to the company store” and maintain a positive outlook on our life?  We could subscribe to Tyler Durden’s post Marxist suggestion that the war we fight is a spiritual one and the “great depression is our lives.”  That might be true as many of us are looking for jobs during a recession, or have grandparents who have already witnessed the Great Depression.  The weight of responsibility is not going anywhere, but how do we survive it without selling out altogether? Perhaps we should follow suite and assume that a “brain cloud” really has taken over, or do what Bill Murray did in “What About Bob?” and “take a vacation from our problems?” These anecdotal pop culture references could continue on and on, but I suppose I’m wondering if it’s possible to be content walking that dreaded and jagged line to work each day and still enjoy your life.  I take my hat off to those who have done it day in and day out for most of their adult lives, but I am realizing now that I will likely have to diagnose myself with a “brain cloud” immediately.