'The Midnight Gospel'
How do you define an enlightened individual?
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary , enlightened is "the ability to be freed from ignorance and misinformation." There are also definitions of an enlightened person being "insightful and open-minded to the world at large." They're able to see everything with great clarity and without any attachment or preconceived notions about places, people, and other internal and external things.
I feel like I've been on a quest to reach this state of mind for a very long time, but didn't know how to go about it. That was until I started watching The Midnight Gospel on Netflix.
Since its debut, my best friend had been telling me how great The Midnight Gospel is and that I'm missing out on the powerful messages. My significant other also recently mentioned watching some episodes with his friend and that it's a must-see.
With these recommendations, I decided to binge the series.
And my oh my, was I in for a pleasant surprise.
The Midnight Gospel is a Netflix original animated series created by the Adventure Time creator, Pendelton Ward, and comedian Duncan Trussell. The show chronicles Clancy Gilroy, an interdimensional traveler searching for new experiences in his life. In his quest, he embarks on a highly psychedelic and visual journey into the many worlds, some pleasant and not so pleasant within his universe simulator.
Initially, I wasn't sure if I would genuinely like the show because of the animation. But when I heard them discuss questions about discovering new philosophies, perspectives, life purposes, and death, the visuals didn't bother me at all.
What also became very interesting upon discovery is a lot of the dialogue in the episodes are derived from earlier episodes of Trussell's podcast The Duncan Trussell Family Hour, making it candidly exquisite.
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Sometimes, I focused on the visuals solely, which can become intriguing as the images can be a stark contrast to the conversations at hand.
Other times, the visuals thematically correlate with the conversations, such as a knight preaching the power of forgiveness and killing her opposition with love and forgiveness or someone imprisoned continues to try and break free from a cycle of imprisonment of the ego ( episode five titled, "Annihilation of Joy" was a magnetic representation of this), similar to the perplexing aspects of life.
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I wholeheartedly recognize that life as we know it right now may come with its challenges, but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel no matter what.
Moreover, although the conversations in the show are heavy at times, they are insightful and chill juxtaposed by interesting looking surroundings. With this, Clancy is not bothered by it at all as he chooses to immerse himself into their lives and personas, regardless of what it seems, breaking the mold of what he is accustomed to in his life.
This is a good example of what it means to decide where you will place your energy. If you focus on the way things appear, or stop and listen to the stories from the people who have lived a life different from yourself, it could be easier to help build a fresh outlook of the world.
In life, we may judge people or things by perceiving them instead of listening to the message being relayed. This should change. Once we start hearing each other out, and communicating our thoughts and feelings without bias, we can begin to feel more attuned to others and the world around us.
We may all be on a journey to discover life's mysteries and the meaning of enlightenment, just like Clancy. By watching the show, maybe you can identify where you are in your journey.
These are the author's personal opinions about the series.
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