Sartre’s lobsters 

Dualism and the humble crustacean

Featured in

  • Published 20231107
  • ISBN: 978-1-922212-89-4
  • Extent: 207pp
  • Paperback, ePub, PDF, Kindle compatible

IN YORGOS LANTHIMOS’ absurdist black comedy The Lobster (2015), single people are forced to relocate to a hotel and find a romantic partner within forty-five days or be transformed into an animal of their choosing. Most, unsurprisingly, elect to become dogs. But David, the film’s protagonist (played by Colin Farrell), is set on a different animal: a lobster. When asked why by Olivia Colman’s hotel manager, David replies without hesitation: ‘Because lobsters live for over one hundred years, are blue-blooded like aristocrats and stay fertile all their lives.’ (He adds that it’s also because he likes the sea very much.)

‘A lobster,’ the manager says, ‘is an excellent choice.’

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About the author

Ben Brooker

Ben Brooker is a writer, editor and critic based in Naarm (Melbourne). His work has been featured in Overland, Australian Book Review, The Saturday...

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