Loneliness and Decision Making (I am Legend and GATTACA)

By Fatima Tariq

What is Loneliness? - Defining the basics

All of us have felt lonely at one point or another in our lives. Loneliness has been more relatable to everyone over the past year since the outbreak of COVID-19 and the lockdowns that came with it. Everyone experiences loneliness in a different way. Generally, it is a state of mind where one feels the lack of others’ presence. According to common perception, being alone is often considered as being lonely. However, loneliness and solitude are quite different. One can be completely alone and still not experience loneliness, and vice versa. 

Loneliness can often become a chronic illness. Our bodies and minds are fine-tuned to being with each other. According to studies, the stress that comes from chronic illnesses is one of the most unhealthy things experienced by humans.

Loneliness has been linked to multiple behavioral aspects including social anxiety, social inhibition, distrust, low self-esteem, poor decision making skills etc. (Hawkley). 

Depiction of loneliness and social isolation

https://www.dreamstime.com/feel-loneliness-feeling-lonely-sad-depressive-person-social-isolation-vector-illustration-set-depressed-sadness-sorrow-crying-image149938752

 

How loneliness affects the brain - A scientific perspective

Our brain reacts differently to different environments, and this is proved by countless studies in neurology and neuroscience. Similarly, the brain having to accept a lonely environment for a longer period, or in cases even forever, affects its functioning on a very fundamental level. From the synapses that occur in it to the hormones that are released in different parts of the body - which is instructed by the brain itself - the person not only thinks differently, they feel, act and therefore, decide things differently too.

https://mindfullyhealing.com/how-loneliness-affects-your-brain/

One example out of countless others is a study that researched the impact on cognition of the social isolation induced by COVID-19. A line from the summary of that study goes, "Social isolation is linked to cognitive decline in the absence of ageing covariates" (Ingram et al.). With a finding like this, the study backs the argument developed above, with there being no dispute on the understanding that loneliness affects the brain, and not in a positive way.  

I am Legend - Loneliness in focus

In the movie, Will Smith is seen to be the sole survivor in New York City. His only company for over three years was his dog, Sam. He experiences several stages of loneliness throughout the movie including denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally, acceptance. 

Screenshot from I am Legend

The effects of Will’s loneliness can be seen through his decision making skills. The lack of actual human interaction slowly drove him insane. In multiple scenes, he can be seen talking to mannequins pretending they are real people. His desperation for human contact led to him even begging the mannequin to reply to him pleading, “Please say hello to me.”

Will Smith interacting with mannequins

https://imgflip.com/memetemplate/191992662/I-am-legend-mannequins

The loneliness almost drove him to take his own life. He gives up completely in one scene, and goes to take revenge from the Dark Seekers, knowing fully well there was a chance he would never return. He could not see any point in living anymore when he had no one to live for. The negative effects of loneliness had finally crept up to him.

GATTACA - Loneliness in focus

In a world where perfection depends on one’s genetic makeup, Vincent Anton Freeman, the protagonist, felt immensely lonely due to being genetically inferior. The only people who were allowed to move forward in life were the genetically perfect ones. Throughout his life, Vincent felt incredibly disconnected from everyone around him. Being an in-valid, he envied his younger brother the most as he had been genetically engineered, and was perfect in every way. The feelings of loneliness led to several behavioral changes in Vincent, including the bitterness he held for those around him.

 

Vincent, an in-valid

https://thehypertextuallounge.com/2017/02/14/gattaca-bioethics/ 

Jerome Eugene Morrow, the man with the perfect genetics, became crippled after a car accident. Who was once capable of achieving anything in the world became a man confined to a mere basement. Jerome falls in the deep pits of depression after his failure to achieve perfection and his loneliness eventually led to him making the decision to end his life. 

Jerome Eugene Morrow in his basement

http://povcrystal.blogspot.com/2007/07/gattaca_02.html

The Link - Narrowing down over commonalities

 Focusing on the impact of loneliness on the decision making of the protagonists in both, Gattaca and I am Legend, we can notice some commonalities. The characters developed negative feelings, made rash and dangerous decisions and fell into serious forms of depression. We can map how the depression stems from loneliness and it is also a scientifically understood how depression usually leads to suicidal thoughts and deteriorates health. With the study that is quoted above when we consider the scientific perspective of the impact of loneliness on the decision, we can see how even science agrees with the decline in cognitive abilities as a result of loneliness. This also goes hand in hand with Aristotle’s saying “Man is by nature, a social animal”. Humans have evolved to seek and survive in groups, and on a fundamental level, that has not changed from the earliest of our common ancestors to the Homo Sapien that man is today. 

 

 

 

References:

Hawkley, L. (n.d.). Loneliness. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/science/loneliness.

Ingram, J., Hand, C. J., & Maciejewski, G. (2021, March 24). Social isolation during COVID‐19 Lockdown impairs cognitive function. Wiley Online Library. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/acp.3821.