Kafka is Waiting for Godot

Utopia is fantasy.

Sources (in order of appearance):

-Genesis 11:1-10 KJV
-Franz Kafka, Das Schloß, (Frankfurt am Main: S. Fischer Verlag, 2012)
-Ritchie Robertson, Biographical Preface to The Castle, by Franz Kafka. Translated by Anthea Bell. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009).
- Franz Kafka, The Diaries of Franz Kafka, 1910-1923, ed. Max Brod. (New York: Shocken Books, 1964).
-Franz Kafka, The Castle, trans. Mark Harman (New York: Schoeken Books, 1998).
-Stefan Zweig, The World of Yesterday, trans. Anthea Bell (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2009).
-Peter Gay, Modernism: The Lure of Heresy (New York: W. W. Norton & Company).
-G.W.F. Hegel, Philosophy of Mind, trans. William Wallace (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2007).
-G.W.F. Hegel, The Letters, ed. Clark Butler and Christiane Seiler (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984).
-Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus, trans. Justin O’Brien (New York: Vintage Books, 1955).
-Blaise Pascal, Pensées, trans. Gertrude Burfurd Rawlings (New York: The Peter Pauper Press, 1900).

Further Reading:
Samuel Alexander, Answering Estragon: Art, Godot, and Utopia:

[LiamHaynesJazz]

I am incredibly grateful to see so much support here! This video was made solely for the enjoyment of making it, not because I thought people would be interested in the topics discussed, and yet it is already one of the most viewed videos on this channel! How that happened is a mystery to me (I am a composer and a musician, not a literary critic or historian) but I am thankful and excited nonetheless!!!

[SliversRebuilt]

Me: "I'll bet he thinks he's super clever for that title"

Me thirty minutes later: "He's super clever for that title."

[dishface]

This was recomended to me by the algorithm and I clicked on it on a whim, only to be *extremely* pleasantly surprised by the quality on display here. Really excellent stuff. Liked and subscribed and I hope to see more of your videos come across my feed in the future.

[TheMumboGumbo]

Directing and playing lucky in waiting for godot was one of the best moments of my life. The catharsis that comes with doing that show well tops all things

[infinitiyash]

I have only read two sentences of Kafka in my life—and I've only ever heard murmurs about Waiting For Godot—but you managed to make me stay for the whole video. Easiest decision to subscribe.

[IowIy]

You're brilliant. How do you come out with a video and it is, and I dare say, nearly as impeccable as "Unsolicited advice" You are heading to the moon if you continue making videos, and I pray that you do. Amazing to come across this level of thought and you are so polished off the bat? It's absolutely incredible. "You are going to go far, kid" I am just so grateful that I am able to learn from these brilliant minds for free on YouTube. The blessings of our day are everywhere.

[magdalenakokes]

I am stunned by the eloquence of this piece—especially the way you present, pace, and interweave connected and disconnected threads in new, empathetic ways. Thank you :) (By the way, your Czech pronunciation was a little funny, but overall pretty good!)

[cranberrythecat]

Sometimes I grow frustrated with the over-saturation in the "video essayist" sub-genre of YouTube content, but other times I'm pleasantly surprised when the algorithm uncovers a gem like this one! I really admire how you're able to tie so many disparate threads of literature, philosophy, and mythology together into such a unique exploration of existential and absurdist themes. The more I learn about Kafka, the more sympathetic I find the poor guy, lol. It's fascinating and disillusioning in equal measure how many of the social ills he wrote about continue to this day. Thanks for sharing your work!! ❤

[АсетАхметов-вг]

as a programmer, i expected a video about message broker (Kafka) in game engine (Godot), good video though

[redfoxtress]

This video was an unexpected but pleasant surprise from the YouTube algorithm and I greatly enjoyed it. From what I've seen in the comments and on your channel this does not seem to be your regular type of content, but I hope you consider producing more videos like this. I decided to be hopeful and subscribed to your channel. :)

My only critique are to your comments on Marx and communism, admittedly I am biased as a communist myself, but I still think you will be hard-pressed to find an actual comment from Marx supporting historical determinism since he simply wasn't a historicist. Marx viewed socialism as a necessity and not an inevitability. Admittedly, whether Marxism argues for historical determinism or not has been a discussion since... Well since Marx himself, so there is some room for opinion there.

As for your comments on the Soviet Union: Calling the USSR a 'communist state' when one of the definitions of communism is that it is a stateless society is oxymoron and stating that Lenin started the revolution in Russia is plainly false. The revolution started without Lenin, while he was still in Switzerland, and he had to rush to Russia to get a seat on the table.

I hope you don't mind the more critical part of my comment since I really did enjoy the video

[ampleparkingTV]

I love Kafka, I love Waiting For Godot and I love Miles Davis. You’ve won me over.

[aplatin]

Kafka is one of my favorite writers. This is an excellent video and I hope you cover more literary topics.

[Cramhead]

22:55 “[Camus] sees [suicide] as a tragedy that fails to confront the absurd.”

I cannot say I’ve ever heard of Sisyphus/Albert beautifully summarized as such, but I think it is magnificent! Also this is truly a lovely essay. Violin went a bit too loud at the end but otherwise it is awesome.🎉

[minomushi_hitogata]

Final comment, I related to Metamorphosis by Kafka on a whole new level once I became disabled and unable to find work until the pandemic made remote work more of a thing. That and Camus' The Stranger as well really helped me better understand my own experiences of severe self-alienation/estrangement and existential dread.

[Rijeeris_The_Creator]

Wow. You did an amazing job. Great mic quality and script. It was complex, yet easy to understand. You should do many more of these deep dives!

[irenegasataya]

Excellent video. Keep up the good work.

[quaint_person]

Great video, hope you make another one.

[pork_cake]

I shall be watching your career with great interest.

[collapsing_star]

Damn this is great! Make more of these!

[mimiloforte]

Wonderful video! Quite thankful the YouTube algorithm fed me something good for once. Keep going- I would love to hear more from you :)