The meaning of life is the most urgent of questions, said the existentialist thinker Albert Camus. And no less a philosopher than Woody Allen has wondered: "How is it possible to find meaning in a finite world, given my waist and shirt size?"

The essays in Movies and the Meaning of Life look at popular and cult movies, examining their assumptions and insights on meaning-of-life questions: What is reality and how can I know it? (The Truman Show, Contact, Waking Life); How do I find myself and my true identity? (Fight Club, Being John Malkovich, Boys Don't Cry, Memento); How do I find meaning from my interactions with others? (Pulp Fiction, Shadowlands, Chasing Amy); What is the chief purpose in life? (American Beauty, Life Is Beautiful, The Shawshank Redemption); and how ought I live my life? (Pleasantville, Spiderman, Minority Report, Groundhog Day).

The book is published by Open Court. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.