The Precarius Movie. An open-water essay

Abstract

This essay presents several of the main characteristics of precarious subjectivity explored in Javier López Alos’ work Crítica de la razón precaria. La vida intelectual ante la obligación de lo extraordinario [Critique of Precarious Reason. Intellectual life before the obligation of the extraordinary] (2019) in the film Open Water 2: Adrift (2006). The movie tells the story of a group of young people who find themselves trapped in the open sea after jumping into the water from the boat without anyone making sure the ladder needed to climb back up was dropped down. This situation functions as a metaphor of precariousness and its consequences. Moreover, it opens the door to a series of considerations about the relationship between precariousness and the future of the social and human sciences.