Hey there, horror aficionados and philosophical ponderers! Welcome back to your dose of blue-collar philosophy, Saw style, here at johnchen.net. If you’ve been tuning into this series exploring the Saw franchise through a philosophical lens, I trust you’re geared up for another deep dive. Hopefully, you’ve even revisited the Saw films themselves to witness firsthand the concepts we’re dissecting. We’re about to get into the core of a compelling theory – and let me tell you, I’m not alone in this thinking. Many have observed that Saw John Kramer, the chilling mastermind behind the Jigsaw games, operates under a distinctly Nietzschean nihilist philosophy. While thinkers like Steve Jones delve into intricate detail in works such as “To See the Saw Films,” my aim is to break it down, making these complex ideas accessible even if you’re new to philosophical discourse.
So, without further ado, let’s plunge directly into understanding how John Kramer embodies the paradigm of passive nihilism.
In essence, Friedrich Nietzsche conceived of the passive nihilist as someone deeply disillusioned by the world’s stance on “fundamental values,” particularly their own indifference towards existence. To translate this into the chillingly direct language of John Kramer, these are individuals who “don’t appreciate their life.”
Throughout the Saw film saga, Kramer’s fury simmers from his conviction that most people squander their existence, failing to grasp its inherent worth. For him, the very act of valuing life is what infuses it with meaning and purpose. Consequently, anyone who treats life as a given, lacking gratitude, is deemed by Kramer as aimless. This is where his elaborate games, his terrifying traps, come into play. They are not merely acts of torture, but a twisted form of therapy, designed to shock individuals into realizing that survival itself is the fundamental goal of life. Thus, enduring and surviving the game becomes, in his warped perspective, their rediscovered purpose for existence.
credit: Lionsgate Entertainment
Isn’t it chillingly ingenious, this perspective from Jigsaw’s twisted mind? By forcing people into his horrifying games, he compels them to embrace endurance and survival as their immediate focus. He manufactures purpose in their lives, in the present moment. In this disturbing way, saw John Kramer believes he is resolving his own nihilistic crisis—living in a world he perceives as devoid of purpose—by thrusting others into situations where purpose is brutally unavoidable.
The pervasive apathy that Jigsaw so despises in his test subjects is a recurring theme woven through the entire Saw narrative. Let’s rewind to the original Saw (2004) and consider the iconic Dr. Lawrence Gordon (played by Cary Elwes). As we recall, his wife Allison (Monica Potter) poignantly accuses him of projecting a happy facade while harboring inner misery. Dr. Lawrence, in essence, is portrayed as emotionally numb, simply going through the motions of life devoid of genuine passion or direction. As Lawrence’s terrifying game unfolds, we can draw parallels with Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith) and Paul (Mike Butters) from the same film, illuminating Kramer’s overarching critique. Amanda’s addiction to drugs is clearly depicted as an escape from a reality she finds unbearable, while Paul’s suicide attempt represents the ultimate act of rejecting life itself. Therefore, in Kramer’s distorted judgment, Dr. Lawrence’s passive acceptance of a joyless existence is no different, in its essence, from Amanda and Paul’s active escapism. All represent a fundamental lack of appreciation for life.
But what about Adam Stanheight (portrayed by Saw creator Leigh Whannell)? Did you ever notice the stark contrast between Adam and Kramer regarding the very disease that is consuming Kramer? When Adam is chained in the infamous bathroom, nicotine cravings overwhelm him to the point where he contemplates smoking a potentially poisoned cigarette. He utters the now-iconic line, desiring “that sweet cancer. I don’t care. I really don’t.”
The chilling irony is palpable. Adam demonstrates a profound passivity (in the Nietzschean sense) towards acquiring the very illness that is causing Kramer’s agonizing demise. This very attitude, this flippant disregard for life and health, further clarifies why Jigsaw selected Adam for his game. Adam’s careless statement underscores the precise apathy that Kramer seeks to eradicate.
To further explore the passivity of Kramer’s victims, let’s fast forward to Saw III (2006) and examine Detective Rigg (Lyriq Bent) and Jeff Denlon (Angus Macfadyen). Rigg, as a police officer, is driven by an almost obsessive compulsion to save everyone. His central frustration in Saw III, however, is his agonizing realization that he cannot save everyone. Jeff’s obsession is different, rooted in anger and resentment over what he perceives as insufficient justice for the drunk driver who killed his son. Despite their vastly different fixations, Rigg and Jeff share a similar underlying worldview: a sense that the world is fundamentally flawed and that, ultimately, they are powerless to change these ingrained conditions.
They are chosen for Jigsaw’s games precisely because this type of resignation deeply offends Kramer’s worldview. Saw John Kramer believes that people do possess choices and advantages, but they actively choose not to utilize them. Kramer views Rigg and Jeff, much like the rest of humanity in his eyes, as pathetic because they perceive themselves as incapable of influencing or improving the world around them.
In a fascinating twist, the victims in the Saw franchise can be interpreted as a synecdoche, a literary device often used in biblical scholarship. A synecdoche is essentially a part that represents the whole. Think of the seven churches in the Book of Revelation, which are not just historical congregations but also symbolic representations of the global church throughout time. This is the symbolic weight we can ascribe to Jigsaw’s victims in Saw.
Kramer’s selection of victims is not random; it’s intended to represent the entire population of humanity, as he perceives it. From a passive nihilist standpoint, disgust at this widespread apathy is a natural consequence. In Kramer’s perspective (and in passive nihilism), the loss of truth, value, and meaning in life no longer sparks a crisis within humanity; rather, it has become normalized, accepted as ordinary existence. This acceptance is utterly unacceptable to the passive nihilist, and therefore, saw John Kramer, as a self-proclaimed remedy, deploys his gruesome traps to shock his victims out of their apathetic stupor. He aims to jolt them into confronting life’s value, meaning, and purpose by placing them in extreme, life-or-death situations.
There’s much more to explore, such as the inherent contradictions in Jigsaw’s methods compared to his stated mantra, and the flaws within both his philosophy and nihilism itself. However, those discussions extend beyond the scope of this particular article. The points outlined above sufficiently demonstrate the compelling evidence that saw John Kramer indeed embodies the principles of a passive nihilist. Yet, there’s another, even darker facet to Kramer’s nihilism that surfaces in the Saw films: radical nihilism. It’s this radical nihilism that we will delve into in our next and concluding post in this series.
Until then, immerse yourself in the chilling world of Nietzsche and the terrifying games of Saw!
Ezekiel Kincaid lives for horror and dissects it with passion, whether in his own novels or insightful reviews. His unique background as a pastor and paranormal investigator enriches every piece he crafts.
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