Jesus (1979) gets a rating of “r̼̊”

Greetings.

Jewish date:  26 Tammuz 5770 (Parashath Maṭṭoth-Mas‘e).

Today’s holidays:  The Three Weeks (Judaism), Isra Al Mi’Raj (Ascent of the Prophet Muhammad) (Islam), Lailat al Miraj (Islam), Thursday of the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time (Roman Catholicism), Feast Day of St. Zorak/National Camel Toad Hunting Day (secular) (Church of the SubGenius).

Worthy causes of the day:  “End Childhood Hunger in America! - The Petition Site”, “ONE | Path to 2015”, “Protect Against New Drilling - The Petition Site”, and “BPMakesMeSick.com”.

Topic 1:  Jesus (1979), otherwise known as The Jesus Film.  I have already written about this movie in a previous post.  Not much has really changed based on watching it again.  The most original thing about this film is that Satan is played by a snake, probably a reference back to the Garden of ‘Edhen.  There is also an invitation at the end for the viewer to let Jesus into his/her life which seems unbelievably annoying.  I give this movie a rating of “r̼̊”.

Topic 2:  Anti-Semitism update:  The Dry Bones cartoon “Crime Conference (1975)”.

Topic 3:  On a more positive note:  “'Energy Star' label graces churches for efficiency”.  Now the Environmental Protection Agency is certifying houses of worship as being energy efficient.  This may seem strange, but there is a logic to it.  Houses of worship exist to enable and promote the practice of religion, including caring for other people, which is ultimately behind environmentalism.  (People suffer from environmental problems.)  Having a house of worship certified, with a plaque as proof, furthers this goal.  By setting a good example, showing that this matter is important, certified houses of worship encourage their members to follow the example, thus making this world a little better.

Topic 4:  For today’s religious humor: “Saints and Thinkers”, the first cartoon of which asks an interesting question which might in itself be a valid Zen kōan.

Peace.

Aaron

The Jesus Film and how to celebrate Christmas

Greetings.

Jewish date:  18 Ṭeveth 5770 (Parashath Shemoth).

Today’s holiday:  Feast of Elizabeth Ann Seton (Roman Catholicism).

Worthy cause of the day:  “Tell EPA: No Tire or Waste Burning in Unregulated Incinerators - The Petition Site”.

Topic 1:  I watched Jesus (otherwise known as The Jesus Film) yesterday.  As it so happens, I wrote a review of it a few years back.  As my views of this film have not changed substantially, and the site where it was originally posted has disappeared (not to mention that it is a slow religious news season), I reproduce it for you here:

Image via Wikipedia

Movie Review: Jesus (1979)
November 2, 2002

Jesus (1979)
Written by: Barnet Bain, based on the Gospel According to Luke
Directed by: Peter Sukes
Genre: Documentary (?), Propaganda (Religious)
0/4


I am an observant Jew, and as such I am no fan of Christianity.  But being religious myself, I can understand that Christians might feel so strongly about their religion that they would want to do whatever they can to enlighten others and convert them.  Distributing a videotape is a rather unique method of proselytizing, one with great promise in an age when many people do not read books.  Unfortunately for the Christians who made the Jesus video, they botched it so badly that the project will undoubtedly backfire.


There is an unwritten rule of religion that one is absolutely not supposed to change scripture.  The makers of this video tried hard not to violate this rule, sticking as close as possible to the Gospel According to Luke. But one cannot simply shoot straight from a narrative and expect everything to come out alright.  The New Testament is not crystal clear as to who various people are and what is happening in their heads, and to portray them credibly requires serious interpretation—interpretation that the scriptwriter failed to do and, to make matters worse, the actors failed to deliver.  Everything anyone says in the video is done in a calm tone and with little in the way of facial expression.  It does not matter if one is happy or sad, talking to one person or a crowd; the voice is the same. Even when he is being nailed onto the cross, when most humans would be screaming in agony, Jesus barely winces.  We learn nothing of why the Pharisees hate Jesus or why Judas Iscariot betrayed him.  To be blunt, the actors cannot act; they merely parrot the Gospels as two-dimensional characters who could be replaced with cardboard cutouts without anyone noticing.  With such a pathetic performance and pathetic writing, the video is painful to watch. Because of the lack of effort to try to credibly show what Jesus's message was, nonbelievers are given no solid reason to accept it, and, in fact, offended, may be less likely than ever to consider converting to Christianity.


Topic 2:  I am not the only one getting in on the religious criticism act.  “Inspirational Films” on BizarroBlog makes a valid point on Christmas movies.  (This also doubles as today’s religious humor.)

Peace.

Aaron

Cardboard Jesus in Gospel films and profiling

Greetings.

Jewish date:  13 Ṭeveth 5770 (Parashath Wayḥi).

Today’s holiday:  Sixth day in the Octave of Christmas (Roman Catholicism)

Topic 1:  Last night I watched yet another Gospel movie, Color of the Cross.  This is the worst of the bunch I have seen so far, being based on the blatantly wrong premise that Jesus was black and that the color of his skin contributed to his (alleged) persecution.  Racism is not a concept in the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament, and forcing it into the story only made a poorly researched script even worse.  But watching this cinematic disaster, I realized something about the Gospel movies I have seen so far (The Passion of the Christ, Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Judas Project, Jesus, and Color of the Cross):  Jesus in the movies is dull.  Cinematic Jesus so far has shown little depth or real emotion.  While the Gospels cast Jesus as perfect, the movies make him an overly serene cardboard character who is easily beaten up.  The real Jesus had a following, and for that one needs personality and charisma.  The Gospels depict him arguing with his opponents, cursing those who do not agree with him, and thinking in terms of “us versus them”.  Jesus even curses a fig tree, of all things.  Godspell gets colorful with Jesus’s parables, but none of these movies produces the feeling that he is someone that real people would follow.  Pay attention, filmmakers:

Topic 2:  “Of Bombs and Underpants”.  This article by Rav Harry Maryles deals with a controversy that has been discussed on and off in the United States since at least 2001:  profiling people for security.  Muslims hate it, and many people think it smacks of prejudice.  Tough.  The fact is that terrorists, especially terrorists interested in attacking Americans, are disproportionately Muslim.  Yes, most Muslims are not terrorists.  But if one is looking for terrorists and has only finite time and resources, it is most efficient to scrutinize people who are more likely to be terrorists than treat everyone equally.  Is this fair?  Maybe not.  But Islam is at war with the West, and it would be stupid not to fight back.

Topic 3:  Recent reports on anti-Semitism in the media:  “"Huge Settlement" = Huge Mess”, “Israel Killing "Activists" Not Terrorists”, and “Israelis "Playing Mini-Mengele"”.  Plenty of evil word games.

Topic 4:  For today’s religious humor, something appropriate to my complaining about Gospel films, courtesy of Barry:  “Nothing’s A Hundred Percent”.


Peace.

Aaron