The Lyin', The Bitchin' and the Worn Out

[nfotxn]

This is just more of the same screaming match where people stoop to such absurdities. Getting upset and creating protest in and about films and movies, what the fuck? There are no lives at stake here. I don't think that's an acceptable way to interact in any culture.

What's kinda sucky here is that everyone is reading that same highly-biased Guardian article with the selective C. S. Lewis quotes. And all the gays who have been or feel they are personally persecuted by Christianity are, once again, mobilizing their particular faction of the political blogosphere to cry bloody murder. Missing the irony here that gays are now mobilizing around causes that come from increasingly dogmatic sources, much like Christian conservatives. But that's not the worst of it.

Blogs and cheesey 21st century media create a positive feedback loop amongst groups with particular biases. We all huddle around our crappily written pieces and quote them. Often with some seriously un-called-for editorial feriocity. I mean when else in history have we had this kind of editorial power? But in this particular case it seems every one turns into an angry bigot and hence starts the cultural screaming match. And no, the answer is not to scream back louder, dumbasses. This is not how we get along with people. Even ones who hate us.

Right, the worst of it all.

The worst of it all is missing the nuance, which is that Lewis was a product of his time. I read a biography of his ages ago and basically the very reason for his work is that he rejected a lot of Christianity tenets. But the point of spirituality, including Christianity, is connectedness and being oppositional is something probably not easily to accomplish in his time. He was brought "kicking and screaming" into the Christian faith... a big influence being his service in the first World War. Having and seeing friends literally killed on the front lines has that effect on people. C. S. Lewis did find faith in God but wrote his allegories of Christianity as an improvement. When you understand his background and situation the quote about "softening children" to the idea of god doesn't ring with the same context as it does in 2005. When interviewed 55 years ago I doubt he would have mentioned how he was aspiring to re-interpret the bible without all that ancient voodoo shit designed for early Abrahamic society.

But that's what he did.

These books reflect the state of thought in Britain at the time they were written. The time at which The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was written was after two world wars. The world was a writhing mass of scarred humanity and the finer points of rights for minorities were simply not the focus. As a result you may notice the bit where Aslan tears appart the sodomites to death is missing. Or the chapter where the White Witch goes on about the sins of birth control and abortion? Also suspiciously absent. But what is present is the stuff about the battle between good and evil. And the victors not being the righteous but the humble and meek, as represented in the books by children.

So who cares if there is religious money funding this movie? Seriously, who fucking cares because best I know it's promoting all the good stuff. That can be scary to a lot of people who've been abused by the moral majority. It's scary to them that they might just have something in common with their aggressors.

Comments

[meegup.livejournal.com]

i liked reading that.

[abearius.livejournal.com]

You're going to die and go to Hell because you aren't an Atheist!

[janusdoa.livejournal.com]

[andywhobear.livejournal.com]

It might be promoting "all the good stuff" but unfortunately " all the good stuff" is attached to alot of really shitty stuff.

[thafuzz.livejournal.com]

Now, why would you go and write an invalidation of too many media pundits and their, um, very important and hard-hitting output? You could destroy self-important subjective journalism! NOOOO!!!

[faghatesgods.livejournal.com]

You are making excuses and missing the point. And so are most of the peopel you complain about.

The movie's message is irrelevant.

What the religious nuts who produced it will do with the millions of dollars of profit they receive is NOT irrelevant.

They will fund more ignorance, fund more hatred, and fund more legislation to take away and keep away your rights.

So bitcha and moan all you want about people being more stupid than you are but you are only adding to the noise.

It boils down to this. You have dollars and can choose where to spend them. If that's where you choose to spend them then go right ahead. I'll spend mine elsewhere.

[mattycub.livejournal.com]

Seriously not trying to be antagonistic here - if I'm missing out on on something, please point it out. But in the situation as I see it, the statement "What the religious nuts who produced it will do with the millions of dollars of profit they receive is NOT irrelevant." seems to be misguided.

The movie was produced by Walden Media, with Disney providing additional funding and marketing. As far as I know, neither company is either run by religious nuts or has any overtly religious agenda. Walden produces mostly family friendly but definitely secular movies - Around the World in 80 Days, Holes, an updated vesion of Charlotte's Web, among many others, none of which, other than TLTWANTW, contain anything in the way of religious content. And even in the singular case of TLTWANTW, the religious content is all in subtext and allegory, and the story can be appreciated without it - I know that when I read the books as a child, I didn't pick up on the religious themes and enjoyed them strictly as engaging fantasy material.

So, it would hardly seem that Walden Media is a crazy religious production company with a dangerous agenda. And I can't see anyone classifying Disney in that sense either. Will either of these companies use the millions they will surely receive in profits to fund some kind of religious agenda? Doesn't seem very likely to me.

If anything, the movie will be taking money from religious group who will pay to see it in droves because of the successful (and one could argue cynical) marketing campaign that targeted that demographic. But I don't see how those dollars, or the dollars from all the non-religious people who will surely go see the movie as well, will end up in the pockets of religious zealots.

[faghatesgods.livejournal.com]

Oh I should have been clearer.

I have no idea who produced this particular film. I meant that more as a hypothetical, and also inferred from NFo's post that it was a religious group.

But anyway, if you look at Disney's political campaign funding it's all Red.

I loathe Disney as much as I loathe Christians.

They are equivalent religions.

[mattycub.livejournal.com]

Actually, no.

Disney's campaign contributions are split between Dems and Repubs, with Dems always getting at least a majority of their funds. In the 2004 election cycle, 70% of their campaign contributions went to Democrats. Also, Disney basically gave the Southern Baptists and the AFA the finger during the years when those groups were boycotting the company, refusing to change the pro-gay policies that the company had in place to appease the religious groups. I can see not liking their product - they haven't put out a great animated movie in a decade, and their marketing tactics are often grotesque. But, as a company, they seem pretty gay friendly to me. So, I'm not sure where all the hate is coming from or where exactly it's supposed to be directed at. Who's the boogeyman here?

[mattycub.livejournal.com]

What bothers me the most about what I've been reading, on LJ and other places, by gays that are upset about the marketing of this movie is how much of what they're saying is suspiciously like right wing style rhetoric. Seriously, replace "Narnia" with "Brokeback Mountain", and you've got a conservative press release, complete with allusions to a dangerous agenda and a call for solidarity.

I would like to think that the black and white world view of the right is something we don't need to duplicate, that we can allow for shades of grey and realize that a thing can have many meanings and facets - not reduce everything to right v wrong and us v them.

And since when is it ok to attack the whole of the religious world as if every person of faith is a crazy fundamentalist? How can we gays, as an oppressed minority, not see the inherent fallacy and harm caused by grossly stereotyping an entire group of people based on the actions, real or perceived, of a select few? Shouldn't we be able to rise above that kind of behavior?

[bookbear.livejournal.com]

On my bumper, I have a fish symbol filled in with the rainbow colors. Gay Christian thingy. On my dashboard I have a Buddy Christ (http://www.jayandsilentbob.com/budchrisdass1.html). I can't tell you how many times, even just today, a gay person sees it and I can see the rise of self-righteous indignation. Just today a radio co-worker was like "Is this your car? But, you have a Jesus statue on your dashboard!" SSOOOO?!. Like, the two elements of myself, gay and christian, are so mutually exclusive that there must be something bordering on the schizophrenic working within me. I also fuck a lot. Here, throw that into the moral morass cesspool that is my soul.

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

I agree whole-heartedly. This whole discussion surrounding the politics of entertainment makes me feel as retarded as the fundamentalists.

[jawnbc]

Good post. Some people's reading comprehension isn't very good. Don't fret about it.

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

Thanks, your opinion means a lot to me :)

[bookbear.livejournal.com]

When the Christian Right whines that gays marrying will destroy families, they are giving us too much power we really don't have. And likewise, when we whine about Christian influences as if all Christian imagery and influence are an attack against us (really, how egomaniacal is that?!), we too then give them too much power they don't deserve.

People. Chill.

Thanks for your words. Way smart.

[sunsmogseahorse.livejournal.com]

It's not the the film needs to be boycotted, not the group who made it. But the situation bears watching. I want to know what the Religous Right is doing. I am conscious of any move they make to sway public opinion. I put this development in the same category that I put the whole "Left Behind" publishing phenomenon. No action needs to be taken except to know that it's happening.

[backrubbear.livejournal.com]

I want to know what the Religous Right is doing.

Marketing in the purest form. They're using the power of The Mouse to pull more people to them.

The interesting thing to watch, if you're familiar with the books, is how elements that don't serve the religious fascists get put into the movies.

[sunsmogseahorse.livejournal.com]

do or don't get put in?

[backrubbear.livejournal.com]

Exactly.

If they're put in, they're faithful to the books. If they don't, then they're just as likely shaping the movies for their Message.

The Message in the books is that regardless of who you think you may be worshipping (in the book, Tash), if your actions are good, they belong to Aslan.

In other words, the face of God is unimportant - your deeds go where they belong.

[backrubbear.livejournal.com]

It's scary to them that they might just have something in common with their aggressors.

It's actually people like Lewis that make me think "hey, some of these people don't suck". They're a reminder that not all Christians are religious fascists. They really are concerned about sharing the good things with you without threatening you about the bad things.

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

Precisely my point. I am affraid of this with-us-or-against-us view from some gays these days. Like if you find common ground with a Christian you are some sort of self-hating sell out. It's like some sort of mis-appropriated Act Up Silence=Death attitude that I don't really understand.

[fannypackcrew.livejournal.com]

i decided to support satan instead by seeing yours, mine, and ours

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

I am like all for Steve Martin making some cheddar but he's gotta make a GOOD movie every once in a while to make it worth seeing him humiliate himself to thoroughly.

HAIL SATAN!