tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post3607306117098741759..comments2023-12-19T08:12:59.428-08:00Comments on Post-Punk Cinema Club: Leap of Faith (1992)a ppcc representativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03533616493105736109noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-63976220446686448382009-03-25T19:31:00.000-07:002009-03-25T19:31:00.000-07:00bawa - Oh, I'm relieved to hear that - I'm a bit S...bawa - Oh, I'm relieved to hear that - I'm a bit Slumdogged out at the moment. Danny Boyle is always fun, will check it out!<BR/><BR/>Re: religious discussion - I re-read what I wrote and realized I probably should have paused a little to collect my thoughts. My argument could have been better presented!<BR/><BR/>Heqit - I hear ya! And it's nice to mellow. :) Plus, everything movies have taught me about morality (e.g. My Son the Fanatic, Saaheb, La meglio gioventu', etc.) has indicated that being easygoing and nice is better than being righteous and indignant about all the world's injustices. Even if the latter seems so pressing and urgent (esp when you're young!). Hey, if you wrote that book, I'd read it!a ppcc representativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03533616493105736109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-37844309986176793852009-03-25T19:18:00.000-07:002009-03-25T19:18:00.000-07:00Re: Uninterchangeable Eliots -- of course. : ) S...Re: Uninterchangeable Eliots -- of course. : ) Should have known.<BR/><BR/>I like the P-PCC's points about the undesirability of sneering at true believers, too. As the strident atheism of my teen years mellows into something slightly more agnostic, I am (thank goodness) developing more of an appreciation of the role(s) that religious beliefs play in people's lives. It's all (shockingly, I know!) much more nuanced than I thought ten years ago -- at that point, I was all "THEY just don't want to SEE the TRUTH that I KNOW because EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN TAUGHT IS A LIE."<BR/><BR/>Maybe if I ever write a book I'll call it <I>Beyond Theism and Atheism</I>...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-87305017397797677362009-03-25T09:39:00.000-07:002009-03-25T09:39:00.000-07:00Oh, it isn't at all similar! You would be disappoi...Oh, it isn't at all similar! You would be disappointed if you looked at it that way. <BR/>But it does have the Danny Boyle stamp:i.e. attempting something different each time, a bit of fantasy, very British humour, and an overall upbeat look at human nature despite all the baddies and depressing situations.<BR/><BR/>P.S. Am following all the religious discussion but you are saying it all, so not writing anything on that!bawahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14772313690591638108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-52403041198179211662009-03-24T15:55:00.000-07:002009-03-24T15:55:00.000-07:00bawa - Thanks for the recommendation! I've been cu...bawa - Thanks for the recommendation! I've been curious about Millions ever since I heard people mentioning how similar Slumdog Millionaire is to it. Leap of Faith is a lot of fun, very sweet and intelligent - I really recommend it!<BR/><BR/>Beth - Steve Martin is a GENIUS! (Literally!) He also has one of the largest private art collections in the US, which is also great.<BR/><BR/>I think my whole rant was inspired by a flash of insight I (think I) had when I realized that when I would criticize Christianity and feel edgy, provocative and insightful, I realized that instead I was just repeating exactly what anyone else in my demographic (educated globalized white person) says. And I noticed that I was a LOT harsher on Christianity than I was with other religions practiced in the US, because I felt "safe" criticizing them - that is, I didn't feel like I was being anti-Semitic/anti-Islam/anti-whateverist/intolerant. Instead, I felt "enlightened" - a natural feeling, I guess, when you criticize what you perceive to be the hegemony. But that realization made me understand that when you <I>think</I> you're being a righteous rationalist, you're actually just being dismissive and elitist - like, there's a whole load of socioeconomic issues which come up (the links between poverty and social conservatism, historical issues such as the Holocaust, political issues such as Islamophobia, etc.) and usually that's what you're <I>really</I> talking about anyway (without noticing). <BR/><BR/>Agreed, of course, that ignoring religious minorities is bad and religious-based guilt/anger is bad. But I'm trying to slow down my (urban intellectual) impulse to just knock down people who are radically different from me (e.g. conservative Christians! or whoever).<BR/><BR/>This is all part of slowly realizing that so many of my strongly-held opinions, which I had assumed were based on my free will/intelligence, are actually just the standard package an educated urban American white person is exposed to. (Even loving international cinema!) So I'm trying to let go of these opinions, etc.<BR/><BR/>Hmm, don't know if all that made sense.a ppcc representativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03533616493105736109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-81699143078669977792009-03-24T12:31:00.000-07:002009-03-24T12:31:00.000-07:00I saw this in the theater back in the day and hard...I saw this in the theater back in the day and hardly remember it, but it comes as no surprise to me that Steve Martin has done something awesome. <BR/><BR/>PPCC, it's like you're in my head. I've been having a very hard time processing other people's beliefs (and their word and actions that stem from them) latey, and I all too often fall into that camp you mention. Just the other day I was typing OPIATE OF THE MASSES in all caps to someone. And I was also fretting over a sort of inverse idea, which is wondering why people ascribe to belief systems that make them feel miserable about themselves ("pebble in shoe of the masses"?). Probably around the time I was watching <I>Dharmputra</I> in which Hinduism and Islam are the only two religions, and their followers the only type of Indian people, mentioned, and even though that's understandable for the time period and point of the story, it's still totally irritating.Beth Loves Bollywoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05540154833326987567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-74003808537901880762009-03-24T00:13:00.000-07:002009-03-24T00:13:00.000-07:00Interesting post and thanks for all the references...Interesting post and thanks for all the references and links.<BR/><BR/>I saw Danny Boyle's Millions (2005) the other day: and what an amazing film! Apparently appluaded at every Film Festival but don't think it made it commercially. Watch it if you can, its got a lovely take on religion and morality too!<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, I shall try and watch this one when it gets here.bawahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14772313690591638108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-49270983235234008942009-03-23T18:45:00.000-07:002009-03-23T18:45:00.000-07:00eliza bennet - Thanks! I'm feeling a bit sheepish ...eliza bennet - Thanks! I'm feeling a bit sheepish about it today, since I let myself rant so much. *blush*<BR/><BR/>Heqit - Those two indeed! And nah, I was thinking T.S. Eliot.a ppcc representativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03533616493105736109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-30879787815696307972009-03-23T18:36:00.000-07:002009-03-23T18:36:00.000-07:00Great post, and I wholeheartedly agree re: Dawkins...Great post, and I wholeheartedly agree re: Dawkins and Hitchens. Ugh, those two.<BR/><BR/>And not to quibble, but...if the Eliot you reference is <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Eliot" REL="nofollow">George Eliot</A>, wouldn't she be a dead white <I>woman</I>?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-80360519502422978142009-03-23T04:48:00.000-07:002009-03-23T04:48:00.000-07:00Loved reading this post, thanks.Loved reading this post, thanks.eliza bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01997101330508195099noreply@blogger.com