TV starting to side with Atheists?

Fanny Cradock

Of course, one could argue the inverse. The book I am Legend is clearly written denying the possible existence of God. The film, however, has Christian imagery and, at complete odds with the book, ends on a pro-theistic high.

Dades

Fanny Cradock wrote: »

Of course, one could argue the inverse. The book I am Legend is clearly written denying the possible existence of God. The film, however, has Christian imagery and, at complete odds with the book, ends on a pro-theistic high.

The film, which I thoroughly enjoyed, took a lot of liberties with the book. Though I think that was because Hollywood required a 'happy' ending rather than the abrupt, but correct one.

GothPunk

Fanny Cradock wrote: »

Of course, one could argue the inverse. The book I am Legend is clearly written denying the possible existence of God. The film, however, has Christian imagery and, at complete odds with the book, ends on a pro-theistic high.

Actually the movie studio demanded a change to the end of te film which gave us the tacked on hodge podge of silly Christian imagery ending. You can read the story and view the original ending here.

The Mad Hatter

GothPunk wrote: »

Actually the movie studio demanded a change to the end of te film which gave us the tacked on hodge podge of silly Christian imagery ending. You can read the story and view the original ending here.

Yeah, I've heard that if there's ever a director's cut it'll be brilliant.

I'm not going to watch that video, however, as I've only seen half the film (and really enjoyed it, too) because I fell asleep on that plane...

Zombrex

GothPunk wrote: »

Actually the movie studio demanded a change to the end of te film which gave us the tacked on hodge podge of silly Christian imagery ending. You can read the story and view the original ending here.

I never understood what was going on there. The "happy" ending has Neville

dying, the vamps getting wiped out (after we just spend most of the movie being shown how they have grown and developed sentience) and New York abandoned

where as the too-negative-for-Americans according-to-some-talentless-hack-producer has Neville

realizing that the vamps have developed sentience, freeing both the vamp test subject and his obsession with "curing" them, finding peace at last and being able to leave New York, letting go of the emotional baggage that held him there, with the hope of finding more survivors out in the rest of the world

Not only does the released ending not make any sense in the context of the movie, to the point of being jarring in a WTF kind of way, it isn't even the "happy" ending in my opinion. He

blows up his lab with a hand grenade

ffs, totally nonsensical compared to the rest of the movie.

People are dumb.

Goduznt Xzst

The Mad Hatter wrote: »

Add Scrubs

Yeah there was an episode where Perry was trying to convince Laverne that God didn't exist and that supposed miracles where nothing but mere coincidence. Laverne eventually admits that she needs the comfort of faith to cope with the harsh realities of her job. It never goes into detail about the chances that miracles do happen, rather that Laverne needs her religion as an emotional crutch.

The reason i'm asking this anyway is to see if other people agree with me or if it's just a case Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, in that I've been reading a lot about evolution and Atheism lately so I guess I'm noticing more of the nuanced references to it in TV shows and movies.

GothPunk

Wicknight wrote: »

I never understood what was going on there. The "happy" ending has Neville

dying, the vamps getting wiped out (after we just spend most of the movie being shown how they have grown and developed sentience) and New York abandoned

where as the too-negative-for-Americans according-to-some-talentless-hack-producer has Neville

realizing that the vamps have developed sentience, freeing both the vamp test subject and his obsession with "curing" them, finding peace at last and being able to leave New York, letting go of the emotional baggage that held him there, with the hope of finding more survivors out in the rest of the world

Not only does the released ending not make any sense in the context of the movie, to the point of being jarring in a WTF kind of way, it isn't even the "happy" ending in my opinion. He

blows up his lab with a hand grenade

ffs, totally nonsensical compared to the rest of the movie.

So very true. So very terribly incomprehensibly true.
****
I think that there may be truth in your observation Goduznt Xzst that there are more of these atheistic references in shows due to the nature of American TV. They're always looking to be offensive in a comfortable way, they push the bar in baby steps. Religion is a hot topic on many fronts so having characters, stories and sketches that explore the area and joke about it are going to generate controversy and good ratings. In contrast would be something like the Star Trek series that has always had rational characters, or British TV, like shows on Channel 4, that actually look to push the bar and make people think, so we're seeing more documentaries about the topic as well. (See 'The Root of All Evil? etc).

So my point is maybe we're seeing more jokes involving religion because it's something people didn't feel comfortable joking about in the past but is now becoming fair game. Doesn't necessarily imply siding with atheists, just a weakening of the silly reverence for another persons opinions about the universe.

Bottle_of_Smoke

Peep show has a fair few references. Fair city also has a non-religious guy who keeps antagonising his catholic mates & fiance questioning them on their beliefs at the moment

Sangre

Dexter refers to his lack of belief a few times.

Fanny Cradock

Dades wrote: »

The film, which I thoroughly enjoyed, took a lot of liberties with the book. Though I think that was because Hollywood required a 'happy' ending rather than the abrupt, but correct one.

Well, if you enjoyed that book, then you will probably enjoy Roadside Picnic. I've not had the opportunity to see Stalker, the fiim upon which it is based (Dir by Tarkovsky, the guy who did Solaris) but it's well worth a read before Travolta and chums release their ham fisted effort onto the screens.

Galvasean

Dades wrote: »

The film, which I thoroughly enjoyed, took a lot of liberties with the book. Though I think that was because Hollywood required a 'happy' ending rather than the abrupt, but correct one.

Never mind that the book's ending is one of the mos taught provoking endings ever.

Sangre wrote: »

Dexter refers to his lack of belief a few times.

Is that Dexter as in the murderer who works for the police, or the Dexter who works in a lab and has his experiments frequently spoiled by his sister Deedee?

Pompey Magnus

So I took a day off work today and decided to head to the cinema to see "Ghost Town" with Ricky Gervais. As it happens I managed to go into the wrong screen and ended up instead at "The Mutant Chronicles". I was about to leave when I realised my mistake but decided to stay on because the opening battle scene looked decent enough. As it turns out the film was half typical mutant zombie gore-fest and half Christian sermon, a strange combination I must say.

The hero, Capt Hunter, is your stereotypical alpha male GI killing machine, half way through though we discover that he is also an atheist. He is recruited for a dangerous mission by an Irish warrior monk played by Ron Perlman with a dodgy accent (his first appearance in the film was I think him praying the "Our Father" in Irish). Anyway Capt Hunter ridicules the warrior monks for their blind faith but he is constantly reminded of the virtues of faith and trust in the Almighty, and is told that he would not be on his mission if he truly did not believe deep down in God.

At one point I think the monk claims something like "God is life and the mutants are unlife"..........unlife? What the hell is unlife???? Is that even a word?

To cut a long story short as the film reached its conclusion the now mutant monk tells Hunter to have faith, just as the cave is falling down around him. Hunter then takes a literal "leap of faith" into the abyss and sure enough God provided for him as there was an underground lake for him to land into. The implication being I think that Hunter had refound his belief in God and realised the error of his atheist ways. Fittingly his last word in the film, as he lay on the lakeside after escaping, was "Christ".

All in all it was a pretty rubbish film, the acting was poor and the storyline was utterly devoid of any interesting plot. The only people who might appreciate it would be 13 year old Christian boys who want to be reminded how great God and blind faith is whilst watching the forces of evil get slaughtered. The only positive that I took away from the cinema was at least none of my money is going to it.