Religion and Film 2021

2/16/2021  Harold and Maude uses elementary philosophies of life to easily highlight and comment on a simplistic and carefree way to live. The actions and words of Maude create a lovable and charismatic woman who seeks joy and pleasure through life’s simple pleasures. Maude is such a free spirit and she lives an enlightened life and finds comfort in the freedom. I specifically enjoy the scene from Harold and Maude in which she wants to save the tree that is dying from the sidewalk Concrete. In this scene, Maude digs up the tree places it in the back of a car she steals, and drives it to a place where she can plant it so it can live a whole life. I really think but this particular scene really shows how Maude acts to help others and to free all living things from hard regardless of the consequences on her. Also, I love the fact that she made the decisions on when she was ready to depart material life and did so in a way that she was surrounded and happy.

3/6/2021 Another film-book pair that I recently read and really enjoyed was Call Me by Your Name . I really appreciated the way that the book was written, and then the way that the film created a dream-like trance that both broke your heart and soothed you. Reading the book was almost like being in a toxic relationship, it felt like I couldn't put it down and I never wanted to leave at however it only ever caused me harm. The way it was written was done so that it was more of a thought process or like a strand of consciousness that continued feeling very realistic and allowing you to grief with Elio. The inner monologue of Elio felt real. It was open and honest and unhinged not keeping anything or any thought from the reader. In the movie, this translated into silence and that's something I really appreciate. The movie obviously has dialogue but the dialogue is very limited and the majority of the conversation only happens between Elio the narrator and Oliver. The silence in th...

  2/2/2021 Thoughts during Apocolypse Now What would I wear to Vietnam? It's a conceited and superficial question I suppose but in the midst of Apocalypse Now I have no idea what it would be like to be in any Asian country let alone Vietnam. I've never been to any third-world nation, excuse me, developing nation before. My mother has taken mission trips and ‘language learning’ trips to Guatemala, so I suppose I have some understanding of what goes on there and what it looks like but no personal experiences. But of course, Vietnam and Guatemala are two very different nations. She always talked about how poor they were but how happy they were. I have a hard time imagining any life other than my current reality of course but I have my fantasies and dreams, but no nonfiction country has ever sparked my interest enough to allow me to imagine any life other than right here right now. Part of me wishes that I was ridiculously skinny spending every day lounging in the sun and eating an...

  Psuedo-Catholic Guilt 4/30/2021 I have always had an interesting relationship with religion. Since I was a child I've always been very interested in the way Christians interact with Jesus. I've always liked the idea that Jesus brings light into the world and allows for people to love each other however in modern times I don't feel like Christians have really been the light in people's life.  Some Christians do good things but they often push their religion upon people and I just don't feel like as a Christian that's the correct thing to do. I feel like Jesus would want me to bring light into the world without forcing it upon other people. I should be able to bring this light and joy into people's lives without feeling like I have to push Christianity on them. If the light and love of Jesus is going to find someone I can bring it to them but I can’t force it. However, my relationship with religion recently deepened.  During quarantine, I spent a lot of time...

2/23/2021 Thin Red Line is a movie that highlights a person's relationship with death during a war. In this particular film, we watch a soldier go from fearing death to dying himself. Originally this soldier desserts his fellow soldiers and lives peacefully in the islands with natives. Upon being found and returned to his ship, he is criticized for leaving and punished. Throughout the movie we watch him grow from a tortured soldier, unwilling to fight, to an enlightened individual ready to sacrifice himself for the sake and safety of his fellow soldiers. We watch this change happen as he helps a fellow soldier pass from this life. As he cares for and guides his friend’s soul from his body he gains a universal understanding of death and begins the path to respecting it. The majority of the movie takes place on a battlefield full of tall grass. I feel as if the grass represents the hardships and mortality of life, the everyday jobs and space, and the sky above the grass represents t...

2/9/2021 This particular retelling of the Ten Commandments does so in a more modern format than most would expect. Some audience members questioned the ability of the Ten Commandments to be told in such a format as this particular retelling strays from the original meaning of midrash. I argue that this retelling as a form of Midrash that is more assessable and understandable to the modern audience. It grabs your interest by telling a beautiful story with many characters and elements one would not anticipate seeing in such an explanation of the ten commandments. Each commandment lays out a plot that causes the audience to forget the original intention of the film, finding unique ways to gain emotional ties and capture the attention of those watching. I will say as a view it was difficult to watch more than one of these films at a time. Perhaps this was due to my personal religious beliefs and connection to the midrash, but the intensity of these films weighed heavy on me and I felt very...