Ryan Jaekle Decalogue

 The visual medium in The Decalogue works as Midrash because you are never given a true answer and stay striving for meaning from the story and its characters. In the first film Krysztof is a technology man who sticks to what is powerful computer tell him to. Because of his use of technology, he slowly drifted further from God. His son, Pavel, also is using his computer to help him solve problems. When Pavel disappears after playing on the lake, you are never given a true answer and what is going on until the end. The midrash is apparent in the background as Krysztof is searching everywhere for his son. The first commandment states that "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" and in the film, Krysztof is using his computer as his god. He's lost his Catholic faith over the years even though his sister remained heavily rooted in the Christian faith, and turned to machines to help him solve all of his problems. The computer saying "I am ready" is another symbol of the computer owning Krysztof and his faith. In the fifth dekalog film "Thou shalt not kill,"  Jacek murders an innocent taxi driver and suffers the consequences for it. Jacek seems like an innocent child at first, but as the film progress we get to know his intentions. The young 20 year old boy end up killing the taxi driver who we meet earlier and isn't the nicest person but not deserving of dying by any means. We also meet Piotr, a young lawyer trying to do away with the death penalty as a capital punishment. While his arguments are strong they are not strong enough as Jacek has been given the death penalty for his murder of the taxi driver. This is where the commandment comes into play in the film; Thou shall not kill, and Jacek must suffer his punishment. There is no meaning for eternity for Jacek, he is being punished and there is no guarantee god will be forgiving to a person like Jacek.

My question is can there be a balance between using and believing in technology while still staying rooted in religious beliefs? 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Decalogue

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...
Read more

Thin Red Line - Bev Hollberg

  The Thin Red Line, which I would describe as several hours of watching men be brutally murdered, was intentionally made so disturbing so as to encourage viewers to reflect on the gift of life. One of my initial reactions was "I'd be the worst soldier ever, I'd just hide in the grass the entire time" and "I'm so glad women aren't included in the draft". My gratitude for never having to go to war is probably fairly universal within viewers (as the director intended). By emphasizing human distaste for war through the film's graphic depictions of death, the director leads his viewers to the question of "what is worth the sacrifice of human life?" For Krishna and the Colonel, duty is the price of life.   The Thin Red Line was very difficult to watch, as I'm not normally someone who puts up with any type of blood and guts. I think the gore was intended to convey the sublime nature of war and life. By reminding viewers of how terrible th...
Read more

Student Chosen Topic #4: Andrew Ours

  Over winter break, I had the opportunity to raid my Dad’s bookcase to find a book I had not read before. I had the opportunity to pick up a book titled,   The Last Amateurs  by John Feinstein. The book is about the 1999-2000 season in the Patriot League conference of NCAA College Basketball. What I found most interesting is how the narrative explored in the book is still ever present today in College Basketball. The thesis of the book is that college basketball is an organization corrupted by money and the need to win for the bigger programs. However, there is a purity to the integrity and how the game is played in the Patriot League, true Student Athletes. Today, there is a debate on if college athletes should be paid to play, due to the amount of money they made for their college and university, especially in college basketball and Football. In today’s game, for the top universities, even more so than they were in 1999, it is just a stepping stone for professional bas...
Read more