Jeff Lee - Children of Men

Children of Men is futuristic world in which women can no longer give birth.  For nearly two decades there had been no new births.  Humans on earth face extinction and not just from infertility but environmental reasons as well.  In 2027, England has become a militarized police state because of an overwhelming influx of refugees.  There is an underground resistance group that is gaining numbers and powers to liberate the refugees from secondary citizenship.  Theo (Clive Owen) a former political activist is called upon to help this underground resistance group.  His job is to transport a woman who has become pregnant.  There is a Human Genome Project that awaits her arrival but the journey is treacherous.  The overarching theme of environmental protection is evident throughout the film.  The prevailing idea is that women are sterile because of environmental conditions.  The world is decaying as the atmosphere is being polluted, ozone layer rapidly depleting and new genetic diseases emerging.  This movie calls for political activism against a heavily polluted world.  Individual recycling is a start but the multi-national corporations of the world need to be more concerned as they slowly kill the population with their toxic pollutants and global expansion.  

Matt Page-The Mist

The Mist is a film based on the Stephen King book appropriately named, The Mist. I sat down to watch the movie mostly for the thrill, but as the movie progressed, I began to wonder how people would really act in one of theses situations. Several dozen characters find themselves trapped in a grocery store after a military experiment gone bad unleashes a deadly mist that gives cover to giant flying insects and even scarier, bloodthirsty creatures. The drama inside the store is riveting too, as ordinary people struggle to make sense of the situation and a fearsome extremist begins preaching about the apocalypse. Although the film is clearly a work of fantasy, many of the themes it raises seem to speak directly to current events of social and political significance. The group inside the store ultimately splits in two. One group who feels the need to use common sense and wait it out in order to stay alive. The second group is those who feel God is punishing them for what they have done and feels the need to sacrifice someone each day to keep the beasts away. As I saw this, I wondered if this would actually be the situation if supernatural events like this occurred. It’s quite scary to think that people would resort to such extreme measures in times of despair. Aside from these themes throughout the film, the ending to the movie is quite possible the most surprising and shocking I have seen. But you will just have to rent it to see it. : )

Matt Page- The Lord of the Rings

Well in high school I took a class on the Lord of the Rings trilogy which related the book to movie. Also, going to a private Catholic school, we tended to point out many of the religious symbols in the movie. One of the main symbols throughout the movie was how Christ was portrayed in the characters. There is no one complete, concrete, visible Christ figure in The Lord of the Rings. He is more clearly present in Gandalf, Frodo, and Aragorn, the three Christ figures. First of all, all three undergo different forms of death and resurrection. Second, all three are saviors: through their self-sacrifice they help save all of Middle-earth from the demonic sway of Sauron. Third, they exemplify the Old Testament threefold Messianic symbolism of prophet, seen in Gandalf, priest, seen in Frodo, and king, as seen in Aragorn. The most fundamental Christian symbol is the Cross. This also is perfectly opposite to the Ring. The Cross gives life while the Ring takes it. The Cross gives you death and not power while the Ring gives you power even over death. The Ring squeezes everything into its inner emptiness while the Cross expands in all four directions, gives itself to the emptiness, filling it with its blood.

Jeff Lee - Spinal Tap

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Spinal Tap is one of my favorite movies of all time.  It is a "rocumentary" of England's lengendary Spinal Tap.  Marty DiBergi takes viewers behind the scenes for an intimate look at the band whose time has come, gone, and come back again.  This "rocumentary" is a spoof on all the hair bands of the 80's.  No hair metal band is safe from being made fun of in this movie.  Even the infamous Queen is not exempt from mockery as Spinal Tap lays down fat tracks like "Big Bottom."  The movie has become a cult classic and will continue to rock into the future.

Matt Page- The Sixth Sense

There is a lot of symbolism in this film. Some of it is obvious, like setting the film during the Halloween season. This is the mythological time when the nature god dies and awaits rebirth in the spring. Fall is the time of the dead, which is opposite the season of spring, which involves resurrection and rebirth. The establishment of a holy place or sanctuary is also an important theme in this film. The boy, Cole, seeks a place of peace from all the dead spirits and finds that place in the church. Another sense of the sacred in this film comes from the use of religious and secular icons such as little figurines of Jesus, the saints, and even plastic soldiers and puppets. Aside from these figurines being religious, they also remind the viewer of those who have passed on to the after life. People I have talked to about these films seem to fault it for its communication with the dead, but I believe is too powerful and filled with too many symbols to dismiss. The film is a fantasy, but the story is filled with important truth and crucial life issues.

Jeff Lee - Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer was a pastor, theologian, pacifist, and a Nazi Resister.  I recently watched a documentary on his life.  It was a very touching narrative on the nature of faith as well as informative.  Many interviews with friends and family give the documentary an authentic feel.  It's hard to watch this film and not become emotional.  The document explores the reason behind the German Church embracing Hitler and the Nazi Party, which gives birth to a resistance fixed on exterminating Hitler.  Bonhoeffer played a major role in the resistance but would eventually be caught and hung for conspiring to kill the Hitler.  It is a refreshing film that questions the stereotypical German conscious during the Holocaust.  One man standing firm in truth against a nation completely bewitched.

Jeff Lee - Zardoz

Quality Quotes from Zardoz:

Friend: We've all been used... 

Arthur Frayn: ...and reused... 
Friend: ...and abused... 
Arthur Frayn: ...and amused!

 

This film really caught my attention from the beginning.  A giant god head speaking and spitting out guns is unique and quite startling.  The outfits in this movie were definitely from the 70's era as men wore what looked like women's clothing.  The actors lines were quite memorable.  Lines like "Stay behind my aura!" from Zed added comedic value to a strange psychedelic movie.  The theme of immortality for the rich is not so crazy as beloved Americans like Walt Disney and many others chose to be frozen.  The idea that life never ends is central to many major religions.  Christians believe the physical body will eventually die but their spirit will continue on into eternity with Christ Jesus.  Many Hindus believe in reincarnation.  Muslims believe in a spiritual afterlife as well as the Mormons.  As crazy as Zardoz was it has redeeming value it is overall relevant theme. 

Jessie Gambardella - The Power of Grief

In the book What Dreams May Come I found an exert that relates a lot to what is taught in New Age Religions. It was also shown in the movie as well. Chris was killed in an automobile accident and still hangs around his old home trying to convince his wife Annie that he still exists. Her grief is holding him there because he does not want to leave her. Chris finally sees that he cannot change how she feels and decides to let go and move on.

“There was no way of getting to you,” [Albert] said. “You were so intent on reaching your wife.”
Chris: “I Felt I had to,” I told him. “She was so frightened.”
[Albert] nodded. “It was very loving of you but it trapped you in the borderland.”

In my research of New Age religions I found it interested that it is believed that humans ourselves are sometimes to blame for passed loved ones not moving on and as a result becoming, well, a ghost in a sense. In one book I found an account of a woman who had a dream that her dead mother came to her and told her that she was preventing her mother from moving on because she was mourning too much. The woman said she felt relieved after this dream because her mother was ok. It is strange to believe that we could have the power through our grief to prevent someone from moving on and the spirits know this. In What Dreams May Come it was Chris’s choice whether or not to move on and in the movie it was his presence that prevented Annie from moving on, but seeing her grief made him not want to leave.

Jessie Gambardella - The Church of Oprah?

I cannot help but get extremely annoyed when people misquote/misinterpret the Bible into their own meaning. While researching New Age religions/beliefs for my research paper I came upon multiple misinterpretations of passages out of the Bible. One thing I cam across was on “YouTube” about the Church of Oprah. Yup, she even has her own cultish following/religion. She claims her “enlightenment” came when she was listening to her preacher and he said “the Lord thy God is a jealous God.” This saying can be found in multiple passages throughout the bible such as Exodus 20:5 and 34:14, Deuteronomy 6:15 and 32:16, Joshua 24:19 and so on. She then states that she thought “God is jealous of me?” No Oprah, God is in no way jealous of a human such as yourself or anyone else on this planet you are an idiot and should have turned to the Bible to understand what is meant by God being a “jealous God.”

God is simply “jealous” of time that we give to other things other than him. This is very clear to see if the time is taken to read the verses in context. For example, say your significant other is always hanging out with their friends, watching tv, going out with other people, would you not be upset? Are you actually jealous of those people meaning that you want to be them? The answer is no, you are jealous of the time they spend with other people and other things rather than yourself. This type of jealousy is not a sin and is completely natural to anyone. Oprah has now infected millions with her lies and I can only hope that Americans are smart enough not to fall trap.

Rachel Conley - Zardoz

First of all, this movie was trip. It started out kind of slow, but then it got better as it went on, once Zed was caught and started causing trouble in the vortex. One of the themes of this movie is nature versus technology. To keep themselves from being influenced by the suffering and havoc occurring in the world, a group of the rich, intelligent, etc., close themselves up in a vortex and are able to become immortal due to a crystal placed in their forehead. They can die, but their bodies are regenerated and they live another life as the same person. They only age voluntarily as a punishment. The fact that the aging process is being controlled by this group is completely against nature. People are supposed to age as the years go by, not just because they are being punished for something.

Another example of going against nature are the hunters, a group which Zed is a part of. Their mission is to go around killing anyone and everyone they come across. They are instructed to do this by Zardoz, who is a giant head controlled by the leader of the vortex, who is playing God to these men. By having the group of hunters kill people, they are taking that job away from nature.

In the end, the people in the vortex long for death because they have lived so long they no longer wish to live. They are bored with live and feel that their life has no purpose because they will continue to live forever. This wanting to die leads to an interesting death scene at the end of the movie where they all beg the hunters for death, for liberation. This movie was a trip and you should see it if you weren't in class on Monday.

Rachel Conley - Pan's Labyrinth

One of the best movies I’ve ever seen is “Pan’s Labyrinth.” It is an amazingly beautiful film with a sometimes gruesome but sometimes beautiful plotline. The movie is in Spanish with English subtitles and I believe that it would not have been as powerful if it had been in English. The movie takes place in Spain during the fascist regime in 1944. There is a group of rebels refusing to surrender and a General is sent to the area to try and take them out. His pregnant wife travels to be with him there, with her daughter from a previous marriage. This daughter, Ofelia, is the main character of the story and her soul is that of the Princess of the Underworld. To prove that her soul is still intact and has not become mortal, she has to go through certain tests, which are usually dangerous.

One question that this movie raises is, is it alright to obey just for the sake of obeying? The General expects everyone around him to do what he says without asking questions. He is a cruel man who seems to take delight in torturing his enemies. At one point he has caught one of the rebels, a stutterer, and tortures him almost to death. He asks the doctor to give him something to keep him alive, but the doctor can’t do it. After being begged for death, the doctor gives the man a shot that will end his pain forever. The General is livid that the doctor disobeyed him and asks him why he did it. The doctor says, “But captain, to obey - just like that - for obedience's sake... without questioning... That's something only people like you do.” The doctor can’t obey when he knows he is doing something that is so obviously wrong and immoral. The General then shoots him in the back and kills him.

This comes up with Ofelia as well. For her last task she is supposed to bring her baby brother, who her mother died giving birth to, to the center of the labyrinth. The faun meets her there and says that to open the portal to the Underworld the blood of an innocent has to be spilled. Ofelia begins to get suspicious of the faun and refuses to hand over her brother to him. Meanwhile, the General is hunting her down because he wants his son back. He manages to find her and after he takes his son he shoots her. Ofelia falls to the ground and we see her blood fall on the portal. The movie ends with her back in the underworld and the faun telling her that the last task was a test of strength, and she passed because she refused to allow anything to happen to her brother. Instead, she gave her life to save his, the ultimate sacrifice.

The movie was very beautiful and I recommend it for anyone who is interested. It’s a fairytale for grownups. It is very violent and bloody though, just a warning.

Rachel Conley - Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism is something that has been interesting to me. The idea that God/Gods take the form of humans. I think this comes about a lot in ancient societies because the Gods play such important roles in the everyday life of the people that it makes sense for them to be human-like. If people are going to be dealing with the Gods all the time, it makes it easier if they look like humans and act like humans, even though they are definitely not human.

In the Greek myths the Gods, especially Zeus, would come down and often sleep with a human, which pretty much always produced a child. The children were sometimes divine, such as Apollo and Artemis, but not always. Also, just like humans, the Gods experienced a wide array of emotions. In Egypt, the God Seth killed his brother Osiris because he was jealous of Osiris’ power. Isis, Osiris’ wife, managed to find all the pieces of Osiris and he was brought back as ruler of the underworld. Stories like this show that the Gods experience jealousy, love, lust, anger and vengeance. The range of emotions experienced by the Gods are the same that humans feel, it’s just that the Gods feel them more intensely and can do a lot more damage than a mortal.

I think that anthropomorphism is interesting because I wonder what people would think God looked like if not like people. When people think of God, most people imagine someone that looks human, usually with the brown hair and beard, as he is depicted in many pictures. I think it’s comforting for people to believe that their God/Gods look like them and are capable of acting like them. I would imagine that it makes people feel that they can get closer to God.

Jessie Gambardella - No Better Off After Death

Doing research for my paper on the film What Dreams May Come I did extensive research on “New Age Religion” beliefs mostly on the afterlife. I read the book the movie was based on and there is one passage that made me think, “why would anyone choose to believe this?” Robert’s “Spirit Guide” Albert, is explaining to him, after Robert’s death, what it is like.

“Does a Man’s existence change in any way when he removes hi overcoat? Neither does it change when death removes the overcoat of his body. He’s still the same person. No wiser. No happier. No better off. Exactly the same. ‘Death is merely continuation at another level.’” P 76

This is the belief that a lot of "new agers" believe happens when you die. It is a religious movement where you can choose to believe certain things over others depending on what you like. This particular view of death where nothing changes makes me want to ask then what is the purpose of dying? If we only end up exactly like we were, “no better off,” then what is the point? What is there to look forward to? Now I know it sounds weird to look forward to death but let’s be honest that is where most of your time will be spent, there’s no avoiding it, so why dwell on it? I think many new agers settle on this because they try way too hard to be “realistic” and please everyone. I do agree that our bodies are just an “overcoat” to our souls which are our true essence and death is simply the removal of our body which is just a shell. But doesn’t this set our soul free? Just a thought.

Jessie Gambardella- The Great Wizard of Zardoz

Can I just say that I think Zardoz is Sean Connery’s greatest film of all time and I am glad to have been exposed to its greatness. For those that saw it probably think I am being sarcastic but I tell you I am not. I have a great appreciation for old sci-fi films probably because I grew up watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 with my guy cousins and brother so I enjoy watching old films like this that are definitely dated. The best part is that they create these films are taken seriously while they are being filmed and released but we see them now and do not appreciate them. There are films created today that will be laughed at many years from now.

There were some deep meanings behind this film such as the apathetic people who show no emotions. They are the extreme representation of a lot of people today that go through life mechanically. It is when the meaning of life is forgotten although a major part of living life is to enjoy it! The ending where the immortals beg to experience death, for their own murder even, is also very interesting. Death is the one thing they cannot experience willingly. They have what almost every person, American at least, wants; immortal youth and wealth, and yet ultimately want the one thing they have attempted to avoid.

Matt Page-There Will Be Blood

The biography of the rampant egoist is a great theme in American literature and film, from Moby Dick to The Great Gatsby to Citizen Kane. There are elements of all of them in Daniel Plainview, an indomitable American prospector-turned-oil baron in the early years of the 20th century. “There Will Be Blood” is a film is lashed together by biographical moments spanning 30 years, tracing Plainview's relationships with his adopted son and rivalry with a gawky, opportunistic evangelist, Eli Sunday. Most of the characters have biblical names and the movie is saturated with religious spectacle. Profits compete with prophets as the film traces the era's twin boom in the oil business and big-time religion. The language draws contrasts between the demonic jets of black oil and the Blood of the Lamb. The analogy between religious hucksterism and the oil business is a major theme throughout the film. Plainview is introduced to a piece of land by Eli, who ends up being more than a good fortuneteller. He continuously gets in Plainview’s way by bringing his men to church when they are supposed to be working. From this we see a feud build between the oil company and the church of God. In one in which Plainview submits to a church baptism at the hands of his rival, Eli, in order to advance his business interests. What’s incredible about this scene is Plainview’s struggle for restraint. Other aspects I found intriguing about the film are the use of music, and silence. At some points in the film, you would think you were watching a horror film with how the music creates a tense mood. Usually seen with a broad-brimmed hat jammed down in his head, eyes hooded and with a profile like a bird of prey, Plainview doesn't open his mouth for almost the first 15 minutes of the film, during which we see him as a prospector, scraping in a hole in the desert, prospecting for silver. By the end of the sequence, the prospector has shattered his leg in an accident, and dragged himself out of the pit and to an assaying office, to get his claim tested. This gives us an incredible description of his character and what we are to expect of him throughout the film. Sketchy in human motivation, heavy-handed in its symbolism, There Will Be Blood stands as an exercise in grotesque portraiture.

Matt Page-No Country For Old Men

Since No Country for Old Men has come out on DVD, I’ve seen it twice and am still unsure if I liked it or not. The film is based on a psychotic killer who seems to work for some crime agency, but at the same time works for himself. He goes around a town in Texas looking for a satchel of money that was stolen after a shootout. After seeing the movie twice I am still unsure if I like it, or even if I understand what was going on in the movie. There are really 3 stories going on simultaneously. One man who has taken the money, the killer who is out to find the money, and the sheriff who is searching for the killer. The movie is rich in symbolism, but to be honest I wasn’t really looking for the symbolism, I was tuned in for the killing and action. Throughout the movie there are many parallel’s that I noticed, but were unable to think of what they meant. One of these is the killer comes into the man’s house who took the money when he is not home. He gets the milk out of the fridge, sits on the couch and looks at his reflection in the television, which has a glare on it. The next scene is the sheriff coming into the house after the killer has left and noticing he had just missed him by the sweat on the mile. He sits in the exact same position as the killer and also looks at his reflection in the television. I wasn’t sure if this was simply good crime scene tactics, or if it was implying some other underlying theme in the film. Another parallel I noticed was when the man who takes the money has a run in with the killer and is injured badly. He crosses over into Mexico and gives a group of wandering kids money for their jacket to help cover the bleeding. Toward the end of the film the killer is involved in a car accident and is also injured badly. Two young kids on the bike come over to see if he is okay, and just like the other man, he offers the kids money for their shirts to make a sling for his broken arm. Although these may not seem very convincing parallels, the way these scenes were constructed made it seem like there was supposed to be a tie between these characters. I’m not sure if it was hinting to the fact that all three of these men had some form of evil in them or that in fact all three of these men were the same person. The reason I bring this fact up is because the ending scene is the sheriff talking about a dream he had the night before. He repeats many of the scenes throughout the movie and describes many attributes of this killer and makes it seem as if he had never heard of this man. This being the end of the film really confused me and really made me think what had gone on in the film. I really enjoyed the film, but have yet to make sense of the ending.

Nicole McLellan - "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"

I have watched the Harry Potter films more times than I can remember. I haven’t had the time to read the books yet, accept for the first and sixth book. I know, I know, shame on me for skipping around, but what can I say. Anyways, I have always found the scene between Harry and Voldemort in the Goblet of Fire to be very interesting, particularly because of the reasoning Voldemort gives Harry for his survival of the attack. Voldemort states the following to Harry:

The boy who lived. How lies have fed your legend Harry. Shall I reveal what really happened that night thirteen years ago? Shall I divulge how I truly lost my powers? It was love. You see, when dear sweet Lily Potter gave her life for her only son, she provided the ultimate protection. I could not touch you. It was old magic, something I should have forseen. But no matter, no matter, things have changed. I can touch you now!  (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2005)

I thought it was very interesting that the reason for Harry’s protection, for his escape from death, was because of his mother’s love for him which she expressed through the sacrifice of her own life. I think this is an incredible example of agape love. Jesus says in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Although I’m not suggesting that the message in Harry Potter is necessarily Christian, I would like to point out that the concepts are the same in both the film and in Christianity; sacrificial love is incredibly power. In the film, Lily Potter sacrificed her life to save her son. In Christianity, Jesus Christ sacrificed His life to save humanity. Both Lily and Christ demonstrate sacrificial or agape love that seemingly produces some sort of supernatural power to protect or save.

Rachel Conley - "The Chosen"

In Fall ’06 I took the class religions of the west, and one book I had to read for that class was Chaim Potok’s “The Chosen.” It is the story of two Jewish boys, Danny and Reuven, in 1940 who become friends after one hits the other with a baseball at their baseball game. The two boys are from different sects of Judaism, so they both are vastly curious about the way the other does things.

Their parents expect very different things of the boys. Danny is expected to take over as leader of his sect after his father, but he doesn’t want to. He is a very smart and curious boy and reads whenever he gets the chance, which he has to do in secret because his father doesn’t initially approve. Reuven is the opposite way. His father encourages him to really think about what he wants to do, but Reuven wants to be like his father and be a rabbi.

The story of the two boys and the struggles within themselves as well as with Danny and his father make this book really interesting to read. Also, this book deals with Zionism and how different the different sects dealt with a possible “homeland” for Jews. It is interesting to think that not all Jews wanted Israel to be created as a homeland. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in this topic.

Rachel Conley - The Journey Symbol

I was reading this short article about journeys as symbols and it really made me think of Heracles, mainly because I really love Greek and Roman mythology. According to this article, journey narratives usually include several aspects.

One is “the necessity of a test or tests of one’s spiritual powers and/or resolve to continue the journey to its conclusion.” This is definitely true for Heracles. Because he killed his children from his first marriage, he had to perform 12 labors. His first labor was to kill the Nemean Lion, which was not vulnerable to any weapon. I would consider this a very difficult test, and Heracles passed it with flying colors. All his labors were hard tasks that took cleverness and strength to do and several included slaying very dangerous and vicious animals.

A second aspect is “a precious object and/or person to be found and/or possessed.” This can be found in Heracles 12^th, and last task. His taskmaster, Euystheus, then demanded that Heracles retrieve the Golden Apples of Hesperides, which provided the Gods with eternal youth.

A third aspect is “guardians of the object or person who must be overcome.” Guarding the Golden Apples were a serpent and the Hesperides, which were nymps. To get the apples Heracles had to enlist the help of Atlas, one of the great Titans.

A fourth aspect if “helpers who assist the hero/pilgrim!” This was described in the previous paragraph. Atlas helped Heracles to get the apples. Also, Heracles always had the help of Athena, who had always been a friend to him. Iolaos, Heracles’ nephew, would also sometimes help him if he was around.

Anyways, reading this article about the journey symbol made me think of Heracles because I’m a big Greek mythology fan and know more about that than I do any other religion.

Rachel Conley - Northfork

I really enjoyed this movie. I thought that the plot of the child, Irwin, was sad, but also beautiful. Irwin is a very sick child who no one wants because he is not healthy. He is returned to the orphanage where he is the only child left. Everyone else in the town is leaving because the town is going to be turned into a lake. Even though Irwin is physically confined to his bed, his imagination works just fine. He dreams about meeting four angels who are looking for a missing angel, and he claims to be that missing angel. In his imagination he was fine physically and was looking for people who would love him and accept him. He has to prove to the four angels that he is in fact the missing angel so they will take him with them.

Because it is his imagination he is able to do things he can’t do in reality. He can walk, run, play and explore the world around him. In his imagination we never see him near a bed nor do we see any sign of weakness in him. Not only does he have the angels in his dreams, but there is also a strange giraffe-like creature, which would be the kind of animal one would expect in a child’s imagination.

As all this goes on in Irwin’s imagination, they are six men attempting to get the remaining residents in the town out. They were promised a new car and lakefront property if they were able to convince a certain number of people to leave. So, while most of the residents of Northfork are leaving, the priest stays and takes care of Irwin, who is dying.

I think the most poignant scene in this movie is the end, when Irwin passes away. It was very sad but at least the viewer knew that he no longer had to suffer any more. I also like to think that he went to heaven with the four other angels.

Rachel Conley -Monty Python's Life of Brian

For my paper in this class I wrote about Monty Python’s the Life of Brian and how the movie was finding the humor in bible stories and mocking extremists rather than mocking Jesus, as many people thought. It really amazes me how crazy people can get when a movie like this comes out. People protested it and tried to get it banned from theater, calling it sacrilegious and heretical. I find it amusing when people protest something like this because it just makes people want to go see it more. It’s the old rule of when you tell your child not to do something they’ll go do it just because you said not to.

The life of the main character, Brian, does parallel the life of Jesus. They are both born the same night in a stable, and the three wise men even mistake Brian for Jesus at first. Brian ends up becoming the Messiah, even though he doesn’t want to. Also, his life ends on the cross, like Jesus, except for Brian there is no coming back for death.

One of the Pythons stated that when you really look at the stories from the Bible you can see humor in many of them, and I quite agree. John Cleese brings up the story of the birth of Jesus. He talks about how no doubt after Mary assured Joseph that she had not slept with any other, but her child was the son of God, that Joseph was probably greatly relieved. Then, when Joseph went down to the pub and told his friends about they all just went “oh” and they were all appeased. Cleese makes it sound funnier than I do, but it’s a valid point. When you think about it like that it does become humorous. (The Secret Life of Brian, http://www.videosift.com/video/The-Secret-Life-Of-Brian-Monty-Pythonreligion-documentary)

The Pythons are able to make anything humorous, even death. Brian, like Jesus, ends up on a cross, dying for someone else’s cause. But, because it’s Python, all the men being crucified begin singing “always look on the bright side of life.” If one pays attention to the lyrics, it’s made all the funnier because of the upbeat tempo. I recommend this movie for anyone who hasn’t see it. It’s really funny, and it’s even funnier to think about how people were protesting against it.

Rachel Conley - what is sacred to you

One day, in my art history class this semester, our professor asked if anyone had ever been to a place that to them felt sacred. I don’t think anyone answered her question, but it really made me stop and think, and I couldn’t get the question out of my mind. Had I ever been to a place that I felt was sacred? And the answer was yes, I have. Several places, actually.

One of these places, the most depressing one, was Auschwitz. There was a monument around the crematoriums letting you know that the ashes of some of the victims had been spread around the buildings. It was standing there, in the area around the building, that I felt it was sacred ground. I don’t even know how to describe what I felt at that moment, but I felt very much that the ground was sacred and I could almost feel the pain of the people who rested there. It was very powerful experience.

Another place that I felt was sacred was the village of Pompeii, in Italy. The village was destroyed in 79 by an eruption by Mt. Vesuvius. The village has since been excavated and people can visit it. Going to Pompeii was something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time, and so I was very excited when I was actually able to go. Seeing the remains of the beautiful city I was almost able to see the Romans walking around the village, talking to their neighbors, doing chores, etc. While to me the whole village felt sacred, the feeling was especially strong at the Temples of Jupiter and Apollo. I could imagine the Romans worshipping the Gods and sacrificing to them, and it was an amazing feeling.

A third place that felt sacred to me was the Flavian Amphitheater (the Colosseum). The Romans are my favorite civilization that I’ve studied so far. I find them absolutely fascinating. When most people think of Rome, the Colosseum is one of the first things they think of. Seeing it I could well imagine the gladiatorial games and other events the Romans held there. While the Romans built so many other amazing things, the Colosseum is one of the most stunning and extraordinary. You can ask my friends, while we were approaching it I turned around every five seconds to tell them how excited I was to finally get to see it.

I think the idea of what is personally sacred to a person is very interesting. I think that everyone should really give it thought as some point or another because I feel it can really tell something about someone’s personality.

Matt Page

Although I was unable to go to the movies with the class, I was able to see the film on my own time and found it to be quite interesting. Being a math major and taking many probability classes specifically centered on gambling, I was quite interested to see how math would be employed in the movie. I though the film did a good job of displaying how the scheme was carried out since it was based on a true story. I had heard stories of how MIT and other universities have put teams like this together in order to try and “take down Vegas”, and know that these groups were also red flagged from all casinos. The main problem with this scheme today is that casinos have employed a new tactic to rid users from counting cards. The boot, or what the cards are dispensed from first contained four decks, which would make it difficult to count, but not impossible. They later increased that number to eight decks in hopes of eliminating anyone from counting cards. In today’s time, casino’s have increased this boot size to twelve decks, which when computed mathematically, gives you an extremely large number of combinations possible. However, I’m sure there will be some group that will find some way around this tactic that will allow them to beat the house, but as we all know…the house always wins!!

Matt Page- Zardoz

So, to be honest, this film pretty much blew my mind. I wasn’t too sure to laugh at some points or just sit in awe at what was going on. Any film that opens with a floating stone head declaring "The penis is evil! The gun is sacred!" is definitely not your daddy's Flash Gordon adventure. Throw in Sean Connery in a red loincloth/diaper outfit and a bevy of English actresses who are almost constantly losing their tops and you've got one strange night at the movies. Although there were these moments that made you scratch your head, I saw many moments that not only carried much symbolism, but some scenes that could be thought of so abstractly that it made it difficult for me to understand fully what was going on. One theme that seemed evident toward the end of the film was that of the genesis seen in the bible. We see the vortex destroyed but also a new beginning with the rebirth of a new civilization. Also one of the themes we have seem throughout many films semester are certain individuals playing god. It seems that in this movie we see the biggest consequence. First those in the vortex are given eternal life, which eventually turns out to be a curse to the civilization. They lose many of the senses they once had and actually begin to want death brought upon them. In the end the barbarians kill them and their civilization is brought to an end. Overall, I thought the film was an excellent way to end the semester.

Matt Page-Pink Floyde-The Wall

To me, it seems like the reason the main character (Pink) is detached is due to his experiences growing up. We see at the beginning of the movie that his father was killed during WWI when he was still a young boy, which is tragic to anyone, especially a kid. It seems from this point on Pink begins constructing his own wall. We see his setting his father’s cartridges on a railroad before he is caught by a teacher as the scene switches to Pink’s school where he is humiliated for writing poems. Pink also seems effected by his mother, who seems to try and lower his sexuality, which we see through some of the insane animations. We see Pink eventually marry and become a rock star. However, his marriage doesn’t seem to last as his wife cheats on him. Finally Pink seems to complete his wall when we goes on a rampage in his room, destroying everything and separating himself from the outside world. He then locks himself in his hotel room and gives birth to his fascist alter ego as he uses a razor blade to cut off his body hair. Once Pink injected with drugs to help him snap out of his trance, he begins to hallucinate which leads to a judge being portrayed as a butt with a wig on telling Pink to tear down his wall. Therefore, it seems Pink is purposely trying to separate himself from society due to his experiences. However, when he feels the need to reconnect, is doesn’t seem to accept him.

Matt Page-Northfork

To me, Northfork was a different movie than ones we have seen thus far. If you try to watch the move for face value, you’re sure to be confused. I personally had to stop and think about the meaning of the images to figure out what they meant as a whole. Some of the symbols I picked out in the film ranged from Bibles to angels and even arks sitting in the middle of nowhere.

A group of men in the film are hired to make sure that all of Northfork’s residents leave their house before the flood. The idea of Northfork’s leaders flooding their own town shows that human progress has reached a point where man not only builds, but can destroy as well. Also, this destruction may be necessary in order to build something better. In reality, it is a cycle that has helped transform the world from small settlements into the crazy metropolitans and cities we have today. However, one thing that is important to ask is when does progress go to far and how much change is too much? This to me seemed to be the meditation of Northfork. Although these questions may not be immediate threats, but in our future they will have to be addressed.

Matt Page-The Jacket

One of the things I noticed about the character played by Knightly was that when we see her grown up she seems to be real uncomfortable or agitated all the time. The reason I thought this was because throughout the movie she always seemed to have something near her mouth, whether it be a cigarette or a drink (which was probably passed on from her mom), or when these two weren't available, she seemed to have her fingers up to her mouth.

However, when Jack gives the letter to her mom and has everything changed, we see her completely changed. We see her driving more of a chicks car, the VW, as compared to an old SUV, she seems much more comfortable with herself, and she has a much better relationship with her mother. I honestly still am unsure if Jack lives at the end of the movie, but I interpreted the ending to show one sacrificing their own life for the betterment of others.

The last quote of the movie was Jackie asking "How much time do we have?" Do you think this meant they had all eternity to spend together, or once Jack actually died in the jacket, he would be gone?

Shawn Gaston - "One Nation under God"

Religion is a very touchy subject because of the belief that schools are institutions that contain innocent young minds that are vulnerable to doctrination. Throughout the years, religion in education has become less and less prominent mainly due to the interpretation of church and state. Prayer in schools has to be voluntary by the students, not initiated by the teachers; therefore, many schools have a moment of silence each day. In some schools, it is not mandatory for students to salute the American flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance because of the statement “One Nation under God”.
There are two clauses that help explain the relationship between government and education. The Established clause states that the government will not establish a state religion to limit discrimination between the states; therefore it prohibits schools from indoctrinating religion. The other clause is the Free Exercise clause which states the government will not interfere with the peoples freedom to worship;
therefore, prayer and religious practices are allowed in schools as long as the student initiates it.
Making sure no religion is initiated by schools has become rather extreme. Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is not a religious activity; it is being patriotic and supportive to the United States. Because it is not a religious gesture, why is it necessary to make it optional to recite or remove it from school activities altogether? There is a multitude of religions practiced throughout the U.S. It
would be a good idea to teach optional religion courses in high school, and possibly even junior high, to give students the ability to gain greater knowledge about different religions.

Shawn Gaston - "FLDS"

The Texas Department of Health and Family Services removed over 100 children from a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) sect in San Angelo, Texas and is placing them into foster care. Abuse and arranged marriages for girls as young as 13 were supposedly taking place at the Yearning for Zion (YFZ) Ranch, although the allegations of abuse were denied by members of the sect. The older men of the sect who had sexual relations with the females under the age of 17 are in violation of Texan law banning sex with a minor and also the bigamy law (entering into one marriage before a current marriage is dissolved). Due to the nterrelations between sex partners, the family trees within the sect were intertwined; DNA is being taken from the children and the adults to try to match relatives. Historically, polygamy was accepted among Christianity and Judaism along with Islam and Muslims. However, present-day Christians and Jews frown upon and have prohibited it, while Islam and Muslims still continue with the practice, though they do not encourage it.
Personally, I believe polygamy should be outlawed. Marriage is defined as “a union between one man and one woman”. What the FLDS did at the YFZ Ranch was wrong. They went against the views of the majority of various religions, and also violated U.S. law. What bothers me the most, however, is that they were forcing adolescent
girls into marriages with men who were sometimes twice their age. If people are not viewed as being capable to vote before the age of 18, how can they be viewed as being able to commit to a life long union with a person they didn’t have the choice to be with in the first place?

Shawn Gaston - "The Butterfly Effect"

I love movies that really make you think and this is most definitely one of them. The butterfly effect is about a college student named Evan and when he would read from his adolescent journals he was actually able to travel back in time and redo parts of his past. He would almost always go back to painful memories and try to make them better. As he continues to do this, he realizes that even though his intentions are good, the actions he takes always have unintended consequences. Like he tried to save his dog’s life and some how that made everything else in his life go wrong like his girlfriend hated him and his friend tried to kill him. Then he would go back and try and fix something else and that would fix the initial problem but cause even more negative consequences. He got so frustrated because he could never catch up with himself something he changed would be a cause and effect for the next. After watching this movie I was able to relate it to every day life. We don’t always know why things happen in our lives but they have some sort of reason and rippling effect on what is going to happen down the road. God is the only one who knows why things happen the way they do. Next time something bad happens like you get a flat tire or run out of gas just think maybe if that hadn’t happened you could have been in a huge car accident and killed a mother and her child. Or something as simple as a baseball player striking out at the plate, that action might just cause the pitcher to throw a fastball and the next batter to hit a winning homerun. You don’t know the reasoning but like Evan learned in this movie everything that happens, happens for a reason whether you know it or not. So I believe we must trust in God’s decisions and take everything that comes to us and make the best of us instead of always wondering what if I had done this differently.

Shawn Gaston - "Stop Loss"

This movie was incredible portrayal of what is really happening in the war today. I’m going to start off by saying that I am a Republican who has supported the choice from the beginning to protect our country and fight back against the people who attacked us on September 11th. However at the same time know a lot of soldiers that are overseas fighting this war and I pray every night for peace on earth. This movie was the story of a brave soldier who had completed many missions in the war against Iraq and had to see many of his fellow brothers injured and killed in battle. He finally got out and was so happy to come home and be with his family and friends in Texas. Then he got Stop Lossed, the stop-loss policy has often been called the “backdoor draft.” It’s a policy that allows any branch of the military to involuntarily extend the time of any of its enlisted members. Used on thousands of troops since 9/11, soldiers who are due to go home could get reassigned another tour of duty without their consent. He couldn’t believe that after everything he had went through he was being sent back over when he thought he was done. This opened my eyes to what was really happening in this war. He fled the state and ran to avoided being sent back. I can’t blame him, if I were in the position I would be just as anger and upset. In the end of the movie he ends up coming home saying goodbye to his family and friends again agreed to live out his duty. The fact that this story is not just a movie but that it is happening today is such a frightening concept. God is present in each and every American Citizen that is willing to give their time and hearts to protecting this country and taking the risk that they may have to give the ultimate sacrifice of all, their lives. Even a man that had been promised his freedom from war sometimes must return. Most say that they fight for their families and friends but that it is the power and love of God that gets them through the roughest of times. They did show God presence in the movie, it showed the prayers that were prayed while at war. One of the soldiers preached to everyone and baptized his fellow men. I like how they didn’t hide God like some movies do but actually showed how much of an impacted He has on the soldiers fighting this war.

Shawn Gaston - "Bruce Almighty"

I loved this movie and thought it was hilarious but that it also had a good lesson in it and I wanted to explore the deeper meaning. Bruce is just a regular guy who works for a television news show, he lives in a nice apartment and has a great girl friend. Then all of a sudden things start to go bad and his life starts throwing him curve balls. He loses his job for letting his anger get the best of him and then he starts fighting with his girlfriend and she threatens to leave him. He becomes very bitter and turns that anger towards God, blaming him for everything that is happening to him. God decides to teach him a lesson and turns over his powers to Bruce. When Bruce figures out what happened he is so happy he uses all his powers to his advantage. Plays jokes that he thinks are hilarious at others expense. He uses this power to get his girlfriend back and not his heart. He uses it to get his job back and impress his boss. He begins realizes that his decisions are affecting so many other people than just himself. He answers everyone’s prayers with a “yes” because he thinks this will make everyone happy. Well this decision back fires and people start winning the lottery, acing all their tests, getting undeserved promotions at work ect… He then calls out to God and apologizes for ever getting mad and blaming Him. His job is a lot harder than Bruce ever thought it could be and he no longer wanted to bear all that responsibility. This is a great lesson because I think a lot of us Christians sometimes think that God isn’t listening because he doesn’t answer all our prayers. He lets bad things happen to us and it’s hard to understand why. But I have really come to learn that God has a reason for everything that happens. He knows what is meant to come of your life and he will lead you the right way if you let him. You could get really mad that you lost your job and blame Him for not taking care of you but He knows that there is something better out there for you to find further down the road that you never would have if you didn’t get fired in the first place. This lesson is portrayed really well in this movie using comedy! The writers and actors used a funny story line to act out a very serious message and I would hope that a lot of people really took it for its mean as well as enjoying its wit and humor.

Shawn Gaston - "The Bucket List"

I loved this movie; I saw it in theaters when it first came out. It is about two men Carter Cole (Morgan Freeman) and Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) who are terminally ill cancer patients sharing a hospital room. They are total opposites but join and instant and intimate relationship, partially because they are going through the exact same thing. They decide in the last year or so they have on earth that they want to create a bucket list of all the things they want to do before they “kick the bucket.” So the two of them check out of the hospital and travel around the world checking off things from their list. There wish list includes things like race car driving, sky diving, climbing the Pyramids, and going on lion safari in Africa. Along the way they discuss faith and family, and learn from each other even though it was really hard for both of them to open up. I think this was a very inspirational movie with a message about life, a message about living intentionally and with purpose. A lot of people are faced with such unfortunate sicknesses such a cancer and this movie showed a positive way of how two men dealt with their diseases. It has been a very long time that I have witnessed an audience so moved by a mainstream movie.

Shawn Gaston - "Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe - Narnia"

I took my nine and twelve year old cousins to see Narnia The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe a few years ago and thought it would be a fun movie for them to see but I ended up really enjoying it myself. There were so many hidden parallels to the bible that really makes it worth seeing as an adult. This movie started as a children’s novel written by C.S. Lewis in 1950. The story is about four children Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy who were sent to live in a country house with a professor to escape the blitz happening in London during WWII. The children decide to play hide and go seek and Lucky hides in a wardrobe. They then discovered that the door is a portal to a snow covered forest also known as Narnia. They children have many adventures in this land where they have to learn who is evil and how protect the good. They meet many interesting characters which are indirectly symbolizing different biblical people. For example the lion Aslan in the movie plays a part that parallels Jesus Christ. The story takes inspiration from the Gospel themes of betrayal, death, resurrection and redemption as well as touching on the trinity concept. Although most children will not understand all of the parallels by themselves I think it is a very good teaching tool. Children love these kinds of movies and if you tell them how Jesus acted like the lion Aslan with specific examples it would be a much better way for them to grasp the Christian concepts. I also think it is a great movie for adults to see, they can try to figure out the hidden meanings and parallels as they are watching.

Shawn Gaston - "Final Destination"

This is a great movie that makes you thinking about death in a different way. The movie starts with a high school French class getting on a plane taking to take a trip to Paris. Alex is a student and the main character, he has a premonition that this flight, Flight 180 will explode. Making a scene before take-off, he and six other people get off the plane and witness the disaster actually happening, the entire class left on the plane was killed. Afterwards, the survivors of the crash start to die mysteriously. Alex soon realizes that they cheated death, and death has come back to kill them. His only choice is to team up with the other survivors as they try to cheat death. Alex figures out the order they would have been killed on the plan and then determines that it’s the same order death would come after them. Every time someone is about to be killed Alex senses death presence and has a chance to save them. Although he no body believes him he is able to save a few lives, but then comes to realize they are just skipped and put at the end of the list to come back to. At the end of the movie Alex and the only two other survivors take a trip to Paris to remember everyone that was killed and Alex feels death again. The movie ends with Alex’s friend Carter being killed so only Alex and one of his fellow survivors Clear are left alive by the end of the movie. This movie leads you to believe that everyone has a predestined time in their life when they are supposed to die. And when somehow you save yourself or someone else from death it’ll come after you and find away to kill you. This is a really crazy story line. Although I don’t believe that death comes after you if you escape death I do believe that you need to trust that God has a plan for you life. And when someone close to you is killed it is because God had a plan for them and it needed to be fulfilled.

Jessie Gambardella - Christ in "I Am Legend"

Brandon brought up a good point in his blog about “I Am Legend” and I want to explore it a bit more. I had not really thought about comparing Will Smith’s character, Robert Neville, to Christ but the similarities are everywhere in the movie. Humans found the cure for cancer that ultimately turned into a deadly disease that only 1% of the human population was immune to. For starters let’s say the disease/virus is sin which really was brought onto earth by people. In the movie it was a woman who created it which parallels with people believing Eve to have brought sin into the world (although Adam was standing right there but that is a different dispute).

Robert wanted to begin his research in finding a cure at what he called “ground zero” because that is where the outbreaks began and where thousands were infected. Christ constantly put himself in similar situations constantly surrounding his self with sinners in attempts to “rescue” them from their selves. Because the infected zombies/vampires are the sinners or non-believers of the world then the remaining 1% who are immune represents the believers. They are persecuted (and/or eaten) by the sinners (or zombie-vampires) and yet Christ (aka Robert/Will Smith) still tries to save them even though they do not realize it.

In the end (spoiler alert) it is blood that is the cure; although it is not Robert’s blood ultimately he did create it and is the reason for its existence. Robert ultimately sacrifices his life (major Christ parallel here) to save those that are trying to kill him. Brandon points out a line in the movie saying, I believe by Robert that “the sure is in the blood.” It is then up to the remaining 1% (believers) to spread the cure (The Message) using the blood (representation of Christ’s sacrifice) around the world to save people from the virus (sin).

Brandon Duke "Movie Class"

I enjoyed this class. I must admit that some of the movies were weird to me and I had trouble appreciating them. But, all in all, it beat a lot of classes that I have taken in college.

A couple of my favorite movies were Apocalypse Now, The Jacket, Big Fish, The Thin Red Line. Eternal Sunshine,

I really enjoyed Apocalypse Now I am not sure why but it sticks out to me more than most. I think I really like narration in a movie. That is why The thin red line was so powerful. It gives you an inside perspective to the movie and effects you in a deeper way.

All in all this class was a great class. I only regret that we didn't watch horton hears a who instead of 21. Cause i think that movie had more parallels.

Brandon Duke "Blade Runner" 4/28

I did not write an essay on this so I figured it was free game for the blog. I am still not sure what I thought about this movie. I go back and forth with whether it was good or not. I mean I think they had a great story line and stuff but there was a missing link in it for me.

I think it is because it tried to do to much and ended up not doing enough. Unlike "the thin red line" which focused most of the energy on a poetic approach and "saving private ryan" which dealt more with realism. I think this movie tried to combine the two and it didn't work.

It should have either picked one or the other. In my opinion the poetic would have fit better and worked more. Which is what i think they were trying to do. I don't know something didnt work.

Brandon Duke "Step into Liquid"

This is the first surf movie that I ever saw. So, i have a connection with it. I really like this film because it shows all different types of surfing. It is different from the other surf films that I watch because it is less an artistic endevor as it is a documentary. However, the people that they interview are amazing to watch and listen too.

The movie travels all over the world showing different places people surf. The swell ranges from wind waves at the great lakes to 66 foot waves 100 miles off any coast line. (that one is sick the swell is caused by and underwater sea mountain). The movie shows how this common thing links all of these different people together. It is a great movie and a blast to watch.

Brandon Duke "Step into liquid vs. other movies"

Most of the surf movies that I watch are shot with a 16mm camera. It is amazing the feel that this film gives to the movie. It just fits and works. "step into liquid" uses more cutting edge technology that does not capture the essence of the wave or the ride. Somehow the 16mm comes the closest to really representing what is happening on the wave.

Most of the films are filled with sections where the surfers paint up an old car or broken down trailer or something. It is cool to see there pursuit of changing something discarded to a piece of art. This is represented in "step into liquid" when 3 surfers surf in Ireland. The natives look at the ocean as something that is cold and dead and these surfers bring it to life.

Brandon Duke "Church on the 27"

So at church yesterday the pastor talked about jonah and ninivah and how Ninivah did what the Godly people are supposed to do and how Jonah did what the sinners are suppose to do. He said that the book is filled with irony.

The dude was a great speaker and story teller and really made you pay attention to him. He had a really good message and tied it into how Christians "Float" because cause they just keep themselves in safe little bubbles.

This really paralleled what I have been reading in Shane Claiborne's book "the irresistible revolution" I am at a point now of trying to figure out what to do about it all. I just don't want to passively live. I want my life to mean something.

Brandon Duke- "21" 4/19

I liked this movie. After i got home i got on the computer and looked up the real MIT crew. Apparently they have produced a number of different black jack players. A couple that are still doing their thing undercover.

The whole thing is just crazy. The thing that got me was that online they said that counting cards only gives you like a 3% advantage over the house. They said that is enough to clean them out. But sometimes it bites you, just like it did in the movie.

I really like the idea of beating the system though. I think i would try something like that if i had the brains. But I hate vegas so i dont know. It way to dark and dirty for me. The whole risk factor and rush thing appeal to me though. I think it would be fun doing the whole code thing with your heart beating all fast.

all in all good movie, although i would have rather seen "horton hears a who" but whateva

Brandon Duke- "I am Legend" 4/20

I know that the blog directions said that we were suppose to do outside readings, but since this is a movie class I thought that outside movies would be alright too. I watched this movie almost three times and I really liked it. When it came out, I was like, what another zombie movie? And actually had no intentions of seeing it. My roommate had a copy and one night I had nothing to do so I sat down.

For real I thought it was good. Not overly gory and horrific, just enough suspense, Will Smith always does a good job, and it had a great ending. Not only that but a great message was rolled up into the film. The dialogue and symbolism about Bob Marly was great. And the tie to "light in the darkness" was exactly what Smith's character was doing.

The parallels to Christianity were amazing. One of the sickest lines, at the end, was "the cure is in the blood". That is just like Christ's blood. I don't want to spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it. Just know that it is awesome

Brandon Duke- "Troy" 4/20

I enjoyed this movie a lot and I think that it has great parallels to life and religion. One of my favorite lines is when Pitt's character says that the God's envy us because every breathe could be our last and it makes it that much sweeter. I think that a part of this is true. Some things in life are better because they are only enjoyed for a moment. To be in a state on constant eating for instance would not be good. But food taste so much better when you have not had some in a long time.

However, I don't know how much of his line was for real and how much of it was just trying to get in that Apollo temple girl's pants. Because it seems that his whole goal is to be immortalized and remembered. The gods have that down pretty good. Both things can not coexist. It seems that given the two options Pitt would rather be a god.

But maybe he is just tired of fight but wants to be remembered as a fighter. I just think there is way to much emphasis on what people think about you. Pitt although the freaking man in Troy seems like he is still in high school wanting to be the popular kid. At some point you have to grow up and not care what everyone around you thinks.

Brandon Duke "Surfboards"

I have been looking a lot at surfboards the last couple of days. I had some good surfing at the end of last week with some friends and it made me want a new board. Well maybe "it" did not make me want a new board..."i" could just want a new board.

However, I went into a store and they had the most beautiful boards I have seen close up. And I wondered, who in the world would put wax on these things and go out risking a ding or messing them up. They are so beautiful right now. They should just be put on a wall or something.

That is a lot like life though, especially with our emotions and heart. We hold them so close and protect them so much that we don't live life. At some point you have to wax the thing up and take that beautiful board out and risk messing it up. Yeah it might get ding, but it is fun. Just looking at the thing is nice but it is not as much fun as riding it.

Same with emotions. It is nice not being hurt. But life is fun and it needs to be lived.

Brandon Duke- "Surfboards" 4/20

I was looking at videos and pictures of this guy making custom boards. It is amazing how much time and energy goes into one of these. It is an awesome artwork to see them produce a board.

A lot of it is pain staking work. Like it takes a long time to shave the foam down to the size and shape they want and then after that they have to sand it then put fiberglass on it.

Some of the big dogs from back in the day. Only make one board a week and can live of that because the boards are so expensive and sought after. How sick of a life is that. You chill at your own pace make a board and surf the rest of the time or just chill out with family and friends.

that is so sick. I need something like that. Just a little responsibility and a lot of fun. And the responsibility part is fun already so basically my life would be amazing.

Brandon Duke- "Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church"

This is a book that I am reading for my senior sem class. The book deals with the new movement that is mixing Christianity and postmodernism. In the book he gives this argument that postmodernism channels the discussion into a deceptive "antithesis" where humans know something as a whole or completely OR since they don't there is no knowledge.

I think this idea is common to a lot of thinkers. The end result of this is of course that no knowledge is possible because no body can no everything about anything. But why can't we know something even if it is a little bit. Does the fact that I don't know everything else really mean that I don't know something.

I feel like this is the big question in epistemology. Like the whole brain in vat thing and skeptics. Or that you see that you have hands but do you know that you have hands. Do i have to know everything in order to know that i have hands? if so then no i dont know i have hands...but i feel like i know..yup there they are typing.

Brandon Duke "Tattoos" 4/20

I have always been fasinated with tattoos. I don't think i will ever get one but i like the fact that other people do. It is like, how you want someone to have a sweet gross haircut but you wouldn't want it. Or how everyone tries to get someone to grow a mustache but you wouldn't.

I just don't like the idea of on me for the rest of my life. That is some commitment. I wish they could do tattoos that went away in a year or something Or could be removed way easier and cheaper.

I just don't think i could stop if i started. then i would wake up one morning and have like one whole arm done. Plus, you are putting a lot of trust in the artist. What if they are having a bad day. That is not really an easy fix all of the time. And have you ever typed in "stupid tattoos" in the internet. That just makes you not want one cause they are really really stupid and on those people forever.

Brandon Duke - "super hero"

Ok so i used to watch a lot of cartoons when i was a kid. My favorite show was probably X men. I don't like the movies as much as the cartoon mainly because they left out the best character (Gambit). But any way....I think the sweetest super hero is Batman because he is just a regular billionaire who does work on some bad guys. He is just flat out straight human and he still is like the freaking man.

It must be nice having mad bank to make all of those toys to kill and injure people in the name of justice. I mean that just sounds like fun. But if you had to ask me if i could be a super hero who would i be i mean you have to go with superman. I only freaking weakness the guy has is that some random rare as crap rock hurts him. YOu could shoot batman in the face and he is done and most other superhero's for that matter or blow them up or drown them. Superman would just be chillin. Like oh what you can't find that random green rock oh yeah well bam.

Plus he can fly. I mean that is just sweet.

Brandon Duke "The Wall" 4/19

Wow...umm..what the crap, was my first reaction. But to be honest this movie was beautiful in a very messed up way. I look at it as crap that was made into art. Beautiful..but something just aint right.

The imagery in this movie was insane and a little to sexual for me. It actually kinda freaked me out because it was so dark. However, i felt like it really put emotion into sound and picture very well. I could almost feel what he was feeling. That is probably why i didnt like it.

I could appreciate it though..but like i said it got a little to sexual and dark for me.

It was just a hopeless movie. There was no way out of his hole. Very sad and depressing. I dont really want to watch it ever again. Especially if i am sad cause that would just suck.

Brandon Duke "The Jacket" 4/19

This movie was sick. I really liked it. However, i am confused about the main characters actions directed toward the doctor and the treatment. I think it is weird how he recognizes the importance of the "treatment" yet seems to hate the doctor and the people who work there.

I mean i know that the people are horrible people, but he seems to be craving the "treatment" almost like a drug or something. It seems that he would have a little respect for the creator of it or maybe just the assistant of it (it seems like the morgue things has a mind of its own that even the doc didnt understand)

I mean if it wasn't for the doc. then the main character couldn't have done what he did with the girl. I am not saying that the doc is a great guy i am just saying give credit where credit is due.

Rachel Conley - Importance of the Gods to the Greeks

The Greeks are a people I’ve always been fascinated with, and one thing that is vastly important to them is their religion. It factors into every aspect of their life, private and public. Because their religion is so vital in all aspects of their lives, the Gods are very important to the Greeks. Each city has a founder God or hero, like in Athens it was Athena. There are temples to numerous Gods in each city because different Gods played different roles in society.

Whenever the Spartans were about to do battle, they would sacrifice to the Gods to help them during the fight. The Greeks believed that the Gods would actually fight on the battlefield with them, as happens in Homer’s Illiad. In the Illiad the Gods fight next to mortals as well as cheer them on. No man is a match for a God, so of course both sides want the Gods fighting with them.

Another way the Greeks show their belief in the Gods is through festivals. There are many of them in the Greek world and can very depending on which city they happen in. Cities will often have their own festivals for whichever Gods they worshiped the most. During these festivals, the Greeks were loath to do anything to disturb the activities, even if there was imminent war.

Another thing that greatly affected the Greeks was sacrilege against the Gods, which happened quite a bit in ancient times. The Greeks felt that if they somehow betrayed the Gods then they would be punished. Things they could do to anger the Gods were to break an oath, because they were always sworn to the Gods. Another thing that happened quite a few times was killing people on sacred ground. These things were sacrilegious and the Greeks believed that if they did these things the Gods would punish them severely, sometimes with the destruction of their city. The Greeks and their Gods are fascinating.

Rachel Conley - C.S. Lewis, “Myth Became Fact”

In this excerpt by C.S. Lewis, he claims that a man named Corineus claims that no one can truly believe in historic Christianity because it is so barbaric. I believe that he is both right and wrong. As times progress, people interpret doctrines differently to fit with the times, but people also continue to believe some of the same things. As Lewis talks about, the death of Jesus is one of those things that Christians still believe in, even though it is fact that Pontius Pilate had a man, presumed to be Jesus, crucified. The commandments are another thing that Christians still use in their original form.

As time goes by I believe that everything has to change to keep up with modern times, which is something discussed in this essay. Lewis mentions that as time went by certain ideas pertaining to religion and/or Christianity changed. He mentions that in talking about groups like the Epicureans, paganists, etc. He says that even though ideas like theirs come and go, there is one thing that doesn’t change, and that is the myth of Christianity. According to Lewis, this myth is the death of Jesus. He says that this myth is also fact. In my own personal definition, a myth is a story that explains how something came to be. The death of Jesus would fit this because his death allowed for people to be forgiven of their sins. Even though it is fact that a historical person was crucified, presumably Jesus, it is still myth, and this is what Lewis stresses.

Brock Hughes. Outside Reading

I am reading this other book called The Call To God’s Destiny. It is about passing different tests that will allow you to fill God’s destiny in your life. This isn’t about those tests and what they are but more about a specific passage that was in the text that talked about faith. One question I think many people have is what is the relationship of faith to works? Well I don’t think this is an easily answered question but it did start to try to explain the relationship in this book. Basically, it stated that faith produces obedience. I never really understood the concept of that actually happening. I really never understood why obedience and actions were even important in Christianity, because basically we are not judged on our actions, but I now see how important it is that obedience is present.

This is something that doesn’t exactly make sense still but it can be broken down even more. Basically if one has obedience than they have God’s presence, if one has God’s presence then they are in God’s favor. Obedience is important because it proves that we are pursuing God and a relationship with Jesus Christ. For instance, disobedience costs the presence of God, and specific examples are Cain, Adam, and Eve. All of these people fell out of the favor of God because they were disobedient to His command. However, we are called to be obedient but if we are not, we just need to repent and we can regain the presence of God. How amazing is that, He knows we are going to screw up and all we have to do to be back in His favor is to ask for forgiveness, wow.

Brock Hughes. Easter

This past Saturday was Easter. While at Church, scenes from the movie The Passion and another movie about the crucifixion of Christ were shown. During these powerful scenes I was able to really relate to Jesus on a personal level. It is really hard when one just reads the Bible or hears about Jesus to really see Him as a person who actually suffered tremendous pain while on the cross. Another really powerful thing that occurred to me was the love that others had for Him. Both His mother and Mary were torn apart and many of His disciples were the same way (not just because they betrayed Him). It is just really interesting to think about Jesus as a person. I feel as though most of the times people only think of Him as almost a mythological thing that might exist and might not. But something that really just stands for something and we can learn from the idea of what He lived for; not truly what He lived for.
I also feel like the Spirit of God is a tricky thing, I guess it would be the Holy Spirit. If one seems to be too good for it or not open to it then it is very easy to miss the presence all together. However, I feel as though if one really opens their heart to allow it to move through them, then one will experience that feeling or presence. I think most of the times what really turns people off from Christianity is that they cannot simply see God or His angels. It was really funny at Church on Sunday. The pastor made a remark about possibly why God doesn’t reveal angels and spirits to use more often. He said something to the effect of, “the 100 guards at Jesus’ tomb, who were all cut up and strong like those guys from that movie 300, saw one angel and were paralyzed in fear. How do you think you would handle it?” This was just a really cool quote to me cause it shows the power of god and His angels, and really makes me not want to be on His bad side

Brock Hughes. Reading of Sex God

I am reading the book Sex God and if only it was about what it sounds like it is about. This book in one of the chapters is about connection. It is about connections to each other that makes our lives importance and gives meaning. It talks about the idea that people do not feel complete by just going out and having countless numbers of physical relationships. One needs a connection with someone else in order to feel fulfilled. The connection I think is found in God. There is a verse in the Bible that talks about a rope of three chords are stronger than a rope with only two chords. This middle chord is God and if the two outside chords, the people, both believe in God and center their relationship around Him; then their relationship will be stronger and they will feel more connected because they are not so concerned with themselves.

These connections that are felt can also work in very negative ways. For instance, many people who do not believe in God and more specifically hold a grudge against the Church, do so not because the Church did something wrong to them but because a specific member of the Church has done a wrong against them. This feeling of being wronged by someone who believes in asking for forgiveness drives them away from that person’s religion because they do not feel that they have been treated fairly or apologized to. I think this is really important because with all religious disputes, there is normally at the heart of it, a dispute based on the treatment of one religion by another religion. Based on the broad generalization of these people being tied to separate religions, breeds fury against that person’s religion and then action against that person and their religion is taken out against the person.

Child Development

Matt Boykin:
While studying for my final in child development i noticed how often religion is seen as a secondary factor of development and almost never mentioned in theories. Science is always the explanation for why something happens, for example the development of the mind is never enhanced by elements of any godly intervention. Much of development over the hundreds of years is determined to be by the process of evolution. I do believe that certain species evolve to adapt to their surroundings but I also believe there is a unbelievable area of evolution. This also brought to mind the creation myth. Science tries to explain creation as just happening from dust and as a natural way of the universe. I find it hard to believe with just looking around that it all came from dust colliding in space.

Northfork: Matt Boykin

This film was one of the more interesting films of the semester. i have never seen angels depicted in this manner before in any other film. I found it ironic that the angels arrived at the beginning of the movie when the town was opening the damn that was forcing hundreds of people to move from land the had been on for generations. And also that they left as soon as the last occupant of the land was checked off as vacated.
One of the angels had the distinct ability to receive and write down the word of god. And another had special hands so that he could examine certain items and tell many things about it. These angels were definitely far from the normal white fluffy wings and halos depicted in many stories. This movie also was similar with wings of desire in the idea that angels were not perfect and longed for something they did not have rather than be contempt with their life.

21: Matt Boykin

The movie 21 follows the story of a young man who is desperate to earn money for his education and turns to the opportunity of gambling which present itself. He is talked into doing something that casinos try to stop but it is not considered illegal "counting cards". His initial intentions are to try to gain a scholarship in a respectful manner. When he goes to interview for the scholarship he is told there needs to be something that makes him stand out. His eventual story is almost overwhelming to his interviewer.
He does take up an offer to run a game on casinos in Las Vegas with other students and a professor. During his clime of fame and success he is eventual overwhelmed and backlashes against the man who taught him the system. In doing this he is dropped and betrayed by the one who taught him his new skill.
The one thing that stood out the most to me would be the idea of karma. What goes around comes around is a specific theme of this movie. The main character completely blows off his very close friends for his new more entertaining friends and is eventually cut out of a project at the last moment that he had been working on for a long time. Also the professor who betrayed the students also was dealt with swiftly and received his karma when he himself was double crossed by the main character.

Helots Of Sparta: Matt Boykin

While doing research for another class i recognized the importance of the slave class of people known as the helots. Helots is a term that refers to the specific group of people that are ruled by the Spartans.
The helots not only played a pivotal role in the early success of the Spartans but also were a thorn in their side. The Spartans always feared a complete dedication of sending soldiers far from home with the helots in their rear. There have been a numerous amounts of revolts recorded by ancient text writers. And it was one of these revolts after a great earthquake in Greece allowed for them to take advantage of the Spartans.
What also caught my attention was the role that the helots would take in the destruction of the Spartan society. It is hard to believe that the ultimate warriors of Greece were defeated due to a slave class, but it is what happened.
During the later years of the Spartan world, Thebes was a strong power that simply walked to Sparta's door and freed the Helot slaves. With the helots freed the Spartans had no source of income of resources or currency. So the Spartans were eventually dried up by the class which they persecuted for hundreds of years.

The Jacket: Matt Boykin

The film the jacket was a very good example of axis mundi, the connection between the spiritual world and earth. During the film it was a small confined space in the morgue that was his axis mundi. When he was put into his confined quarters not only did he loose some of his mental stability but also gain the ability to travel time and different dimensions. Jack Starks is submitted to a experimental drug while he is in the mental institution. It is amazing that in a place of terror a person can find peace and tranquility. It seems that without this cruel punishment Starks would have never helped the people he did and find his true happiness. It is also evident that the film suggest their is something that controls what happens to him and what allows him to be subjected to such vicious activities.

The Wall: Matt Boykin

This film is a very intriguing and also disturbing, it not only has stuck with me through the entire semester but also has affected every song of Pink Floyd I hear. Listening to the radio and coming across a Pink Floyd song that was in the film makes me thin of the faces of the children. Even with the knowledge that they were wearing mask still doesn't help. I did understand that it was symbolizing what was happening to the children with all their surroundings. The sheer amount of symbolism drawn in the cartoons was very interesting, especially the idea of the flower that could consume a life. The self imposed isolation by the main character is directly represented by the title the Wall. More and more even with people trying to help he continuously turns to self protection from emotional let downs. And also i found it interesting that a person confronted with the chance to better themselves or to fix what they have done they still focus on what is wrong rather than try to fix it. Pink in the movie is told the only way to fix himself is through human contact but rather than doing that he chooses to focus on the bricks he has placed in the wall. Overall this was probably the most disturbing film i have ever seen.

The Fate of Orual - Gina Emerson

On this day you, Orual, bring before the god’s a complaint that you have been wrongly accused of such human emotions as jealousy and hate. I, Athades, sit here not only to acknowledge your complaint but to also pass judgment, if judgment be called, on such actions you have brought forward that are deemed wrong or unjust by our gods.

It has been my duty to follow you and witness not only your strengths but also your weaknesses. It is with the wisdom of the great Athena and the persistence and determination of the great Hades that I have strived to determine your fate in a non-bias manner. It is with a heavy heart that I report that your weaknesses far outweigh your strengths.

Just as a hero once lay within the heart of the great Bellerophon, so does the punishment that comes with excessive hubris. Because he conquered the ferocious monster Chimera he felt great worthiness of worship and greatness. However, this did not entitle him to enter the realm that is intended for the gods. Great deeds are rewarded greatly; however, these deeds do not entitle you to enter into the realm of the gods. In the end this leads a person to a life of emptiness and loneliness, haunted by that which could have been.

A life full of envy is no more than a life full of hate and this hate ––– your hate ––– is towards yourself. Jealousy towards those who love that which you love is in truth the worst form of hubris there is. It is placing your worth and emotions above those of others and this can not be. If your love is more worthy than others, then should you not love yourself and then be deserving?

Just as my mother Athena witnessed a hero in Bellerophon, she also witnessed his decline. Orual, this is what I have witnessed with you. You attempted to turn gods on gods and ruined your sisters’ life because you are full of envy, hate, and jealousy. For your crimes you are found guilty. Your sentence has been determined and agreed upon by all of the gods. Your sentence is the one thing you fear the most; the truth. You will remain alone for the remainder of your years to face the person you hate and fear the most; yourself.

Rachel Conley - C.S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength

This excerpt from C.S. Lewis is about a girl, Jane, who is seeing Venus enter her room. Venus enters with a torch and little dwarf men. The dwarf men begin to tear the room apart while Venus sets various items in the room on fire. The fire could represent passion because just like the fire, passion can burn very intensely. The fire turns out not to be fire at all, but becomes vegetation. Perhaps this is suggesting that beauty can come out of passion, if the fire is representative of passion.

While Venus is sharing this moment with Jane, she is also keeping herself apart as Jane says that Venus seemed to have some sort of joke that she, Jane, was not invited to share. This shows that while gods and goddesses mingle with mortals, they always hold themselves apart in some way or another. Also, Jane mentions that she is afraid of Venus, as she should be of someone that is a supernatural being. Venus is larger than a normal person and she has a flame robe and a torch. Also, Jane can’t make sense of the whole scene, which no doubt made it scarier for her.

In the end, Jane’s body is not able to take in everything. The goddess entering her room, the dwarfs with Venus, the fire turning into plants and all the sights and smells. Being in the presence of a goddess is too overwhelming for her and she eventually passes out. I think that most people would pass out if they had the same sort of experience. Being in the presence of a supernatural being is no small thing and is generally treated very serious in any religion.

Rachel Conley - Bunny Movie

The movie Bunny is one that needs to be watched more than once to fully understand what all is happening. The elderly female bunny is making dinner when a firefly begins to fly around her. She tries to kill it and it falls in her food. She then takes her food, shoves it in the over, and turns it on to make sure she is rid of the firefly. The bunny then lies down in her chair and falls asleep. What happens then is something that has to be thought about. The bunny wakes up and the firefly flies out of the oven, so the bunny follows the firefly into the oven. There the bunny is taken into another world and reunites with her deceased husband.

What is really happening is that the bunny dies while sleeping in her chair. The firefly represents her previously deceased husband who is showing her the way to the afterlife. To get there the bunny has to go through the oven and, even though the oven is smaller than the bunny, she has no problem getting through. The scene in the oven represents the bunny’s journey to the afterlife.