Monday, February 12, 2007

How Truly Inconveient

And the winner is ... Al Gore for "An Inconvenient Truth"!

Take it to the bank, Al Gore's film will win the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and high fives will be flying in Hollywood; George Clooney may even break dance in the aisle.

Mr. Gore's warning about global warming (even with single digit temps all over the Midwest and Northeast, in addition to nonstop snow for 2 weeks) and the consequences thereof is in competition with four other films: one about wild and crazy Christian kids at "Jesus Camp," another dealing with the Catholic Church-pedophilia scandal, and two more about the chaos in Iraq. Gore wins without breaking a sweat, no pun intended.

But did you notice that all five of the nominated documentaries have left or secular themes? All easy subjects to jump on and pick on? I am surprised there is nothing on the Bible or further Da Vinci code b.s. However, I will say, in general conservatives are not rallying to Gore's hypothesis that fossil fuels are damaging the planet, although the right should keep an open mind on that strong possibility.

And of course, the priest-pedophilia scandal has nothing to do with the Catholic "religion." Theology played no part in it. The scandal happened because evil men working inside the Catholic Church did evil things. When Richard Nixon and his henchmen disgraced America, no sane person could blame it on the Constitution. It's the same thing with the Catholic scandal.

There is no question that Hollywood continues to pour out products designed to promote a secular society and boost liberal political positions. And the entertainment industry is a powerful colossus. Millions worldwide closely follow the attitudes and themes Hollywood puts forth. Hello Dixie Chicks last night at The Grammy’s!! A “non-country” music band winning 5 Grammy’s all in the category of Country Music. And no politics played there at all….riiiiight!

But I digress. My point is wouldn’t it be interesting if Hollywood produced the following documentaries this year?

"Tiller the Baby Killer." A documentary profiling Kansas abortionist George Tiller, who, for $5,000, will abort a fetus up until birth.

"The Streets of San Francisco." A look at the thousands of homeless people, many addicted, who have flocked to the City by the Bay for free money and other perks the city bestows on them.

"Fidel Camp." This film chronicles the plight of thousands of "subversives" who are or have been incarcerated in dungeons because Fidel Castro doesn't like them. Talk about an inconvenient truth. Maybe Oliver Stone could direct this.

"The Kyoto Blues." An honest look at the "Kyoto Protocol," which, in order to blunt pollution, would require major economic changes in the USA, but would allow massive pollution to continue in China and India. Is Al Gore available to narrate?

And "NBC and Me." A peek inside a once proud network news organization that now promotes a left-wing agenda on a daily basis. I'd like Whoopi Goldberg to voice over this one.

These are all high-concept, ready-to-roll subjects that are just waiting for some talented people in Hollywood to take them on. What say you, Steven Spielberg?

5 comments:

watchman146 said...

and Brian wouldn't happen to be promoting a theocratic society and boost conservative, right wing propoganda would he?

I have to say, I am very skeptical about global warming. And I still am. but, "An Incovenient Truth" almost won me over. I thought it was excellent and challenging. I never voted for Clinton or Gore and still wouldn't.

Sidenote: I WAS won over by the Mac's multimedia capabilities. Gore's slideshow was friggin sweet.

Here are some other things I disagreed with on this post:

- Jesus Camp was spooky: REALLY spooky, and it was fair. The children were blatantly being manipulated and indoctrinated. Of course, the creepy appearance of ted Haggard didn't help, either.

- Catholic Pedophilia: I never saw "Deliver us from Evil," however I saw a similar film on Frontline. I thought it was a wonderful profile of courage and hope. The man who made it, his brother had been molested many times by a priest and the Church covered it up. They transferred the priest and made him the principal of an all boys school. One of the impressions I got, is the fact that the THEOLOGY is definitly a problem in the Catholic Church. Specifically, look up the word "Socerdotalism," and let me know what you think.

Brian said...

I'll have to get back with you on the "Socerdotalism."

I wouldn't say I am pushing for a theocratic society.

Conservative and right wing?

More conservative than right wing.

I only say that because I do not buy into a "culture war."

watchman146 said...

Sacerdotalism

I can't spell theological terms. I have a learning disability.

Brian said...

Still not sure that helped anything Corey.

Sacerdotalism elevates the clergy to a status no one should have ever. But how does that make the Catholic church scandal a theological one?

If you are trying to make a connection that they had to protect the priest due to this heightened level of authority and status, this is just too unstable an arguement to make.

Why hasn't the Catholic church kept this stance then?

To say the Catholic church has a theology problem is absolutely correct (as does every other denomination and every other person who claims to be a Christian, no one is perfect) but to say theology played into the scandal, can't do it.

watchman146 said...

The documentary I saw showed interviews with abusive priests. Every one of these priests were narcissistic and they cited doctrines like Sacerdotalism as central to the Catholic faith. They said they were men that were different, they were "set apart" by God. The insulation and elevation of men in this way has been common for centuries in many cultures, but it inevitably places mortal humans on pedastals too high to reach. Flawed men thrive in that power structure and seek more and more power. It is the definition of a pedophile - a narcissus seeking more.

Bad theology has created this nightmare situation. The responsibility for all this is in Rome.