The Exodus Interview

[Cartoonist]

I don't see many movies. I guess I'm old and out of date. I prefer the old Black & White movies of yesteryear. But I have to admit, I love the uproar these two films are having. So what are some good Atheist films? Ayn Rand doesn't count. Any Ideas for a film that could shake people up? I would nominate Mark Twain's Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven. I wouldn't object to updating it. Here's the original: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1044

[AlbertCat]

1. There is no way of making a good Ayn Rand film ...

Last edited Sun Dec 28, 2014, 01:31 PM - Edit history (1)

...unless you are spoofing it....and then it may be hard to tell. Even "The Fountainhead" with Patricia Neal and Gary Cooper is hysterically awful....from the 1st scene!


"The Truman Show" is actually an atheist film... and not a comedy.

[bvf]

2. Thank you for that take

on The Truman Show. It always bugged me (in the day of video stores) seeing it categorized as comedy.

One favorite moment:

Christof intoning, "I am the creator... of a television show..."

No Country for Old Men (novel and movie) strikes me as a good example of work with rich atheistic undertones.

[onager]

3. A few atheistic-ish films...

The Rapture (1991)- poses an interesting question: even if an all-powerful God-thingy does exist...is it worth worshipping if it can destroy our closest human relationships? Written/directed by a "secular Jew," not an atheist, but definitely worth watching and packs a wallop.

Starring a pre-"X-Files" David Duchovny and former Mrs. Tom Cruise, Mimi Rogers. *SPOILER* - the Rapture does take place. But the movie had such a low budget, it could only afford one Horseman of the Apocalypse. Also, hell looks a lot like San Bernardino, CA. Which makes perfect sense, if you've ever been there.

Wise Blood - Flannery O'Connor's bizarre novel of a former Fundie trying to start "the Church of Christ Without Christ." Directed by John Huston, with Harry Dean Stanton and Ned Beatty as phony street preachers and crazy-eyed Brad Dourif as the protagonist. What more could you want?

O'Connor was far from an atheist. She was a devout Catholic who went to Mass daily. According to some experts, "Wise Blood" was her attempt to reconcile the differences in her mostly genteel Catholic faith with the beliefs of her hellfire-and-brimstone Fundamentalist neighbors in Georgia.

The Contender - Joan Allen as...an atheist Republican senator! Her father (Philip Baker Hall) plays a lawyer who has "fought for years to keep that nonsense out of public schools." (Meaning Jesus.) Not much mention of atheism other than that, but anything positive is refreshing.

The Messenger - "But...but...that movie is about Joan of Arc!" Yep, but the brief scene with Dustin Hoffman has a lot to say about skepticism. Summary: "You found a sword lying in a field. There are a thousand perfectly ordinary ways that sword could have gotten there. But YOU decided that God Himself sent it to you personally..."

Rapture-Palooza - Rains of blood, random fireballs falling from the sky, plagues of snarky cussing locusts...a typical day on Earth after the Rapture. Note that raptured Xians may be kicked out of Heaven for being annoying. Also starring Ken Jeong as God.

[Cartoonist]

4. Sounds interesting

I didn't say it earlier, but I was specifically looking for films that would ignite controversy. It sounds like those films qualify, but I never heard of them. Two examples are The Passion of Christ which stirred controversy by having Jesus married, and The Life Of Brian which skewered the whole New Testament. I think you have to purposely tweak their noses to get a reaction. Subtlety doesn't seem to work.

[AlbertCat]

5. The Passion of Christ

That's crazy Mel's stupid torture film (in Aramaic! It must be real!) that was controversial for a little while and then justifiably forgotten.

You're thinking of "The Last Temptation of Christ" which.... considering its title SHOULD have a fantasy temptation of Christ living a normal life with wife and kids.... but that of course went over Christians' heads.



I love Alex's take on religion in "A Clockwork Orange" where the prison "Charlie" and everyone else thinks he's found righteous religion when he's really just fantasizing about all the Old Testament wars and sex, and doesn't like the last part that's "all preachy".... but he does imagine being one of the soldiers who scourge Christ.

[Cartoonist]

6. Thanks for the correction

And that was my favorite part of A Clockwork Orange, when he fantasized himself as one of the Romans who beat Jesus. Not because I enjoyed the torture, I didn't, but the concept of how something like that could possess someone. I always think of that when people try to censor something because the violence may influence impressionable minds.