SlagA
Monday 3rd September 2007 2:26am [Edited]
Blackwood
5,335 posts
Well, I think the Pythons are comedy cowards for not making "The life of Abdul" See how long before Palin starts off around the world again after that?
For me religion does not equate to God. You can be religious as an atheist, because the concept of 'religion' is not strictly tied to a belief in a spiritual being or God but more to the person's underlying 'belief system'. It can even apply to a system of action that the holder repeatedly performs. Genuflecting or touching a door knob three times or walking the same route everyday can be described as religious. Likewise a belief in God doesn't necessarily have to encompass a recognised religion or recognise all its particular tenets and doctrines. The formula Religion = God is not in my mind true, nor is it linguistically true because the word 'religion' is being used in one particularly restrictive use of the word.
I agree with Dave that if he perceives something as blasphemous then no amount of cajooling can persuade him otherwise, and it's silly to think that we can pin something as complex as a belief system to simply 'yes / no' responses. Belief systems are adept at decieving the holder (and this applies to all people of all persuasions) because belief systems aren't based purely on fact but on how a person chooses to INTERPRET fact. Once you hit the process of interpretation, then you're all on your own up a certain creek along with me. We see the world as we CHOOSE to see it. Even the coldest intellectual is not free from this disease of the mind. For the person, that's comforting because then very little contradiction is allowed to seep through to challenge and amend our patterns of thought. It seems belief systems and people exist in a symbiotic relationship.
I tend to agree with the counter-argument in that there is a distinction made between Christ / Brian, however it does wear pretty thin when it mirrors Jesus' life in such detail, the crucifiction scene especially. Would we laugh so much if Brian was hit down by a chariot and died? IMO, not really because here it's the parallel that the ending relies on. It seems it's more a parody than true comedy.
As I said above, let's see Python do a 'Life of Abdul' and see how long before they join poor Mr Chapman. I don't think they'll be debating the fine line between blasphemy and parody after the premiere.
Think of Mister Rushdie, well within his rights to practice free speech in THIS country and on the run in THIS country because his free speech is held to be blasphemous in someone else's country. That's where we should be jumping up and down and protesting at. We need freedom of speech in ALL areas not content ourselves with the easy target and believe that's the real deal.
Back to the thread:
The Steptoe films weren't bad. And Meaning of Life was good too although the sketch format broke any real emotional voyage or payoff at the close.
I think the first naked dude I ever saw on TV was Graham Chapman, when he opened the shutters to find all his followers staring at him.
