I hope everyone’s seen this excellent piece by Emily Stimpson—and not only because she appears to have hated There Be Dragons as much as I did.
Stimpson investigates why Catholic media, especially entertainment, stinks so bad, and what can be done about it. Among the problems is a fundamental (and fairly recent) misunderstanding of what can reasonably be achieved, quoting Dominic Iocco, provost of a Catholic university for communication arts:
[Catholic moviemakers] want every film to be ‘The Passion [of the Christ]’ and expect people to walk out of the theater converted,” Iocco told OSV. “But we’ve already had ‘The Passion’ and the whole world hasn’t converted. Nor are they going to because of a film. That’s not what films do. A film is successful if it gets people to ask a question they might not have asked before.”
There are also misunderstandings about what ought to be achieved:
Likewise, when it comes to the Internet and social media, [professor and screenwriter Barbara] Nicolosi believes too many Catholics see and use it as a tool for catechesis rather than evangelization.
“It’s lots of inside baseball,” she said. “If you’re already in the program, it’s good stuff. But most people aren’t in the program. Right now 90 percent of what we do is geared toward catechesis and 10 percent to evangelization. It needs to be the other way around.”
and worst of all, misunderstandings about how to achieve it:
Nicolosi also believes that if Catholics want to give an effective witness through the media, they need to let go of the idea that every film or endeavor has to be catechetical.
“First, we need to bring back the beautiful — that which has wholeness, harmony and radiance,” she said. “We also need to give back classical storytelling. We are a people of the book, the parable, and we can teach Hollywood to tell a good yarn. That’s something much of Hollywood has forgotten how to do.
Bingo. I’ll watch something if it looks like it’s going to be good, not if it looks like it’s supposed to be good for me.
We recently watched The Treasure of the Sierra Madre again. I love this movie—so straightforward, but so mesmerizing, even when you know exactly what’s going to happen.
Dobbs and Curtin, two down-and-outers, are discussing a conversation they had with Howard, an experienced prospector, who warned them, ‘I know what gold does to men’s souls!”
Dobbs: Do you believe what that old man who was doin’ all the talkin’ at the Oso Negro said the other night about gold changin’ a man’s soul so that he ain’t the same kind of a guy that he was before findin’ it?
Curtin: Guess that all depends on the man.
Dobbs: That’s exactly what I say. Gold don’t carry any curse with it. It all depends on whether or not the guy who finds it is the right guy. The way I see it, gold can be as much of a blessing as a curse.
And of course Dobbs turns out the be the wrong kind of guy. We saw it from the beginning, when he’s begging for money, and a man snaps,
Such impudence never came my way. Early this afternoon I gave you money. When I was having my shoes polished, I gave you more money. Now you put the bite on me again. Do me a favor, will ya? Go occasionally to somebody else. It’s beginning to get tiresome.
and Dobbs responds:
Oh, excuse me, mister. I never knowed it was you. I never looked at your face. I just looked at your hands and the money you gave me.
That’s the kind of guy he is: he keeps coming back and coming back. He can’t let go. Contrast this foreshadowing of his fatal flaw with the final scene, in which Dobbs and Curtain laugh hysterically as tens of thousands of dollars worth of gold dust go swirling away on the wind, back to the mountain.
This, my friends, is what we call “detachment”—a fine Christian virtue, and one worth instilling. Can’t teach it any better than that—but of course teaching isn’t what John Huston set out to do. He set out to tell a story.
Can you imagine if a typical earnestly gooey Christian producer wanted to send a message about greed and corruption and detachment? I suppose there have been plenty of these types of movies, probably mostly around Christmas time: “. . And now I’ve learned that what I really wanted most of all was right here, all along.”
This is sort of what Curtin learns, except that director John Huston made sure someone had to get shot before those peach groves and their faithful mistress became available for Curtin to pursue. Because when someone gets shot, it makes a better story; and when you tell a better story, people listen to what you have to say.
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Nicolosi has a good point there.
Well done, Mrs. Fisher. Well done. I love that movie. I am of Jewish ancestry on my mother’s side, and boy can my people tell a good yarn. I was not converted to Catholicism by someone sitting me down and “getting my mind straight” as in Cool Hand Luke or “that bolt of lightning” as in “Sergeant York.” No, conversion for me was a gradual process generated by my own observations and inputs from a variety of sources such as college professors (yes, there used to be Christians teaching at our colleges in the 1970s) and believe it or not, that Great Communicator, Ronald Reagan. Thus, I agree with you. Conversion comes gradually.
Love the perspective. Same with Catholic lit. We want a good read, one that makes us say, “This was written by a Catholic.”...but then one that also makes us search out the influence, rather than get hit over the head with it.
And the very worst of Catholic entertainment media is that which is geared to children. I’m sorry. It’s true. When my four year-old, who doesn’t watch much TV in the first place, is rolling his eyes at what is supposed to be for kids, both his age and older, you know it’s pretty sad.
Sometimes, I think the problem is that Catholic entertainment tries to make Catholicism the story instead of the foundation. I suppose this is what Nicolosi was referring to with catechesis vs evangelization. I think of a successful movie like “We Were Soldiers.” The movie was about a specific battle in Vietnam. But one of the images I remember the most was of Mel Gibson kneeling for prayers with his multitude of children and attempting to explain why their mother, who was not Catholic, didn’t do the same ones.
You got the sense that his character’s character was set in the foundation of Catholicism. It made you reflect on his actions throughout the remainder of the movie in that light. It’s subtlety that provokes thought and encourages repeat viewings.
I haven’t seen There Be Dragons, but I had similar thoughts about Therese by Leonard DeFillippis. It was a pretty movie, but the way they portrayed her story was flat, episodic not dramatic. Just about all the dramatic tensions that I’ve found compelling about the life of St. Therese were missing. Sad to say, since the people who worked on it were well-intentioned.
“Can you imagine if a typical earnestly gooey Christian producer wanted to send a message about greed and corruption and detachment?”
They would probably call that movie “Greedproof”.
Excellent point Mrs Fisher - I love your blogs BTW.
The Church that built the Cathedrals of Europe surely has enough talent and artistry in its “DNA” to build comparable works of art with today’s media. And works that will be universally beautiful for the next millenia.
My husband is not a believer. He loves beauty, however.
If he is ever converted, it will be through beauty.
I too, disliked “There Be Dragons”. I was not very keen on “Courageous” either—too preachy, too predictable, too…lacking.
Simcha, have you seen “Of Gods and Men”? Now THIS is storytelling of the highest caliber. I found it powerful and moving, and the monks are REAL people (caution, one F-bomb is dropped, but it shows humanity and understanding). This film also shows that a story does not need to be action-packed or even fast paced to tell a profound story of man’s humanity and his call to divinity. (In French with subtitles).
It takes subtlety to make art, and there’s very little subtlety in Christian movie making of any stripe, unfortunately. PLEASE oh PLEASE do not hit me over the head with unrealistic, ultra-santitized holiness!! When having this discussion with anyone, I invariably think of The Tale of Despereaux, which, though not billed as Catholic media, has, I think, very Catholic themes. This children’s book is unspeakably beautiful, poignant, complicated, messy, and REAL—and it’s all about virtue. The movie, unfortunately, was a steaming pile of drivel and tripe—needless to say, a major disappointment—and was about nothing at all. Talk about a missed opportunity. Anyway, it’s a pain when nearly all the movies I want to see are “art films” that are filled to the brim with things we have to fast-forward past—and then the wholesome, Catholic and Christian offerings are so vapid and white-washed that I reach the end feeling guilty for not liking it.
“They would probably call that movie ‘Greedproof’.”
Bahahaha! I died a little inside each time someone told me that, okay, maybe Fireproof and whatever the police-version of Fireproof was aren’t great cinema….but we ought to support them! It’s our Christian duty! It’s affirming and good for us!
In the realm of Catholic lit, I’ve had to tactfully fend off a friend trying to get me to read “Fatherless.”
Hitchcock’s I Confess is one movie that wove the Catholic faith into an interesting plot without being preachy and boring. Catholic movies today lack grit, plot, heart ... everything.
Amen, Simcha! Please pray for all of us at John Paul the Great Catholic University (from whence comes Dominic Iocco’s quote) that we will succeed in making truly beautiful films with entertaining stories.
I’d highly recommend The Way, the film that was recently out directed by Emilio Estevez and starring him and Martin Sheen. It’s about a father/son relationship, and how the son’s death while making the Way of St. James pilgrimage through Spain challenges and changes his father’s life.
They are both good actors, and the story is not preachy at all. It’s excellent.
We need some modern day Shakespears to revive the entertainment buisness.
One of the best prose stylists alive is a Catholic, but he’s never had a NYT best seller. His name’s Gene Wolfe. If you like Magic Realism but wish it weren’t so depressing, he’s your man. Really- I quit reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez once I found Wolfe. He’s hardly ever mentioned in the Catholic internet, ‘though he’s never made any bones about being Catholic in the usually-hostile world of professionals in his genre. If Catholics don’t notice an enormous living talent of our own in literature, we can’t whine about the movies.
Dean Koontz. His novels are fast-paced, a little creepy, and entertaining. However, they’re also filled with characters whose lives affirm goodness and who fight evil.
Hear, hear! Great points and good articles. I’m glad to know JP The Great University exists. Yes, Catholics need to be leaven in society, and seek excellence in this critically important field. This is why I became suspicious of the homeschooling movement. While I know there are truly great exceptions, it seemed to me to foster a sweeping rejection of current society, creating an “us” and “them” mentality. Right now I am thrilled for my daughter who has earned sizable merit scholarships to one of the best (top three) art schools in the country and also to one of the best authentically Catholic Universities that has the “great books” program. I honestly don’t know which direction to steer her in. She left Catholic school in the fourth grade, and has attended public schools with a lot of funding for the arts. She wrote and acted in one act plays, and loved it. I want so much for her to deepen her understanding of Catholicism, (Not one of her school friends for most of her formative years was even Christian) but would also hate to see her pass on such a great scholarship to a top art school…!
I thought the cinematography of There be Dragons good enough, and the story itself was not too bad, but my dissapointment with it, not so much dislike, was that it seemed incoherent, and a bit jumbled. Was it about Escriva? Opus Dei? The Spanish Civil war? What? It was a mix of all, but a story of none.
I much prefer the form used by LOTR - utilizing Catholic themes, without being about Catholicism. Another very underrated film for its Catholic themes is High Plains Drifter. I think it was completely unintentional, but sin, repentance, penance, and deliverance were all there in spades. Or, a straight up drama about a Catholic, Like Man for All Seasons.
CS Lewis wrote about this subject something like “What we don’t need is more ‘Christian authors.’ What we need are authors who are Christian.”
I think that’s the point here…the faith seeps through into everything, without bashing you on the head.
I’m glad someone mentioned Tolkien and Lord of the Rings!!
Nicolosi makes some great points. Personally I think it’s partly a matter of how we do Catholic media, but really, look at the caliber of most secular films today (and novels, and any other form of art you can think of). They just are not on par, in their substance and complexity and depth of storytelling, with the art made fifty plus years ago. Every once in a while we get something really fabulous, but it’s very rare. And it’s not to say there weren’t some real stinkers back in the day. My point is, art is reflective of the culture. Ever since the narrow secular relativist worldview began to dominate in the Sixties, and to refute anything containing a shred of moral fiber, our art has suffered. Morality is what leads to the tension, and to the ultimate lesson, in a story. We feel cheated if we lack either tension or a lesson, and there’s a reason for that: Because the main goal of storytelling is to convey cultural mores. How are you supposed to tell a good story if there are no cultural mores? Now again, that’s not to say the answer is to get a giant foam bat, write “MORALS” along the side, and bop people over the head with it. There’s no beauty in that, and as Simcha pointed out, great art also requires beauty (it’s what makes the moral fiber palatable).
AZLori, that’s so true. Lewis also believed that intentionally writing a book about a Value or Belief would always end up seeming contrived, whereas if you set down and write the story that is in your head, the content of your soul/psyche would subconsciously guide your every word choice.
And Tolkien, who didn’t like allegory (like Narnia) even said that he never wrote characters who were embodiment of certain virtues or qualities, because no REAL person is any one thing. If you are an artist of any faith, your first exercise is to observe the world. Your observations will inform your art, but your beliefs will be the lens through which they are conveyed.
@Christian: Ok, I am only on Season 4 of Rescue Me, so it could still end really badly, but the epic scope of a real soul’s struggle is being played out there over the years….Whatever Denis Leary is doing there, it is certainly Catholic on some level.
As far as children’s Christian video entertainment, I’d have to vote for the protestant creators of Veggie Tales. They make sure the silliness, good songs, and plot are all there first. They rarely come across as preachy or “this is good for you.” Most Catholic shows directed at kids seem pretty lame in comparison. If the priority is the story, the message will come. If the writer starts with the message, he ends up with a lecture at best.
I really liked the short film - The Butterfly Circus.
It is about humanity and makes you ‘ask a question.’
Also a New Zealand film! - This Way of Life (http://www.thiswayoflifemovie.com/)
He says:
“What do I do for a living?...I live for a living”
And
“Some people say I married above myself….I think I did…I will spend the rest of my life becoming worthy of the woman I married”
It’s worth watching just for that line!
Agreed, agreed, agreed. A friend of mine’s husband tried to start a radio show for young adult’s that really was fantastic. A little kitschy with a punk-rock version of “Hail Holy Queen” as the theme song, but otherwise on a level of quality and honesty not seen in most Catholic media.
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It was cancelled because the GM didn’t like it’s tone and donors to the station were complaining, though the host maybe could have been more accommodating and conciliatory after the GM starting making suggestions when it was still running (I learned what happened from sides). In any case, it’s a lesson in the difficulty of doing new things and going in fresh directions within Catholic media circles.
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The strange thing was, as the GM was explaining to me the supposed faults of the program (which really weren’t faults, just things he wasn’t used to) he said, “And it’s a shame, because these are the people (young adults) I’m trying to reach.”
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Flannery O’Connor said something like, “We suffer as much from the Church as for the Church.”
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Anyway. Some of my favorite movies have deeply Catholic messages but aren’t labeled as such: Roberto Benigni’s “Life is Beautiful” and “The Tiger and the Snow” (Benigni is, I think, incredibly under-appreciated), and “Welcome to the Riley’s”. Really liked this, as usual, Simcha!
Rent Warrior. There is blood and profanity so be forewarned. But what a powerful story of Love and the way we fight Him. So much human frailty with snippets of redemption. And the last 10 minutes is straight out of the old testament. Loved it.
I always enjoy your insights. My husband and I recently watched Courageous, one of the movies from the Sherwood Baptist productions. I’m still giggling over one of the scenes. I love their movies because they tell an interesting story, show God at work in people’s lives, and there is no foul language. I was wondering why there wasn’t a Catholic version of this production company. I wish that the Catholic church could provide something similar, not necessarily Catechesis, but simple, good, wholesome movies.
@Greg,
I totally agree with you about Benigni!! when I was teaching theology we did “A Short Course on Love” and watched that movie as part of it. The students had to examine it for relationships that exemplified the Four Loves of C.S. Lewis, as well as some other ideas about love and apathy that we studied.
The Tiger in the Snow is also quite wonderful, I agree. We also own his live-action version of Pinocchio. He plays Pinocchio and his wife is the Blue Fairy. It’s great! My children even watch it without the English dubbing on….that’s how you know he is an amazing, physical actor. Anyway, Pinocchio—the original story, not the Disney version—is *very* philosophical, about the struggles of raising children, trying to do well, and the virtue of filial piety. I highly recommend it.
Simcha, I just finished your review of There Be Dragons, which I would still like to see. I think I’m now prepared for the movie, which another reviewer called two hours of “thick lobster bisque”. What caught my eye however, was the previous article that I could click on: Confessions from the Confession line. Pure, uncensored, vintage, Simcha. I’m still glowing. The undercurrents and ironies to be found in the confession line are hilarious.
@Corita Thanks for the tips on Benigni.
Someone says we need a contemporary Shakespeare and, in the same thread, another mentions a good movie but feels the need to warn of blood and profanity.
Shakespeare could not have been Shakespeare had he not used blood and profanity. We’ve got to stop making the dividing line sex and violence. All too often the whitewashing of both results in bad, saccharine movies. Good stories can’t be told without some measure of both; yes, different levels for different kinds of stories, but bleaching out everything that may be construed as ugly human behavior will put you into a diabetic coma.
@ Greg, Corita, and anna lisa,
Benigni is wonderful. If you haven’t seen Johnny Stecchino, I recommend it. It’s a comedy of mistaken-identity and bananas.
@Hey, Lady, Agreed. I swore off the diabetic coma years ago.
There be Dragons fails to convey any authenticity because its production was controlled by Opus Dei, Roland Joffe was just a puppet in their hands. The whole movie is a long propaganda about St Josemaria Escriva and how he was above all the political mess of his time, but this is utterly false: he was totally pro-Franco and his early followers were in Franco’s side. The film was financed by an Opus Dei member who did the fundraising for it and they had all the control they wanted over it. As always they pretended that the whole deal was very spontaneous and Joffe did the film because he found St Josemaria very interesting. But in fact he was a very grumpy person who was very intolerant with Opus Dei’s exmembers. And I am talking about the faithful catholic exmembers. For ex Opus Dei insiders it is not a surprise that the whole movie is dissapointing: it doesn’t even tell a truthful story to begin with.
I think you get better films with Catholic references even from troubled Catholic artistic souls like Federico Fellini (a good Catholic friend loves his cinema for its values despite the fact that it is unclear if he criticizes the church or just makes references to it as a source for his inspiration). Another movie Un Chien Andalou, despite being anti-Catholic in spirit is a better film to excite a good conversation about the Catholic faith if you don’t despise its permanent subconscious style.
An example of a contemporary masterful piece of art that gives powerful values is Toy Story (all the three movies). My Catholic friends (I am currently agnostic but I used to get a lot of them when I was Catholic and I still get a lot from these movies) love it and the story is not preachy at all. Just one of the many ideas we got from the movie is that when Buzz discovers that he is a toy he enters into an existential crisis which is resolved when he rediscovers his calling to serve as a young kid companion and source of joy. If you want good works of art made by Catholics I guess you need to pray to God to inspire people giving them a deep sensibility and a sort of impeccable taste mixed with some of the good characteristics of intelligent people like sarcasm, a fine irony, and a indestructible humor.
@ David (sigh) I hate how people give Opus Dei a black eye. Josemaria Escriva was NOT pro Franco. (I’ve read about 5 books on his life) I credit the priests of Opus Dei for helping me to be balanced, not right wing, not left. 20/20. BTW one of my good friends (a member of Opus Dei) was a key player in Toy Story. I have been a grateful beneficiary of their balanced spiritual direction for about 20 years, but am not personally a member. Lol, I even like SOME of Almodovar’s films, even though the guy is clearly in anti Catholic existential crisis. If that says anything.
I think we can look at this problem a different way. Before pointing the finger at those not doing their jobs, I think we should start with ourselves. What kind of sign of beauty am I living as a child of God? Our example can be one of the greatest ways to help bring others to Christ, especially as a collective whole. Do we give good example? Maybe we aren’t doing our complete part living our Catholic faith and thereby are one of the main causes of many not being converted and therefore, should be begging God for graces and mercies daily. If more of us answered the call of holiness more completely, how different would the world be? That would be a powerful way to evangelize. In order to be like Christ, we have to ask ourselves hard questions which mean to look at ourselves first.
And I think I understand the viewpoint. I am a HUGE fan of LOTR and CS Lewis. I love movies like Bella and Butterfly Circus from Metanoia films. But the people who made those movies are people who lived or are living their lives in exemplary ways which we can all work towards. then we can touch more people by our talents and abilities whether through movies/entertainment/stories or just by our daily example. God bless
Not that it really matters—but I wouldn’t want to mislead in my comment above. I think I was too easy on Almodovar, and wouldn’t actually recommend watching his films. I had to turn off the last film I rented because it was really offensive. He IS talented, and earned acclaim for good reason. What a shame and a waste, he could have been great, but his perversion threw him over the edge.
Have you looked up Dominic Iocco? The film he is producing has a trailer at redlinethefilm.com. Certainly doesn’t look amateurish to me, and from what I understand the crew was 90% film students.
I haven’t seen the movie “There Be Dragons”; but in defense of Church members who backed Franco in the Spanish Civil War, consider the hundreds of priests and seminarians murdered by the Communist government.
If the elected government starts murdering hundreds of Catholic clergy, at what point are Church members justified in seeking allies to fight back? Under the circumstances, Franco was welcomed as an ally, not because he never authorized any evils, but because he stopped a murderous persecution of the Church. Powers in Hollywood and the US and British media generally have ignored the evils of the Loyalist government while exaggerating the sins of the Franco government which succeeded it.
TeaPot562
“Stimpson investigates why Catholic media, especially entertainment, stinks so bad, and what can be done about it.” ## One of the basic faults is this: Catholics can’t tell the difference between telling a story, and issuing propaganda. This is why so much US criticism - and it is mostly from the US - of (say) “The Lord of the Rings” is absolutely worthless, or worse. Dorothy Sayers could tell the difference between telling a story, and crippling the story by forcing it to be Christian propaganda - but even so intelligent a critic as Father Robert Barron cannot. So it is no surprise that regiments iof the US Christian critics of “Harry Potter” cannot. Gandalf is not a Christ-figure - any more than Joshua is a Hitler-figure: each earlier member of the two pairs of characters resembles the later figure - we are, in effect, back in the wild world of typology. If TLOTR were in the Bible, Gandalf would be a “type”, an anticipation, of Christ. Joshua’s extermination of the Canaanites makes him a type of Adolf Hitler, the 20th-century Joshua who exterminated the enemies of the (German) Chosen People. Stories have to be told as stories - Christians who cannot do that, have no business to be writers of stories, because they are dishonouring their vocation, by adopting a wrong method - which is what so-called Creationists do to the science: both sets of Christians are so concerned for the meaning of what they do, that they cripple the method by which the meanings are conveyed, & end up botching meanings and methods alike. It’s a form of impatience - a very modern form of a failing that exceedingly common.
Check out “St. Bernadette of Lourdes” and “The War of the Vendee” by Navis Pictures (navispictures.com)—unique, beautiful Catholic films, both cast entirely with children.
@Corita: That’s so good to hear. There’s a ton of genius unsentimental, raw-life-affirming, lesson-drawing minutiae in his films. I don’t know much of CS Lewis, but after looking up the Wikipedia page for the Four Loves I’m curious to know what examples you found for Storge.
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I watched Pinocchio on Netflix. I can understand why it was a flop with critics, but I’m glad it has a few fans in your house. “My children even watch it without the English dubbing on….that’s how you know he is an amazing, physical actor.” - Ha, too cool. I’ve been reading Carlo Celli’s “The Divine Comic” about the development of his acting and directing careers and the skillful physicality of his persona is a common thread from his early movies on.
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Celli wrote that in his earlier movies Benigni created a childish persona fixated on the lower-body, a kind of country bumpkin that manifested a confrontation with Italy’s relatively new and bewildering urban-industrial based society; in the process, turning vapid and homogenized social conventions on their head. His later films saw more maturity in his emphasis on the body as well as in the direction of their criticisms. And aside from criticism of anti-culture, Benigni shifted his primary focus to the the triumph of life and love.
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I’m always glad to hear from another fan.
@Nicholas Jagneaux: I haven’t seen Johnny Stecchino. Where did you find a copy?
Greg,
I found it at a Blockbuster on VHS years ago. I saw it again later, but I can’t remember where - I think when I was in Belgium.
I keep waiting for Netflix to add it. Alas, they don’t. Does anyone know how to “recommend” to Netflix that they add a movie to their list?
If you contact their customer service line (they give you a code if you click the link on the “Contact Us” section of their website) you can suggest a title. Might do it myself.
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Another way to go could be to suggest your library purchase it or request an inter-library rental.
Thanks.
Hi all, I watched There Be Dragons today. It came in the mail from my (extremely neglected ) Netflix queue.
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I wanted to report that there are some truly weird previews on the dvd, including one for…...Atlas Shrugged…Part 1. (GAG)
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And, I agree mostly with Simcha’s review on IHTSD: I thought the Opus Dei stuff was great and esp. as set against the Spanish Civil War (truly fascinating topic) BUt the other storyline…horrible. Horrible dialogue, mistreatment of characters….pointlessness..AND bad makeup.
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Also, @Greg, if you read this: the students really had to reach hard to find examples of *all* The Four Loves in the film because the language Lewis uses is so specific. But they did wonderfully. Obviously the relationship between the lovers/spouses is eros and there are good ones for affection and friendship. I think for Storge the ecamples of relationships within the camp were most common examples. (I tried not to have too many “right” or “wrong” answers for things like this, I looked for a good argument they gave to justify their choices, based on the definitions given in class.)
I always found their choices for agape love interesting because it gives you a real sense of what sacrificial love means to them.
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We also used it as a good way of exploring love, hate and apathy. I took care to tell them that the opposite of love is actually *apathy*. And excellent example of that is the doctor who is “friendly” with the main character but does not actually see him as a person, as evidenced by scenes later in the film. That interaction also demonstrated repeatedly how horror and comedy are so close together….but not all of my classes got to talk about this because we had to get the theology down pat before doing too much cinema stuff! :)
Also, Greg, if you are a fan of fables and legends, I really recommend Lewis’ Til We Have Faces.
Everyone gripes about it - now you can do something about it. If you would like to support better entertainment, we have three movies in development - “The Do Over”, “The Tribunal” and “Amana Gets Blue” that tell real stories and reflect Catholic values. For a fact sheet, send an email to mm@stmichaelrecords.com. St. Michael Movies/St. Michael Records, Inc. is a 501c3 Catholic Charity.
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