Category: Uncategorized

I should never read/watch any review or analyses before I write my own opinions down!

I didn’t like the movie at all!

Why??

Is it because I am no longer a (devout/evangelical/catholic) Christian?

Is Scorsese a “Christian”?

Compare with the plight of the Church in areas occupied by ISIS today.

“Padre” in this film refers NOT to GOD, but to the (all too fallible) priests!

Is the line between martyrs and apostates so definite?

How much of Shusako Endo’s novel was based on history?

Silence + (suffering) –> (grandiose) auditory hallucinations……!?
Compare with “Jeanne d’Arc”

Anthropological theology

Vs.

Theological anthropology

Was the cross in the final scene placed there by the widow?

Isn’t “secret Christian” a contradiction?

If Christ died in order for us to live, then isn’t us dying for him a frustration of the divine intention?

One can see the faithful follower, the fickle believer, the liberal leader, etc. – all varieties of the religious type in this story.

When faithfulness and survival are blurred against each other……!

Compare with the Catholic Inquisition in Europe.

Is the suffering of the Christian missionaries in the context of European imperialism akin to the sadomasochistic sexuality of the modern affluent?

Apostasy & apostatize (not apostasize)

There are 3 ways in which I approach the trial of the Christians:

1. Refuse to blaspheme (& consequently be martyred), because you believe that is the kind of faithfulness desired by the Lord, like many/most of the lay Japanese Christians.
2. Make a formal gesture of apostasy, but continue to worship Christ privately, like the 2 priests.
3. Refuse to apostatize, because I believe that surrendering to brute force would set a precedent of condoning the power of structural violence to subdue the individual conscience. This is the closest option to my conviction. In fact, even to believe, that ultimately, one’s response is a choice is in itself the most radical, audacious and ultimately salvific/transformative/triumphant claim! Human free will (for which Christ suffered & died, believing this to be GOD’s clear intention) remains the supreme value that deserves, even demands, any & every sacrifice……….

Counter-conversion strategies

Compare the last scenes with “Last Temptation”

“ad majorem dei gloriam” – everything! Really?

Trailer

Review

Analysis

WOW! Definitely one of my favorite films. Could there be any guy (“normal male”) who hates (or even dislikes) this movie??

Could a normal male be negative (or even neutral) toward alcohol or pornography?

What does postmodern masculine sanctity (or even sanity) look like?

How do I find/make my own “fight club”? If I have already done that, am I ready to move into “Project Mayhem”?

Is Nietzsche right about Christianity being an emasculating influence?

One cannot be a purely spiritual/abstract warrior without any physical/concrete component!

Who is Chuck Palahniuk?

Getting tired of my questions?? Well, I can only offer what I have……!

Trailer

Review

Analysis

Fifth Amendment

The tension between protecting individual rights and the requirements for justice/conviction. The pitfalls of acquitting the guilty and indicting the innocent.

Americanism ~ Capitalism?

Distinguish:

Democracy

&

Populism

Trial by media

Distinguish:

Justice (cultural ideal & social process)

&

Law (abstract principles & fixed procedure)

Celebrity ~ narcissist

Truth/evidence/reason & narrative/context/emotion

Can morality/ethics survive in this world, without the support of spirituality/religion?

The personal/private/chadacter/essence & the professional/public/image/performance

If, historically, the Whites were the oppressed group, would they have given the same verdict as the Black jurors in this case?

What improvements could be made in the criminal justice system to increase the conviction rate for the guilty?

Where was the American church in all of this?? Why is the Church such a miserable failure when it comes to dealing with such cardinal issues?!

What can individuals do, when even institutions fall victim to the wider cultural forces??

Review

Trailer 1

Trailer 2

Compare with “Watchmen”, “Matrix”, “Fight Club”, “V for Vendetta”, etc.

Hmmm…… does such reading/watching really produce real change in attitude/behavior, or is this all just intellectual titillation/spiritual masturbation? All idealism necessarily involves a degree of self-deception, that’s okay!

One needs to believe in the power of spirit to incarnate the word, in order to sustain the viability of the will in a nihilistic world…..

Real hope sinks all counterfeit goals, and then uses the remains of the old order as jetsam/flotsam to survive in the open ocean, until a new shore can be found!

You either parasitize the system to survive, as you plot creative destruction, or you allow the system to parasitize you and become one of the “walking dead”.

“What kills you makes you stronger”