Need Movie Recommendations For Very Religious Person (1 Viewer)

[Michael St. Clair]

If you think it's acceptable to show Jesus lusting after and having sex with Mary Magdalene, let me ask you, what cult do you belong to?

1) Why would 'what certain people think is acceptable' have anything to do with the quality of the film?
2) Personally, I don't think you got the point of the film.
3) Your asking me 'what cult I belong to' because I think it is a decent movie is way out of line, bud.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

> Buzz doesn't exactly deny Andy's existence, but he does ignore it, which a theist might argue amounts to the same thing.

Andy is not the creator of the toys, just their owner, so the idea that he's supposed to represent God is flawed.

It would be just as valid to say the movie pushes an animal rights agenda. Clearly the toys represent pets, some well-treated, some discarded. The way the toys come to life when no humans are around is an analogy of how animals experience emotions that most humans don't see or acknowledge. The slinky dog is a commentary on abandoned animals, the way he's stretched to his physical limits. And Mr Potato Head (a vegetable) is a good guy. Sid (the kid next door) is an obvious dig on labs that experiment on animals- not to mention the dangers of biotechnology. The claw machine with the aliens is a thinly disguised puppy mill; the fact that the aliens all look the same is obviously a cry against inbreeding. Notice that Woody & Buzz get separated from the family at a gas station (petroleum products- HELLO!). Woody, a cowboy, gets tossed aside by Andy; this is an obvious analogy to how we've gotten away from nature. During the chase at the end, the rc car comes to a sudden stop, obviously a plea for society to abandon automobiles.

Or maybe it's just about toys.

 

[James Edward]

I went with 'Signs'. And I've bookmarked this thread for future reference; there are a lot of what seem to be good movies that I'll be putting in my Netflix queue.

She enjoyed the film. And I learned I need to be more precise in my thread titles. The word religious in the title may have been misleading. I was only looking for titles that would not contain much cursing or sexual innuendo.

Now, back to your debate on 'Toy Story'.

Thanks to all who replied.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Let's keep the level of discussion nice. No accusing people who like and enjoy a certain film by Martin Scorsese of being cultists.

 

[AllanN]

About Schmidt
Amélie If she can get by the opening credits and the "I wonder how many people are having a orgasm right now?" parts.
Frequency
K-Pax
Spirited Away

 

[andrew markworthy]

We once had a very religious and prudish friend to stay and we thought we'd be safe with E.T. (amazingly, she'd never seen it). She objected to E.T. being naked. :frowning:

I think that throughout this thread an interesting association is being made between spirituality and prudishness. Although I guess we can all think of stereotpyed pious frumps, the two attributes are not automatically synonymous!

I think you should avoid anything that questions faith (Signs, The Body, Shadowlands, Life of Brian, Dogma, Last Temptation of Christ). It may surprise non-believers, but a lot of practising Christians love these movies (I certainly do), but not everyone does. Better play safe and go for something that stretches the mind but has no great religious/emotional content.

I'd endorse The Winslow Boy (the modern version which is far more faithful to the stage version). You could also try Microcosmos (unless your visitor is squeamish about insects).

 

[James_M]

I wasn't making judgements on the filmmaking quality or the entertainment value of TLTOC. I never said I had a problem with anyone thinking it's a decent movie filmmaking wise. As long as they're able to recognize the difference between the true story vs. false story I don't mind. By this I don't mean fiction vs. nonfiction which is a whole other debate but I mean it in a purist sense. You know, it faces the same differences any book to movie interpretation would have. I'm just saying that for a very religious person who is worried about controversal content, watching Martin Scorsese's revisioning of the gospel isn't a good idea. The Bible isn't the best book that a person can go about loosely adapting. You know, I assume very religious people would like to see their religious movies more true to their original religious content. It's a blatent fact that Scorsese's movie does not stay faithful to the original story of Christ. Even though the original poster never stated what religion he's into, he explicitly stated he doesn't want any sex scenes. Not to mention it being more than 10 years old, there is a sex scene in TLTOC so that's why it would be a horrible movie to choose under his guidelines.

 

[Wayne W]

Life of Brian. Ok, bad choice but the film does crack me up.

The E.T. story reminds me of a friend who was dating a very prudish girl...she walked out of A Fish Called Wanda when Cleese stripped down to his underwear. Lol. I'm still laughing at that one.

As far as true story vs. false story ...Uhh It's a film for christs sake not a documentary. I would assume an adult should be able to watch TLTOC and understand this. The bible can be viewed as someones interpretation of the truth as well. I liked the flick, btw.

I do think by the guidelines he set forth it wouldn't be a good fit. Although it was the first movie that popped into my head.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Andrew, one thing you don't understand is that the climate and attitudes in the US when one says "very religious person" tend to be several degrees closer ot the extreme than in the UK. Some sects would claim ET was bad because it featured aliens, and that humanity is the only life in the universe and God's favored children. Spirited Away features "pagan" belief systems, so would be equally unacceptible.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

> She objected to E.T. being naked.

What does she think of Lassie?

 

[Louis C]

...back to Toy Story...the only overt reference to religion I recall hearing is the crane scene where Woody calls them zealots for 'believing' in the crane. I wouldn't say this makes it a pro-athiest film. It does hold up to criticism blind faith as an earlier post points out.

(By the way if you think Pixar flicks are directed just at kids you may want to pay more attention to the dialogue.)

I think Toy Story is a parable about the Golden Rule. Woody doesn't treat Buzz as he wants to be treated, and look what happens. Sid doesn't treat his toys with respect, and look what the toys do to teach him a lesson.

Woody is wrongly judged for telling the truth and when then Rex finds out he was wrong says "Now I have guilt!"

Though I would hardly call this a overtly religious film, it definitely has some moral if not religious overtones.

If the central point of atheism is that existence is disorder or that there is no greater reason for our living, then I am at a loss as to how that point is demonstrated in Toy Story.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

If the central point of atheism is that existence is disorder or that there is no greater reason for our living

No it's not. Atheism is lack of belief in a supreme being, simple and clear cut. What you're giving there is the dramatisized propogandistic version which is often followed by not-so-polite digs at atheist's moral underpinnings.

 

[Bill Burns]

Jeff has written quite a bit :

post #20:

3. No discussions concerning politics or religion. These type of discussions don't belong here. This prohibition extends to any aspect of the current international situation in the Middle East; this is not the forum for any such discussion.

This thread, as begun by James, is about inoffensive film recommendations, i.e. pictures someone sensitive to harsh content might watch without concern. He explained that violence was not a factor. Along those guidelines, some here have tried to offer sincere recommendations, and others seem to be needling James with sarcastic film lists. I'd suggest we try to remain constructive to the thread topic and in any analysis of the films we recommend (including Toy Story), which should really mean a concerted effort to avoid describing and especially characterizing religions and religious practices, or of course in any way attacking them. Avoiding debates about religion altogether is, again, something Ron has mandated.

That's just my input on the matter -- I expect you may wish to clarify the above, Jeff, or perhaps refute my interpretation of your comments, and that's fine, but I'm not trying to get into a debate about it. These things are powder kegs, and Ron and Parker wisely understand that in such matters it's best to confiscate all flints. I've enjoyed the liveliness of the thread, and I don't want to see it closed (or become divisive) if we can avoid it. As James says, future references to the thread might yield fine suggestions for his Netflix account, and along those lines I'm happy to once again encourage a rental of The Winslow Boy, a completely inoffensive, live action G-rated film that also happens to have, as its director, one of the finest filmmakers out there: David Mamet. I'd also second the suggestion that one reference Screen It! before taking our word on what is and what is not offensive -- best to judge for oneself, and that website allows such judgments without having to watch the film in question first. There are also, of course, a number of fine religious websites that review motion pictures from a perspective of faith. One to which I often refer as a Catholic, but with which I do not always agree (such is usually the way of it with film criticism, after all), can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/movies/index.htm; I believe the reviews are written by laymen on that site on behalf of the USCCB (I'm not certain of this, though), and there are many more such sites from a multitude of denominations and perspectives.

 

[andrew markworthy]

the climate and attitudes in the US when one says "very religious person" tend to be several degrees closer ot the extreme than in the UK. Some sects would claim ET was bad because it featured aliens, and that humanity is the only life in the universe and God's favored children. Spirited Away features "pagan" belief systems, so would be equally unacceptible.

[Please note that what follows is a cultural comment - I'm not being evaluative of religious beliefs]. Jeff, we *do* have people with that sort of belief and value system in the UK. They generally belong to what are often called 'happy clappy' churches (lots of emphasis on upbeat religious songs that you clap along to, holding your hands in the air whilst singing, accompanied by literal interpretations of Biblical writing, etc). [If you want an example, watch 'Oranges are not the only fruit' (warning - scenes of lesbianism throughout)]. There are fewer in the 'traditional' churches but they do exist, and it's safe to say it's a source of tension for a lot of churchgoers.

However, overall, it's safe to say that Brit churchgoers are a little more relaxed on such matters.

 

[Mark Bendiksen]

Or maybe it's just about toys.

LOL...I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. Is Toy Story just about toys? No. I think there are much deeper themes that the folks at Pixar address with all of their films, especially TS1 and TS2. Do I think that Toy Story is really about atheism? No. That's an amusing theory, but c'mon! I think John Lasseter would laugh in the face of anyone who proposed that idea.

Just my $.02...

Link Removed

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Do I think that Toy Story is really about atheism?

That wasn't the point. The point was that it is an atheist parable, not a direct atheist film

 

[Dan Rudolph]

Wouldn't being an atheist parable make it about atheism? Few people would try to argue The Crucible isn't about McCarythism.

 

[AllanN]

Spirited Away features "pagan" belief systems, so would be equally unacceptible.

My bad, I never really picked up on that, I just though it was a heartwarming and encouraging story.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Wouldn't being an atheist parable make it about atheism? Few people would try to argue The Crucible isn't about McCarythism.

No, it means that the same tenets and ideas to be applied to atheism, but the direct intent of the film is not to further a particular school of thought, though that may be the end result.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Reading through some of the arguments that have been made against 'blasphemous' movies, I'm reminded of a Brecht/Weill song:

You men who think you have a mission
To purge us of the seven deadly sins
Should first sort out the basic food position
Then you can start your preaching
Because that's where it begins.