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News & ArtsWednesday, July 22, 2009
Film Religious Pollution
Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 3:26 PM
BBC reports:
Directors, writers and cinema buffs had arrived in Jeddah for what had been billed as a week-long festival of films from Saudi Arabia and neighbouring states.The essence of any religion is this hate for life—meaning, a hate for any form of creativity or flourishing.The festival was due to begin on Saturday. But an hour before midnight on Friday the organisers were told by the Jeddah municipality to cancel it.
The only official explanation was that the event had not been sufficiently prepared.
But it is widely believed the ban is the latest victory for religious conservatives, who regard cinema as a form of Western moral pollution.
From a book that has changed my life, Deleuze's Spinoza: Practical Philosophy:
"What poisons life is hatred, including the hatred that is turned back against oneself in the form of guilt. Spinoza traces, step by step, the dreadful concatenation of sad passions; first, sadness itself, then hatred, aversion, mockery, fear, despair, fear, morsus conscientiae, pity, indignation, envy humility, repentance, self-abasement, shame, regret, anger, vengeance, cruelty.."For this reason, the sad passions of religion will always be attached to those on the right of the political spectrum. The current challenge to health care reform is fueled by the sad passions. There is nothing like this hate for life, for the body. It is no surprise that the very same people who had no problem going to war on the most flimsiest reason are the ones who have a big problem with universal health insurance. They have no problem spending billions on the death machine but become angry when billions go to the enhancement of life. And then there is the cross: a death machine as an object of worship. Jesus did not want us to celebrate his death but his life. But his work, which was life work, was transformed by Paul into a religion of death. No religion in the Abrahamic tradition has escaped this transformation, this deadening.
The image, a publicity photo for Caramel, is of Nadine Labaki, an Arab film star.
2
I'm not even religious, I do not beleive in a supreme being, yet I still find this blanket characterisation that "The essence of any religion is this hate for life—meaning, a hate for any form of creativity" is a gross stereotype based on an example set by extremeists. Your really off the deep end on this one.
3
I'm not even religious, I do not beleive in a supreme being, yet I still find this blanket characterisation that "The essence of any religion is this hate for life—meaning, a hate for any form of creativity" is a gross stereotype based on an example set by extremeists. Your really off the deep end on this one.
4
Charles, I'm not religious, I don't even believe in a supreme being, and I find your statement that "The essence of any religion is this hate for life—meaning, a hate for any form of creativity" is a gross stereotype based on an example set by the worst of the worst in the religious communities.
5
Charles, I'm not religious, I don't even believe in a supreme being, and I find your statement that "The essence of any religion is this hate for life—meaning, a hate for any form of creativity" is a gross stereotype based on an example set by the worst of the worst in the religious communities.
6
If the amount of exposed female chest in that picture is indicative of the material in the film festival, I'm not at all surprised that it was cancelled. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if the Saudis took one look at that photo and made the decision. And they probably muttered something about "go back to your sinful heathen Lebanon" too.
7
If you start to enjoy a life of sex, marijuana, and socialized medicine then you might start to question the value of worshiping a God who says you can't do all these things, and you might even question whether he exists at all. This is why the religious must constantly push the idea that sex, marijuana, and socialized medicine lead to an empty existence compared to the true fulfillment that is religion, when in fact the opposite is true.
10
@7: I don't know what God you're talking about, but it isn't my God. My God says all those things are OK (especially socialized medicine, if we can ever get that little perk). Don't use phrases like "the religious" unless you KNOW all religious people.
And to Mudede, my religion's the oldest of the Abrahamic religions and it definitely is a religious of life.
And to Mudede, my religion's the oldest of the Abrahamic religions and it definitely is a religious of life.
11
I agree Charles, but these politicians do not only hate themselves, they do not only turn their guilt inward, injuring themselves, but, because they are concerned with the lives of American citizens, turn that hate and injury onto their constituents. "You are not good enough! If you were worthy of a capitalistic life YOU would have health care but you FAIL to do so."
As for the cross and the religious obsession with death...Well, I would say it is not just the religious who have an obsession with death, but the living, and only those who are particularly enlightened are able to look away from that impending monolith and experience their surroundings. In some, this fear of death manifests itself as hate, no religious or atheistic person excluded, though many sects of both categories to make it a general practice.
As for the cross and the religious obsession with death...Well, I would say it is not just the religious who have an obsession with death, but the living, and only those who are particularly enlightened are able to look away from that impending monolith and experience their surroundings. In some, this fear of death manifests itself as hate, no religious or atheistic person excluded, though many sects of both categories to make it a general practice.
15
The text of this post is interesting, but what is the point of the picture? How is it even connected to the text? What is it supposed to do, except elicit comments of CHUCK DICK?
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