Posted on 08/21/2008 9:26:17 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
This is the Apocalypse of St. Bill the Stoned.
Though funny, smart and often profane, Religulous doesn't want to send you out of the theater with a smile on your lips. The final moments of the film aren't laugh out loud funny, but a parade of images of death and destruction. This, Bill Maher says, is what humanity is in for if it doesn't get rid of the nuerological disorder that is religion.
You probably know my bias going into this film. I believe that religion is not just irrational but anti-rational, a Bronze Age worldview that should have been left behind when we started figuring out science. Bill Maher sees it the same way, and he makes no bones about it. But this isn't a review of Maher's ideas (10/10 on that one) but of the movie itself. How does Religulous stack up as a film?
It stacks up really well. The basic concept of the film has Maher traveling around the world talking to believers about what they believe, and most importantly why (or how they can believe it, for that matter). From the Holy Land to the Holy Land Experience theme park in Florida, Maher goes where the believers are and engages them on their home turf. That makes a huge difference in how the film feels, as does the fact that he actually confronts them. Religulous is directed by comic genius and Borat helmer Larry Charles, and it would have been easy to do this movie in a similar vein to that one - letting these people dig themselves a ridiculous hole with their own words - but Maher isn't interested in that. He wants to interact with these people, to confront them with the logic-hating aspects of their faiths and see what they come back with.
That's where I think the movie succeeds the most, but also one of the main places where detractors will come after it. They'll say that Maher is looking just to clown these people, but that isn't the case. He's more than slightly exasperated with the cop out answers that people give him (to the point where he actually gets kind of excited when a Jesus impersonater explains the parodoxical Holy Trinity by comparing it to the three states of water. It's bullshit, Maher says, but it's interesting and new bullshit to him), and this film is supposed to be funny so he's being funny, but he's also being fair. He's asking these people straight, direct questions. In return he's getting garbage like 'What if you die and find out you're wrong?'
And he's not going after random people in churches. He's going to self-styled leaders and full-time religious people as much as possible (although some of the film's best moments do come from tourists in the gift shop at The Holy Land Experience as they debate the place of Jews in the Kingdom of Heaven), the kind of people who are supposed to have the answers to give. The kind of people who are supposed to have given some thought to their faith. And yet again and again these are the people with the flimsiest crap, who present proof of the Almighty with miracles like God making it rain on cue during a party. Maher handily makes short work of most of these people, with a few interesting exceptions. The Catholics he speaks with come off fairly well as modern people who understand that the Bible is filled with allegories for how we should live our lives, not straight history and science lessons. Then there's the anti-Zionist rabbi who yaps so much that Maher actually walks out on the interview. It's the only time in the film that he's bested, albeit through sheer brute force.
The exchanges between Maher and the believers are obviously edited - the film would be days long if they weren't - but they feel fair. Interestingly, Charles has decided to include many, many shots of the documentary camera crew and quite a few moments that happen outside of the 'on air' parts of the interview process. The director himself is an almost constant presence in the film, with his dark clothes and long, grey streaked beard making him look sort of like a holy man himself. There's a transparency to the film that's intriguing; by including the crew and many off the cuff scenes of Maher in the car talking out his thoughts on religion the film keeps from becoming about Maher and becomes about the journey. About the search. I mean, sure, Maher's the star of the picture, but there's little pretense on display here. It doesn't feel like a Michael Moore 'hey look at me' op-ed documentary.
What's interesting is that Maher's not really spending time on the evils surrounding religion. He talks a bit about violence (especially when he's examining Islam) and makes passing mention of the Catholic sex abuse scandals and interviews a preacher dressed in a ridiculously expensive suit, but what Maher's really after is the basic beliefs. The evil things surrounding the religious institutions are too easily brushed off - these are people doing these terrible things, and people are fallible - so he strikes at the heart of the matter. How can you believe in a talking snake? A man living in the belly of a whale? How is a guy coming back from the dead after three days any less silly than Xenu putting millions of aliens in volcanoes ages ago and detonating nukes on them?
These beliefs are kind of hilarious - it's hard not to laugh when you realize that Mormons think God is a flesh and blood dude who lives on an alien planet - but it's Maher, as the irascible doubter, who brings a lot of comedy to the film. It's often laugh out loud funny, aided by funny asides from Larry Charles - inserts of stock and religious movie footage with perfect comedic timing, and a running gag of subtitles that question the factual inaccuracies and stupidities of the believers - and for most of the movie's running time, Religulous is fairly light-hearted while dealing with some pretty big issues. But as the movie moves overseas, as Maher hits Jerusalem and examines the radical Muslim problem in Amsterdam, the film slowly begins to darken. If there's a misstep in Religulous it's this transition, which is a little jarring. Maher's approach to believers - put them on the spot and cut down their arguments with logic and humor - often makes it easy to think of religion as silly, but that's not his final thesis. Charles saves some important bits from earlier interviews for his final summation; Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor, a fundamentalist who ran campaign ads where he clutched the Bible, is presented as a goofy guy in the beginning of the film but the movie comes back to the scary aspects of these fundamentalists being in power. They WANT to bring about the end of the world so that Jesus can come back, and since they think we're in the End Times right now they don't have much incentive to save the environment or prop up the economy or health care or anything else in a way that will help future generations. This is the scary stuff at the end of the movie - it doesn't matter if you believe in the Book of Revelations if your president does - but it's only at the end of the movie. Audiences may feel the rug being pulled out from under them as the final ten minutes descend into a scary slideshow of horrors.
As a piece of agitprop op-ed filmmaking, Religulous is often brilliant. It's definitely hilarious, sometimes to the point of leaving me wheezing and giggling. It's also essentially irrefutable - the argument between Maher and the believers really boils down to 'Why do you like chocolate?' The problem is that nobody makes huge political and military decisions based on how they feel about chocolate. The film's final moments, where Maher make a passionate exhortation to like-minded doubters to stand up against the irrationality that has gripped our world (an irrationality most lately on display in the megachurch 'debate' between Obama and McCain where they tried to outlove Jesus each other. Didn't anybody learn the lesson about electing guys who place all their faith in God instead of facts over the last eight years?) could be galvanizing to that silent 16% of Americans - a minority, by the way, bigger than blacks or Jews.
I do wonder what believers will say about the film. There's little doubt that few of them will bother seeing it - nothing seems to bug a believer so much as someone attacking their beliefs - but I wonder if any minds will be changed, if any people will be unsaved, such as it were. During Maher's stop over in Salt Lake City he talks to some ex-Mormons, and one of them says that his life was changed as soon as he saw how silly so many of the things Joseph Smith claimed were. Will Religulous present the essential silliness of religion to some on the fence religious folks?
Mr. Faraci is indulging his conceit of foolishness.
Bill Maher is both unfunny and stupid. No wonder he’s a poster child for militant atheism.
“that religion is not just irrational but anti-rational, a Bronze Age worldview that should have been left behind when we started figuring out science.’
I have recently been studying this with my students. The fact is, the rise in protestantism brought about the greatest flowering of science in modern times.
Protestants had the doctrine of “sola scriptura” along with the “Great Commission” - the greatest command of jesus was to preach the gospel, and along with it the doctrine that to understand God one had to read his word.
This lead to protestants putting a huge emphasis on reading for all. It’s the reason that America started public education - it was the primary duty of all to make sure people could read the bible. (This is also the reason schools for the blind started to be developed - the handicapped were in need of salvation also).
A lot of protestants felt literature was frivolous, but the sciences were a noble endevour - understanding God’s creation.
Bill Maher is totally ignorant of the true effect religion has had on learning. If it wasn’t for religion, we might still be banging rocks to make fire.
Maher has some serious reaping coming to him.
The poster child for what not to do in life.
From Paul’s first letter to the Christians in Corinth. Clearly, unbelievers thinking Christians are foolish is not new nor should it be surprising.
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Not since The Eternal Jew has someone been so proud to make a film demonizing those of faith.
Sorry about all the spelling mistakes. I am typing with a kitten playing with the keyboard. Does anyone want a kitten?
Great post.
I predict an early demise at the box office, followed by a trip to the shelves at Blockbuster, where it will come to rest next to “Sicko” and all those anti-war Hollywood movies that did soooooooo well....
Naked Communist:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/agitprop
ag·it·prop–noun
1. agitation and propaganda, esp. for the cause of communism.
2. (often initial capital letter) an agency or department, as of a government, that directs and coordinates agitation and propaganda.
3. Also, ag·it·prop·ist. a person who is trained or takes part in such activities.
–adjective
4. of or pertaining to agitprop.
----
[Origin: 1930–35; < Russ Agitpróp, orig. for Agitatsiónno-propagandístskiĭ otdél Agitation Propaganda Section (of the Central Committee, or a local committee, of the Communist Party); subsequently the head of such a section, or in compound names of political education organs, as agitpropbrigáda, etc.]
And it mentions different things about Christians. There is A reference comparing Christian belief in Jesus and the Resurection to Xenu. But no outward discussion of scenes of Scientologists being confronted. Or Muslims. Or Wiccan. Or Pagans. Or Satanists. Or...
AntiChristian screed.
If ALL religion is false, why do the critics of faith only target ONE faith?
Do not use potty language or references to potty language on the Religion Forum.
Isn't it sad that some people find the Holy Spirit more uncomfortable to be around than a mob of screaming jihadists?
“Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it’s not cowardly.” - Bill Maher on the Islamist attacks on the WTC and Pentagon on 9-17-2001.
Let's find a way to contact him and ask him. Why don’ t we e-mail Foxnews.com, O’Reilley, Hannity and ask them to ask the idiot that exact question. How can we contact him, anyone know?
The truth about Barack Obama's faith
Lie: Barack Obama is a Muslim.Truth: Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised as a Muslim, and is a committed Christian. Further, this myth perpetuates unfortunate falsehoods about the Muslim-American community that are offensive to people of all faiths.
Only seems fair to ask him about his faith when he denies bluntly that he studied the Koran as a child even though he mentioned it in his book.
His mother was an atheist and his fathers were non-observant muslims. So who baptised the young Barack Jr.?
Freedom of religion means nothing to that pothead.
Let's show some images of Stalin's gulags.
Oh wait, that'd be another film.
They don't attack the beliefs. They attack those who believe and blame the ills of the world on believers.
Throwing Christians to the lions didn't solve the world's problems either.
Sorry Dev, but no Christianity would have meant no science. Period.
Looking forward to seeing this though. While I side with evangelicals and hyper religious folks on many political issues, I don't support them bringing faith into the public or government arena. If Maher makes skewering some of their sillier beliefs entertaining, it should be fun to watch.
I think there is something just not right with this guy. Sometimes I think he shows signs of some kind of evil influence,he’s not just an atheist,he’s malicious about something he doesn’t even believe in. The other night I watched a show on the life of Madelyn O’hare and she was such a nasty person. She had such a malicious personality and she wound up getting tortured and murdered by some guy she accused of being a homosexual. The guy vowed revenge for her public accusation in the atheist newsletter and he got it. He also killed one of her sons and grand-daughter. Although I do believe she has more courage than Maher,but still he is a nasty man. did someone say that Ann Coulter went out with him?
I skipped Borat. Even the TV trailers were nauseating. There is a better than even chance I’ll skip this one too.
Okay, I’ll just sit here for a moment and savor the irony of Bill Maher trying to argue that religious folk are irrational fools. Even more so the irony of the same argument coming from somebody who looks to Maher as a fount of comic genius, let alone scientific knowledge. I mean, we kid the French for considering Jerry Lewis a comedic genius, but let’s face it, at least Jerry was funny.
And by the way, didn’t Bob Guccione make a movie called “Religulous” with Malcolm McDowell...ah, no, sorry, that was “Caligula”. Arguably a more spiritually uplifting work.
I thought the story was that Maddy Murray O’Hair was murdered because she was stockpiling gold profited from her religious agenda and some of her cohorts turned on her.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madalyn_Murray_O’Hair
On August 27, 1995, O’Hair, Jon, and Robin vanished.[2] The door to the office of American Atheists was locked with a note attached (apparently in Jon’s handwriting), stating “The Murray O’Hair family has been called out of town on an emergency basis. We do not know how long we will be gone at the time of the writing of this memo.” When O’Hair’s home was entered, breakfast dishes were sitting on the table,[2] her diabetes medication was on the kitchen counter, and her beloved dogs had been left behind with no caregiver.[8]
In phone calls a few days later, the trio claimed they were on “business” in San Antonio, Texas.[2] A few days later, Jon ordered US$600,000 worth of gold coins from a San Antonio jeweler but took delivery of only $500,000.[14]
Until September 27, American Atheist employees and friends received several phone calls from Robin and Jon, but neither would explain why they left or when they would return; while they said nothing was amiss, their voices sounded strained and disturbed.[2] After September 28, no further communication came from any of the O’Hairs.
[edit] Speculations
Speculation abounded on the cause and meaning of O’Hair’s disappearance.[15] Some hypothesized that the O’Hairs had abandoned American Atheists and fled with the money. One investigator working for Vanity Fair, after looking at evidence presented to him by former employee David Roland Waters, concluded they had gone to New Zealand.[8]
Exactly one year after the disappearance, Bill Murray filed a missing persons report.[2] He had previously stated he would not file such a report due to the inevitable media attention it would bring. He also noted the lack of evidence of foul play, stating, “I don’t want to search for people who don’t want to be found.”[16] The O’Hairs were declared legally dead, and many of their assets were sold to clear up their debts.
Ultimately, a murder investigation focused on Waters, who had worked as a typesetter for American Atheists and was the organization’s office manager at the time the three vanished. Not only did Waters have previous convictions for violent crimes, there were several suspicious burglaries during his tenure, and he pleaded guilty earlier in 1995 to stealing $54,000 from American Atheists.[18]
Shortly after his theft of the $54,000 was discovered, O’Hair wrote a scathing article in the ‘Members Only’ section of the American Atheists newsletter exposing Waters, the theft and Waters’ previous crimes,[8] including a 1977 incident in which Waters allegedly beat and urinated upon his own mother.[18] Waters’ girlfriend later testified that he was enraged by O’Hair’s article, and that he fantasized about torturing her in gruesome ways.[18]
Police concluded that Waters and his accomplices had kidnapped all three O’Hairs, forced them to withdraw the missing funds, went on several huge shopping sprees with the O’Hairs’ money and credit cards, and then murdered all three people.
-
The gold coins extorted from the O’Hairs were put in a storage locker rented by Waters’ girlfriend.[citation needed] Waters had taken out $80,000 and partied with his girlfriend for a few days,[citation needed] but upon his return he discovered that the remaining $420,000 had been stolen.[citation needed] A group of thieves operating in that area had a master key to the type of lock which Waters used to secure the locker. In the course of their activities, they came across the locker, used the master key to open it, and found a suitcase full of gold coins. They eventually spent all but one, which the police recovered.[citation needed]
Waters was found guilty of kidnapping, robbery, and murder in the O’Hair case, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.[20] In addition, he was also ordered to pay back a total of $543,665 to the United Secularists of America and the estates of Madalyn Murray O’Hair, Jon Garth Murray, and Robin Murray-O’Hair. It is unlikely that any of these debts were paid, as Waters had no ability to earn money while in prison. Waters died in prison of lung cancer on January 27, 2003.[8]
I suspect that Bill Maher is religious too — that he prostrates himself before the graven image of Karl Marx.
Isn’t Maher a former catholic? I watched a LKL interview with him and he mentioned something about leaving the catholic church. Why the change in him? I wonder...
He used to be funny before he became a bitter old man.
Lie: Barack Obama is a Muslim.LOL! Apparently they don't want him, either! :)
Truth: Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised as a Muslim, and is a committed Christian. Further, this myth perpetuates unfortunate falsehoods about the Muslim-American community that are offensive to people of all faiths.
I can't stand Bill Maher, especially since he claims to be a libertarian when he's clearly not.Bill Maher only claimed to be a libertarian because he thought it was counter-cultural. No, he's just another garden variety leftist who thinks that it would be just peachy if the government would just fully exercise it's God-given role (irony intentional) as a distributer of wealth.
If Maher makes skewering some of their sillier beliefs entertaining, it should be fun to watch.Skewering sillier, illogical beliefs CAN be quite entertaining. :) For example, this is from the review:
What's interesting is that Maher's not really spending time on the evils surrounding religion.Now, what does an athiest mean by "evil" in the first place?
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