Monday, December 08, 2014

Why I am not going to see the new Ridley Scott movie and you shouldn't either.

Look at that!

Doesn't that look good?

Yeah I think so too. I love going to the movies and that looks right up my alley.

I mean I love the director Ridley Scott, I am a big Christian Bale fan, and big extravagant films like this are why I go to the movies.

Except I am not going to see it. Ever!

Why you may ask?

Because it is all bullshit that perpetuates a myth that is incredibly destructive and vilifies an entire nation even though there is absolutely NO evidence to support it.

Don't believe me? Here you go:

It turns out that there is no archaeological evidence of any kind relating to a separate settlement of religious people in Egypt during that time. There is also no evidence of any kind relating to a mass migration across the Sinai Peninsula. 

If things did indeed happen as it says in the Bible (and the Torah), there would have to be some archaeological evidence. But there is none. 

Further, there is no evidence of any kind that Egypt even used slaves, and certainly no evidence that they enslaved an entire nation. The workers that built the pyramids are known to be well payed Egyptians. The pyramids weren’t even built in the right time period, being 800 to 2,000 years older than the supposed “Exodus”. 

The same techniques used to track the migration patterns of ancient humans by examining DNA also show that there was absolutely no procreation between ancient Egyptians and ancient Israelites during the time that the story was supposed to have taken place. Not to put too fine a point on it, but if an entire nation was enslaved for hundreds of years, surely there would have been some inter-breeding. 

In short, this story never happened. 

There is more here and here if you need further convincing. 

Last year I was talked into going to see the movie Noah, starring Russell Crow, by my daughter.

However halfway through I thought "Well this is just religious bullshit. And by purchasing a ticket I am financially supporting this religious bullshit and probably helping to convince movie makers to create more of this religious bullshit."

It actually bothered me for days afterward, and even though I tried to rationalize it by reminding myself that I also watched the movie Troy, which is also based on mythologies, I still couldn't do it.

You see it is easy to dismiss a craptastic flop like Kirk Cameron's recent Christmas movie, but these movies support the mythologies that are vital to propping up a religion that, let's face it, is now well past its sell by date.

You see I dearly love fantasy movies and will gleefully spend my hard earned money to watch all kinds of completely unrealistic action sequences on the big screen.  I like horror movies, superhero movies, dinosaur movies, Liam Neeson movies, you name it.

However in most cases the line between fantasy and reality is pretty easy to identify.  (Though I actually have problems with movies about demonic possession as well because I think they perpetuate a superstition that can be quite harmful to people with mental health problems.)

And besides at least Captain America movies never promoted a mythology which supports the oppression of women, makes it alright to hate gays, and is actively trying to destroy scientific education in this country.

I'm just saying.

29 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:37 PM

    It's a fairy tale. I think I'll re-watch the original, deliciously campy, Clash of the Titans instead. I'll take Medusa and the Kracken over the god of the bible any day.

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  2. Anonymous2:45 PM

    check this out!


    Christie, Aide Texted As Bridgegate Cover Story Unraveled

    http://www.wnyc.org/story/christie-aide-exchanged-messages-their-cover-story-unravelled/

    #fatmaninajam

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:24 PM

      This is great news, that fat cat has to go down for that ridiculous bridge stunt. Can you imagine him as president. Not I. Bye, bye Chrissy.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous2:52 PM

    I agree. Why should we in light of the absolute avoidance of truth by Christians regarding the very real effects and reasons for global warming play in to this very bizarre fantasy? I refuse to be complicit any more. Enough is enough. I refused as a parent to indoctrinate my children in the fantasy, why should I spend any time on it now?

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  4. Anonymous2:56 PM

    Bible movies are the same fiction as superhero movies, the problem is the people that believe any movie to be truth. Entertainment is just that and we can't help those people that believe in god no more than we can help those people who believe in Batman! Stories, that's all they are, just stories whether they are religious or secular superhero films; it's all fiction.

    The religious people like to see their stories made into movies too and being an Atheist I wouldn't choose to watch one of their stories and I don't entertain them when they try to personally share their mythology with me but I guess if someone wants to make them a movie about their tales then why should I be bothered?

    I know it's not real, no more real than the Transformers in a Michael Bey film are, and if they believe this movie to be an historical documentary then it shows their ignorance. The more their ignorance is exposed the less people will buy into it and we can move forward to a world free of religions. Give people a chance to see what a load of crap it all is and let them form their own opinions. Unfortunately there are a lot of brainwashed cultists that will never see the error in their thinking and they are lost to the world, but don't sell people short. Most will see it as fictional entertainment just as any other movie and the ones that don't aren't worth the time of day.

    Don't be an angry Atheist, but a happy one who is unburdened by faith and folly and free to view the world as it truly is through the lens of learning and science. I used to feel pity for the religious but now I can't even find it in myself to care enough about them to try to correct their ignorance.

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  5. Anonymous3:40 PM

    I haven't paid much attention to this movie but did see a little something and felt disappointed with Christian Bale.

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  6. Anita Winecooler3:50 PM

    What a waste of Christian Bale, of course I agree with your post, especially the part about giving the mentally challenged the wrong ideas they hopefully won't act out, but Bible movies aren't in my genre', so I wouldn't have seen it anyway.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:13 PM

      Heh, what a waste of Ridley Scott!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous5:28 PM

      I wish he'd make a movie about Nefertiti and her take on the life and rule of Akhenaten (who ruled Egypt and devised and enforced the thought concept of monotheism) He was insane! Starring Angelina Jolie and Adrien Brody. That's an original and entertaining concept.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous 5:28.

      That would be an awesome movie. There has been only one done on that subject. Can't remember the name but I remember the movie. Watched it several times on TV as a kid.

      I would actually pay money to go to a theater and watch that if it was done well.

      And don't forget, they could throw in the boy king Tutankamun too. Even make a follow up on his reign as a semi two-parter. We know a lot more about Tut now than we did 40 years ago.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous4:40 PM

    Evidence schmevidence! Christians don't need no stinkin' evidence! They're persons of FAITH, don'tcha know!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Faith = invitation to be scammed

      Delete
  8. Anonymous4:45 PM

    But there IS archaeological evidence for Troy.
    http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/849

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some years ago, PBS broadcast an extraordinary British series (six parts?) on the Trojan War and fall of Troy. Dishy Michael Woods of the hypnotic voice narrated.

      Delete
  9. Like much in the Buy-bull, this is a parable, not a history lesson. It's the story of the birth of the Jewish people. Moses' name in Hebrew can be "saviour," "born out of the water."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. fromthediagonal6:51 PM

      hrh @5:05: Of course, all writings in all religions are parables, something most readers fail to recognize. As for the rest of it, we are all "born out of the water", i. e. amniotic fluid, the uterine liquid which surrounds the fetus until birth.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous5:11 PM

    There more evidence for Alien/s than "The Greatest Story Ever Told." And, really, Alien/s is a much better story.

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  11. Anonymous5:13 PM

    Just a point of clarification because I heard the use of "Bible and Torah" in an interview about this movie earlier today, as well.

    The actor stated he read both as research for his part.

    Yet, the Torah is just the 1st 5 books of the Old Testament in the form of a double scroll.

    I have no plans to see this movie, either.




    ReplyDelete
  12. Can we talk about using WHITE actors to portray ethnic characters? I'm pretty sure Moses wasn't Welsh, and Ramses (a real historical figure) wasn't fucking American. Fuck this movie, fuck Christian Bake and fuck Ridley Scott.

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    Replies
    1. BALE not Bake. I got a little heated. But, really fuck him.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:20 PM

      I saw some of the 'scandal' in the news of using white actors and I believe the reason was because 'the movie couldn't get insurance if they used an actor with the name of 'Muhammad' or some crap like that'.

      Then Murdoch chimed in by saying that all Egyptians are white anyway, at least the ones he knows. Idiots.

      Delete
  13. Oh man, those liberals.. first they wage a war on Christmas and now they're trying to take away Passover! ;-)

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  14. Anonymous7:25 PM

    Not quite true that there is no evidence of a mass migration in that area. Satellite photos show ancient trails on the planet which cannot be seen from earth. The trail shows on the satellite pictures. I will look for the link.

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  15. Anonymous7:57 PM

    I thought it'd be cool to see "The 10 Commandments 2" which this seems to be...with updated special effects...and a gal like Jennifer Lawrence trying to do the dialog of "Oh, Moses...Moses" without cracking up.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous9:55 PM

    People are really upset over the racially insensitive casting choices as well. Lots of white actors playing dark-skinned characters. To accommodate this poor casting they 'europeanized" the features of the Sphinx. No one seems very happy with this film.

    http://jezebel.com/optimist-christian-bale-hopes-for-a-black-moses-in-a-fe-1668355407

    ReplyDelete
  17. What to make of compelling tales like this one?

    It was borrowed from "creation-flood stories attested in Mesopotamian literature," according to the New American Bible--the Bible used daily in the Catholic Church, which comprises more than half of the world's 2 billion+ Christians. The church understands the mythic component, and the essential underlying principles.

    This doesn't comport with the view of Christianity preached on IM. You've got to be carefully taught, as the old song goes.

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  18. I'll watch it when it comes on TV.

    Why?

    For the same reasons I watched Spartacus. And The Mummy and the Scorpion King.

    I grew up on swashbucklers and toga movies. I love me some period costume epics. Even the bad ones.

    I'm not looking for documentaries. I'm looking for entertainment. Whether it is Hercules or El Cid, I really don't care.

    And yeah, I'm a fan of Downton Abbey too.

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  19. Anonymous9:07 AM

    I agree with you Gryphen. Ridley Scott has always been my favorite director but now.... I'm pretty disappointed that he is promoting this crap. High production values or not.

    ReplyDelete

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