V for Vendetta

[Wave]

After reading this thread I went and saw the movie. To be quit franke, I hated it. I do not think it honered or glorifed God in any way. So that I don't space a heated debat on this thread I shall say no more. If you realy what to know why I hated it you can pm me.

wave.

[Stephen]

*laughs* You went into an R-rated film thinking it would glorify God?

[Steeltemplar]

Yumie and Mangafanatic made very compelling posts here. Very well thought out and reasoned, I think.

As for myself, I will likely never see the film, so I won't be able to comment on if it's good or no. I see plenty of films with blood and violence, etc. But to be honest I have no desire to see a film that glorifies a homosexual relationship nor to pay money to the people who make it.

[Puritan]

For me, I can completely understand the feelings about the homosexuality and relativist agenda spread in the film. I went to the film with a friend, and we didn't really know much beyond the fact that the film was by the same directors who made the Matrix and it was supposed to be a good action film. I was rather confused about how I should feel about the film in leaving the theater, as on one hand I liked the action sequences but I didn't like what seemed to be the underlying agenda. However, I honestly have trouble sympathising with almost all heros in action films due to the immorality of the hero or their cause as there are very few films of this (or any) genre that reflect a Christian view of the world. Perhaps it's more cynicism, but I've gotten to the point where I can enjoy a film for what it is (if the film isn't overly violent and avoids nudity and whatnot) without liking the agenda or even the main character. Although I am not likely to go out of my way to own or buy this movie, I find that, in the end, I enjoyed seeing the film. I thought V, while immoral, was an interesting character and the film itself was interesting even if I didn't agree with the supposed moral to the story.

[Wave]

*laughs* You went into an R-rated film thinking it would glorify God?

*laughs drily* Perhaps I should put it this way. I felt that the movie did God a great discredit. I felt like the movie dishonored God.

[Bianca]

I went into the movie with second thoughts, but I came out amazed

<Snipped by Osaka>

Mod note: Bianca, I decided to snip the comments you made above, because they were political in nature and we do not allow political discussion; also, they promoted a life style that we here at CAA do not support. See the FAQs for more of CAA's rules to avoid any future infractions.

[Steeltemplar]

Alan Moore, V for Vendetta's original creator does not seem to think much of Christianity. A couple of quotes from him on the subject:

"What happened with the invention of Christianity, which as far as I can see was the invention of Constantine and his advisors, they needed a composite religion to solve the political problems in ancient Rome. That was invented out of a blend of other beliefs and all of a sudden it was no longer required that you have a personal divine vision, they're saying 'Come to us'. In fact they're saying it doesn't even matter we haven't had a divine vision, we've got this book, and this book is about people a long time ago, and they had divine visions and we'll read to you about them. In effect it's putting a dam between people and what you might call the godhead, their personal power."

"I mean, in the pure philosophy of Christianity, I find there's a lot to recommend it, the same as there is in an awful lot of different schools of thought - but the actual religion Christianity is obviously something that is completely soul-destroying."


You can draw your own conclusions, but it doesn't inspire me to go watch the movie. Though I understand from reviews that I have read that the government V is against has Christian symbolism and aspects to it. As is written in this review ( http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/reviews/2006/vforvendetta.html)

"Especially frustrating are the numerous cheap shots at Christianity, clearly seen as part of the oppressive force. The motto of Sutler's government is, "Strength through unity, unity through faith," its symbol a modified crucifix. Sutler himself is described a man with deep religious convictions who rose to power with the iron fist of fear. At the film's start is a completely unsympathetic, rabid television pundit that's part Bill O'Reilly, part Pat Robertson, viscously blaming society's problems on godlessness and lack of religion. Oh, and then there's the timeworn cliché of the high-ranking official who also happens to be a pedophile priest who likes to play "confession" with little girls."

Again. Draw your own conclusions.

[ShiroiHikari]

Come on. You guys have to admit that there are plenty of people who label themselves "Christian" that give the rest of us a bad name. And look at the things the "Church" has done in the past. And the scandal with the Catholic priests! Is the scenario of V for Vendetta really so unfathomable?

Point is, people are corrupt, even people who call themselves "Christian". I don't think they were trying to take a shot at Christianity, I think they were just portraying a future that they thought could possibly come true.

I'm not saying everybody has to go see this movie, I'm just saying that a lot of you are trashing it when you haven't even seen it for yourself.

[Steeltemplar]

Come on. You guys have to admit that there are plenty of people who label themselves "Christian" that give the rest of us a bad name. And look at the things the "Church" has done in the past. And the scandal with the Catholic priests! Is the scenario of V for Vendetta really so unfathomable?

Point is, people are corrupt, even people who call themselves "Christian". I don't think they were trying to take a shot at Christianity, I think they were just portraying a future that they thought could possibly come true.

I'm not saying everybody has to go see this movie, I'm just saying that a lot of you are trashing it when you haven't even seen it for yourself.

I think that what is in this thread from those who have seen it and what has been in reviews from people who have also seen it has been pretty compelling evidence.

Not to mention that Alan Moore believes that organized Christianity is "soul-destroying". I think that should not escape notice.

The number of Priests who have actually molested children is a tiny percentage. And the "Church" has done far more good in the past than evil and the evils are not condoned by Church doctrine and never have been. So, yes, this future *is* unfathomable.

Even if some give us a bad name, it doesn't mean that we should be happy about a movie that glorifies homosexuality and makes slights at our faith.

(Edit: Let me clarify, what I mean to say is that, while you can like it if you want as a Christian, I think that it is not off-base for Christians to find it an offensive movie on moral and religious grounds. So if you like it, I'm not condemning you.)

[Arnobius]

Come on. You guys have to admit that there are plenty of people who label themselves "Christian" that give the rest of us a bad name. And look at the things the "Church" has done in the past. And the scandal with the Catholic priests! Is the scenario of V for Vendetta really so unfathomable?

Point is, people are corrupt, even people who call themselves "Christian". I don't think they were trying to take a shot at Christianity, I think they were just portraying a future that they thought could possibly come true.

I'm not saying everybody has to go see this movie, I'm just saying that a lot of you are trashing it when you haven't even seen it for yourself.

By condemning opposition on these grounds, you deny one crucial thing: The power of witness. By this logic, people would have no right to be opposed to the blasphemous portrayal of Christ in "The Last Temptation of Christ" unless they had seen it. When many religious groups oppose the movie, perhaps it is time to listen to their witness and not scorn it

There are people out there in Hollywood who hate Christians and make movies intended to mock their beliefs. Consider "Saved" and "Dogma". Films that attempt to ridicule things Christians believe in. "The Magdeline Sisters" and "Priest" were films made by people who left Christianity and wanted to attack it. So they made deceitful films showing the abberations of an institution as the norm, when in fact the abuses were exactly that... abuses by individuals who betrayed their trust.

"Especially frustrating are the numerous cheap shots at Christianity, clearly seen as part of the oppressive force. The motto of Sutler's government is, "Strength through unity, unity through faith," its symbol a modified crucifix. Sutler himself is described a man with deep religious convictions who rose to power with the iron fist of fear. At the film's start is a completely unsympathetic, rabid television pundit that's part Bill O'Reilly, part Pat Robertson, viscously blaming society's problems on godlessness and lack of religion. Oh, and then there's the timeworn cliché of the high-ranking official who also happens to be a pedophile priest who likes to play "confession" with little girls."

Come on. You guys have to admit that there are plenty of people who label themselves "Christian" that give the rest of us a bad name. And look at the things the "Church" has done in the past. And the scandal with the Catholic priests! Is the scenario of V for Vendetta really so unfathomable?

In reality the Church has denounced the evils done in the past in her name and apologized for them. What I am seeing is yet another attack on Christians, yet again portraying the evil abberation as the norm: typical fare for Hollywood, portraying faithful Christians as gullible pawns or power hungry hypocrites.

[Puritan]

I think that there are two valid ways to look at this film, and the clash we are seeing simply reflects them. On one hand this could be seen as another in a long line of anti-corrupt establishment films which tries to paint a possible anti-utopian future and the rebellion against the evil government. The evils seen in the film are meant to be symbolic, and while the morals aren't Christian by any means the film may be primarily focused on a corrupt version of today rather than trying to critique today's society or Christianity. In this type of film it is inevitable that some people will feel uncomfortable with the portrayals of corruption in the film as the film attempts to take current trends and corrupt them utterly. Thus the Christian trappings of the government could be seen as an attempt to show a corrupt misuse of these ideas rather than an attempt to denigrate them.

On the other hand, this film could also be an attempt to denigrate Christianity by making it look like the Church is prone to these excesses, and the film may be trying to show the filmmakers idea of the "logical end" of the current Christian movement if it takes governmental power. Seeing the film this way makes it reprehensible as the evils perpetrated by the government in this film are revolting to the Church and are an absolute perversion of all we stand for.

In the end, I think people should be careful to agree to disagree. If you look at this film in one sense it is a flawed but good story about the overthrow of a corrupt government that oppressed its people in the name of the Church and morality while ignoring the actual teachings of the Christian faith. On the other hand, it could be viewed as a reprehensible screed against our faith. Let's try to keep both views in mind and politely discuss the film rather than getting angry with each other.

[Stephen]

You do all realise that Alan Moore hates the new V for Vendetta film right? He wanted absolutly no part in it. What I do see here, is a few people trying to tear the movie apart for people who have not seen it. Newsflash. Everyone will decide for themself if somthing like this is right or wrong. What I really find hilarious, is that some of the biggest people against the movie...have not even seen it. I am sorry the movie scares your grip on reality that much. This thread has LONG since overstayed its welcome. And to be quite honost, I regret even wasting my time trying to post the few posts I did. As it fell on deaf ears it would seem. Locked.