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Dogma |
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Director Kevin Smith
relies heavily on his belief that God has a
sense of humor to justify the film's blatant
disrespect and blasphemy. The platypus is
proffered as proof. That's the kind of leap in
logic that fills over two hours of screen time.
Two angels (Loki and Bartleby) have been
banished from heaven and forced to live in
Wisconsin. Desperate to return home, the pair
discovers a "loophole" in Catholic dogma
which allows them to receive forgiveness by
walking through an archway in a New Jersey
cathedral. They must first become human (a
feat accomplished by hacking off their wings),
then be killed to go to heaven. Meanwhile,
another angel, Metatron (known as "the voice
of God"), appears to Bethany (the great, great,
great, great ... niece of Jesus) and instructs
her to stop the two angels from carrying out
their plan. He tells her that, if the angels
succeed in exploiting the loophole, all
existence will be terminated.
Spiritual Content: Everything has
spiritual overtones in Dogma. All of it is
rooted in biblical truth, then twisted beyond
recognition. Hollywood has never done well in
its representation of angels and
Dogma inherits the award from Michael for "most perverse."
These
angels drink, smoke, curse, kill and fantasize
about sex (they are incapable of having sex as
they have no genitals, a "limitation" shown in
detail). A "13th apostle" named Rufus falls
from the sky complaining that he was edited
from the Bible because he was black. He also
insists that Jesus was black as well, and
campaigns for the Bible to be rewritten to
reflect that. When asked if he knew Jesus,
Rufus responds, "Know him, that n----r owes
me 12 bucks." The "loophole theology" uses
Matthew 16:19 (where Jesus states that
whatever is bound on earth must be bound in
heaven) to try to prove that humans can
exercise mastery over God if they just "beat the
system." God turns out to be a woman, but
even the angels consistently refer to God as a
"He" in their conversations. Oddly enough,
despite all the bizarre twists and turns, the
film
never doubts the existence of God, Jesus,
angels, demons, heaven or hell. It does
however, trivialize Scripture, dabble in the
"many ways to God" theology and mock God
(He is referred to as being a "b--ch," called
"lonely and funny," and gets kidnapped and
beaten up by three demon-boys).
Sexual Content: A "prophet" talks
incessantly about having sex with Bethany,
using the most vulgar terms available. At one
point, when it seems obvious that the world is
going to end, he takes off his pants in
preparation for the act, but Bethany rebuffs
him. An angel drops his pants to show
Bethany that he is not designed to be
"anatomically correct." His crotch is covered
with a skin-tone shell that looks like a
Ken-doll. An "angelic muse" works as a
stripper (she is shown doing her routine clad
in lingerie). Repeated discussions of
unconventional sex are heavy-handed and
vulgar. Rufus falls from the sky naked
(prolonged full rear nudity is shown).
Violent Content: As Bartleby and Loki
travel to New Jersey, they go on a killing
spree, hoping to "gain God's favor" by bringing
justice to the wicked. Loki shoots an adulterer
in the head. They kill a board room full of
executives for being "idolaters" and massacre
everyone who attends a Catholic ceremony,
including the Cardinal (his body is dropped
from the sky by the flying Bartleby).
"Demon-boys" race around on rollerblades
using hockey sticks to kill people. A demon
machine-guns a bartender. Bethany is
mortally wounded when she "rescues" God.
An angel is stabbed in the chest. Another's
head explodes.
Crude or Profane Language: Nearly
100 f-words and 50 s-words pollute the
dialogue. God's name is vulgarized and
abused repeatedly, angels and prophets
being the worst offenders.
Drug and Alcohol Content: Angels
drink and smoke constantly. God changes the
rules and forbids the angels to get drunk, so
they sip alcohol, then spit it out again.
Other Negative Elements:
Bethany works at an abortion clinic. "Choice"
is lauded while pro-life picketers are
disdained. A demon called the "s--- demon"
flows out of a toilet, congeals into monster
form and terrorizes the angels.
Summary: If Kevin Smith hopes to
provoke religious discussion by creating a film
that lambastes the Catholic Church
specifically and organized religion in general,
he's sadly misguided. His use of vulgarity,
violence and blasphemy is inexcusable.
Families don't need the kind of "discussions"
likely to be prompted by Dogma.
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