MovieChat Forums > Timber Falls (2008) Discussion > tired of this stereotype

tired of this stereotype

posted 15 years ago by that_kid_from_aisle_11
15 replies | jump to latest

watched a few horror movies with some friends last night.
Timber Falls was one of them.
but in about four or five of the movies i watched
(I know, a lot right?)
there were these psycho-killer-christian types
now I'm not a christian myself
and i may not know a lot about christians
but these stereotypical psychopathic christians
they always want to torture and kill people based on:
premarital sex/ drug use/ profanity/ blasphemy/ etc
all these things that they consider to be horrific sins
yet... in christianity, torture, and especially murder
are worse than all those other 'sins'
its so hypocritical
its because hating religious types is a trend now I know
but still
its just stupid yeah?
maybe its just me that feels this way and stuff, whatever.

---i liked Dollface. i'm glad she lived. hot.---

[–] Sweet_and_Lowdown77 15 years ago

What were the other 3 or 4 movies might I ask? Just curious. 4 or 5 movies in one night... it is a lot.

I can't speak for Christians, but... in TF's case... they weren't torturing for any God driven reason. They were torturing in order for the couple to surrender their unborn child to them. They chose the couple b/c they were sinners, living in sin, but that's not why they were being punished.

[–] Thought_Criminal_J62377 8 years ago

I can't speak for Christians, but... in TF's case... they weren't torturing for any God driven reason. They were torturing in order for the couple to surrender their unborn child to them. They chose the couple b/c they were sinners, living in sin, but that's not why they were being punished.

You're some kind of champion for this movie, huh? It doesn't matter why they were doing what they were doing. The theme is that Christians are wacko and you're blind if you don't see that by now. The underlying message is Christians = bad/backward/weird/evil/fanatical/inbred,devolved/unenlightened, etc.

Tolerance Is Intolerant Of Politically Incorrect Thought...🇺🇸

[–] Sweet_and_Lowdown77 8 years ago

No, the underlying message is that evil folks will do anything, use anything to do evil.

Pedophiles became priests in order to get to little boys. Priests, we're taught, were people you can trust. They're like talking with God.

That's an example, not of an attack on Christianity, but that's an example of evil people using religion to get what they want.

Clyde & Ida aren't representing ALL Christians. They're representing bad people who use religion to justify their bad deeds. Just like folks use injustice in society to loot.

I am a Christian. There are countless examples over history where religion was used to do evil. Religion is a powerful force. It takes a special kind of evil to use faith in God as a way to do bad things.

[–] Thought_Criminal_J62377 8 years ago

I am a Christian. There are countless examples over history where religion was used to do evil. Religion is a powerful force. It takes a special kind of evil to use faith in God as a way to do bad things.

True, but most people blame Christianity or all Christians for those evil acts. That's how the Hollywood anti-Christian programming works. A very high percentage of Christian portrayals are of murdering, molesting, deceiving, manipulating, scheming, crazy people.

Tolerance Is Intolerant Of Politically Incorrect Thought...🇺🇸

[–] Sweet_and_Lowdown77 8 years ago

It's not just Hollywood. All industries use religion to push their message.
Hitler blamed Judaism for all of Germany's problems.
Currently, folks blame Islam for all terrorism.
Wars have been fought on both sides in the name of God.
One of the more powerful moments in film, was in the movie UNITED 93. The passengers in the back were praying to God to save them, then you cut to the cockpit and the terrorist pilots were praying to God to guide them.
The same God.
Talk about exposing an hypocrisy.
IMO, there's a difference between attacking Faith and attacking organized religion. IMO, this film didn't attack Faith. It attacked Organized religion.
On the surface, this film could be seen as using a stereotypical negative image of Christians, but I think the filmmakers did a good job of showing the hypocrisy of organized religion. How evil people can take something beautiful, like Faith, and twist it to fit their evil agenda.

I read an interview with the director when this was released. He said he was a practicing Catholic. he said he was upset about how bad people use religion to justify their bad behavior. That's what he said he was trying to expose.

[–] Thought_Criminal_J62377 8 years ago

One of the more powerful moments in film, was in the movie UNITED 93. The passengers in the back were praying to God to save them, then you cut to the cockpit and the terrorist pilots were praying to God to guide them.
The same God.

It's only your opinion that they're the same god. I disagree.

IMO, there's a difference between attacking Faith and attacking organized religion. IMO, this film didn't attack Faith. It attacked Organized religion.
On the surface, this film could be seen as using a stereotypical negative image of Christians, but I think the filmmakers did a good job of showing the hypocrisy of organized religion. How evil people can take something beautiful, like Faith, and twist it to fit their evil agenda.

Or maybe the filmmaker wanted to, once again, drive home the point "see what religion leads people to! Without religion everyone can love everyone and it'll be beautiful." Your subtle distinction, that it attacks organized religion rather than faith will be lost on most everyone, so it effectively achieves what I'm charging it with, even if you're right.

Tolerance Is Intolerant Of Politically Incorrect Thought...🇺🇸

[–] Sweet_and_Lowdown77 8 years ago

The story of Issac and Ishmael, ring a bell?

And we'll agree to disagree. If you enter the film thinking it's an attack on Christianity, then you'll exit that way.

The characters, however, consistently demonstrate their hypocrisy and break the rules of the Christian Faith. Clyde tells Michael he believes that Judas wasn't the traitor he's portrayed as being. Clyde uses THIS as the reason they can torture Michael & Sheryl. But the Christian Faith has always denounced Judas as the ultimate traitor to Jesus.

Show me a passage in the Bible or any teaching of Jesus that supports Clyde & Ida's rational for doing what they do?

I'll save you the trouble. There isn't.

It's clear to me that the filmmakers tried to portray Clyde & Ida as two bad people who use Religion to justify bad acts. If not, why did they go out of their way to explain their rationale for torturing them?

Ida clearly had a mental breakdown, not from religion, but from 8 (or 9) miscarriages. And Clyde, her loving husband, does whatever he needs to do to make his love happy, including betraying his faith.

There's no doubt Clyde & Idea were very religious, but after their multiple tragedies, they snapped.

If you aren't religious, perhaps this line is too fine to see, but if you know religion, especially Christianity, like the Director said he did (a former alter boy and lifelong Catholic), the difference is clear. I think people of Faith are frustrated by the loons that use religion to justify their actions. that's what I saw in this film.

[–] xWickedHeartx 15 years ago

[Fanofthe21stcentury2003, I love that final declaration in glaring red. It's so true.]

I think that people with this opinion, that movies such as TF are used to persecute Christians in a public way are ridiculous.
If the film wasn't focusing on Christians as the insane antagonists, it would have some other group. There can't be a "normal" antagonist, since each and every human fits SOME type of social category.
Then someone would be complaining about THAT.

I've fought with people about this before, over movies like Silent Hill and Carrie where the main villains are religious fanatics and perpetrate heinous crimes in the name of religion. Yes, killing in any way is a sin, so, why would these religious fanatics murder in the name of God? it's a paradox, and totally hypocritical, in that case, I agree.

But, think of things like the Salem witch trials or the Crusades.
Christians did awful things then, as well, in the name of holiness.
So, the film is just artistic license to make the plot more interesting.
I don't think it's blatant or even thinly-veiled anti-Catholicism.
I think it's just a film.

[–] DennisAlexis 15 years ago

I agree, and many Christians (not all) are still doing terrible things in the name of God (to gays for example), so I think it's good that movies use it.

BTW, I'm both gay and Christian, and I wasn't offended by this movie.

Dennis Alexis
http://www.dennisalexis.com

[–] rupert-ian 9 years ago

Yeah, you always have the extremists in any group, or religion.

It's silly to think that people can believe in God's message, yet hate and judge people. I'm a Christian too and it sucks that more and more people look down so much on us, because of the few that act that way.

We are all in a "cult" and "bigots" now, and absolutely hate science (according to those who judge in such ways)

[–] Sweet_and_Lowdown77 9 years ago

Look at a film like SE7EN? Obviously a far superior film to TIMBER FALLS, but the same theme holds true. It's not that religion is under fire. It's that PEOPLE who use religion to do bad things are under fire.

This film isn't attacking Christianity anymore than SE7EN was. It's attacking those that use God to justify bad things. That's the real sin.

I read an interview with the director. He said he was a still practicing Catholic. So I don't think his intention was to slam God. I think it was trying to expose the hypocrites using God to justify hate.

[–] firebox-1 15 years ago

I am a christian and I highly dobut god sees any sin worse then another one. We as humans do though, anyways the thing about sins is to repent them you must be truly sorry about committing them etc. Pre-meditated murder or torture however is pretty damn hard to be sorry for.

[–] Sweet_and_Lowdown77 9 years ago

You think God sees taking the Lord's name in vain on par with Murder? Or disobeying one's parents equal to rape? Or that 'coveting' your neighbor's wife is equal to having an affair with your neighbor's wife?

This is where I think God is a bit more reasonable. I mean, how do you think God is looking down upon divorced people who are currently blasting Gay people over marriage? Divorce is a sin, yet, Christians get divorced all the time.

[–] Thought_Criminal_J62377 8 years ago

its because hating religious types is a trend now I know

You're completely right!

Tolerance Is Intolerant Of Politically Incorrect Thought...🇺🇸

[–] 8 years ago

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