MovieChat Forums > Arlen Faber (2009) Discussion > Cautious about the religion

Cautious about the religion

posted 15 years ago by angel-white
15 replies | jump to latest

Hi, I love Lauren Graham, I have all 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls sitting on my shelf, as well as several of her movies. But, I'm also an atheist with a particular dislike for proselytization, and religious propaganda. I can't really tell from the clip how much of this there is going to be, it looks like there might be very little, but if this was written by a religious person who wanted to give it a warm fuzzy ending, there could also be a lot.

I'm trying to balance the like of Lauren with the dislike of religion here, and figured if anyone could give me an idea of how much is in the movie, I'd appreciate that information.

(note that I don't mind a character who is religious, if it is part of the character, like it appears to be for Arlan, but the movie itself can make that appear valid or invalid, depending on how they portray it. For instance, in Firefly, Book is a preacher, that is part of his character, but Firefly, the show itself, mostly avoids commentary on their validity. If this is how the Answer Man is, I will be fine with that, but if it turns all Touched by an Angel at the end, I will have to think a bit harder.)

[–] Apeshapedman 15 years ago

Watch it and find out for yourself.

I'm an atheist. You sound like you hate religion. There is a difference.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] MeanerWithTheScenery 15 years ago

It's not bigoted to want to avoid movies that have a message of faith baked in when we have no faith. Affirming a character's faith in a movie is obviously going to lose impact for viewers who don't share that faith. There's nothing wrong with asking with an aim to avoiding movies that, quite frankly, are aimed at a different audience.

How this makes the OP "10 times worse than the religious bigots" escapes me (10 times? Can I see your working out?). Calling a stranger an idiot is incredibly rude, especially when he/she was so inoffensive, and you didn't even bother to explain your problem. If angel-white is, in fact, the greatest example of idiocy us atheists have among us then I think we're in a very good state indeed.

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[–] angel-white 15 years ago

apeshapedman: I'm an atheist. You sound like you hate religion. There is a difference.

angelwhite: That might be fair, I usually describe myself as "anti-theist" rather than atheist, because I consider religion to be actively destructive, and "I don't believe in gods" doesn't quite capture that sentiment. That said, the overwhelming majority of my family and friends are religious, I can deal with religion, even though I consider it to victimize it's believers. What I don't want to deal with is a movie intended to convert me.

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dsoults5: angel-white you are the greatest example of the amount of idiocy you find in all of today's "casual" atheists. They're bigots 10 times worse than the religious bigots they claim to be up against.

angelwhite: I think your position is unfounded, not wanting to be insulted is not the same as being a bigot. I assure you that I have tried as hard as I could for as long as I could to accept religious claims. I departed from that perspective when I could hold it no longer, but have spent several years, considering the claims of religion in great detail. The likelihood of a movie bringing to light an argument I haven't heard and considered _heavily_ is extremely low. Especially based on the previews. Much more likely, is that if it attempts to convert me to it's religion of choice, then it will do so in an epidermal manner which I have already considered extensively. This will only insult me, and I don't care to be insulted (if I am, it is quite likely that I'll be here pointing out the flaws).

So I merely want to know whether this is a "convert to my faith" movie, or just a movie with a religious person in it. I can deal with religious people, almost everyone I interact with is religious. However, I do not care to deal with ignorant claims that I cannot respond to directly, intended to conk me over the head and pull me into the "fold". If this movie is just an insult to my intelligence, then I will politely pass. If it is just a comedy centered around religion, then I will be fine. I am merely asking which is the case, so that I can make the best decision for myself.

[–] pranyc 15 years ago

Just caught this On Demand and can assure you the god themes are only background to the main story of the three lead actors (Daniels, Graham and Pucci). I'm a huge Gilmore Girls fan, and though I didn't absolutely love this movie, it was fantastic seeing Lauren in a lead role again. :) It also has a great cast, so I'd certainly recommend it if you're comfortable with a sweet, somewhat familiar rom-com.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] John_T_Chance 15 years ago

It plays it too cautious. I was deeply disappointed in this movie. As it unfolds, you expect the film to deliver something profound and moving. It never does nor even comes close. It’s cliched filled and aimless. It makes no real statement about faith and offers nothing of substance.

[–] vindo310 15 years ago

I am in the same boat as you Angel-white(funny name for someone who despises religion lol). The parts in the movie where they talked about religion really brought me out of it. If you want to see the movie that much it won't entirely ruin the movie.

The movie is kind of empty anyways so if you want to stay away from the religious stuff anyways you might as well just not waste your time.

[–] rockcairn69 14 years ago

I'm putting you all on my prayer list...

"Go back to your oar, Forty One."

[–] david_de_jesus 14 years ago

Lol, sound like you´re asking about a horror movie, "guys, do you think it´s too frightening? Will I be able to sleep if I watch it?"

Jesus Christ, it´s just a movie, if you don´t like it just stop watching. When ppl are so hyper defensive that they go out of their ways to avoid something it means they are scared *beep* of that thing.

What did religion did to you that it scared you so much?

I´m talking about religion as a general concept, not about having to deal with psycho jesus freaks, that´s a tough break but it doesn´t define religion.

Btw, I´m an agnostic myself.

[–] angel-white 12 years ago

If I didn't have to rent it, that might be fine. But asking me to go out and pay money, then find out I don't want to watch it, go back to the rental store to get another... meanwhile, I've spent money supporting such a movie...

[–] gossipgirlrockstar 13 years ago

I always wondered why atheists were so afraid of films about religions. It's like Christians not watching movies that make fun of Christians. A lot do. And you just kinda have to deal with it y'know. But being anti theist well that's a different thing altogether. Stay away from the film. It does not try to convert anyone though.

A cynic is just a romantic who has seen the world.

[–] BoxOfficePoison 12 years ago

Just for the record, not ALL atheists are "afraid" of overtly religious movies, or hostile toward religion per se. I've been an atheist since my mid-teens (I'm 45 now), and my wife is a devout Mormon. I see that her faith helps her through her day-to-day life, so I fully support her in her observance. I have a Bible (as a literary reference, along with my dictionary and thesaurus), and copies of other major religious texts, like the Baghavad Gita and the Qu'ran, as a matter of social/cultural history (my degree is in sociology). Long story short, we're not all a bunch of knee-jerk religion-bashers.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] angel-white 12 years ago

Thank you.