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coberst
Skeptic Friend
182 Posts |
 Posted - 04/10/2004 : 06:25:10
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I suspect many brights (humanists, infidels, atheists, agnostics, etc.) have never seen the movie “Being There”. Those who have not seen it will find it to be delightful and very enlightening. It is a movie starring Peter Sellers. Everyone, even if you have seen it, will find a google “Being There” to be well worth while to browse. This movie was made to delight brights. The movie was made back in 1975, I think.
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@tomic
Administrator
USA
4607 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2004 : 16:11:31 [Permalink]
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I believe Peter Sellers won an Oscar for his performance in 1979. This has been one of my favorite movies for many years. On a side note, they are releasing an anniversary edition of the Pink Panther.
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2004 : 17:29:51 [Permalink]
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Welcome to the SFN, coberst.
@tomic, Peter Sellers did not get an Oscar for Being There (which did come out in 1979). Instead, Dustin Hoffman won for his role in Kramer vs. Kramer.
I like Being There very much, and have for a long time, but I wonder why you, coberst, feel it was targeted at Brights? I don't think the Christian "themes" running throughout the film are satiric enough to demonstrate its creation for atheists, etc. There appears to be enough confusion over what the film is supposed to represent that its "purpose" isn't very clear, overall.
Besides which, I've now read that the author of Being There (the book), Jerzy N. Kosinski, reportedly disliked what the director had done to his book in making the film. The book description including,Being There is a brilliantly satiric look at the unreality of American media culture that is, if anything, more trenchant now than ever. Oh, and I'm going to move this thread over to Religion, since your focus is on Brights. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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coberst
Skeptic Friend
182 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2004 : 06:29:30 [Permalink]
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Thank you Dave for the welcome and especially for your penetrating question.
I have come to the conclusion that not one reader in twenty bothers to discover the essence of a forum posting. You, however, have been able go beyond this and to recognize a discontinuity regarding my attitude toward Brights and religion and my worldview.
The Brights' worldview is naturalism, i.e. rejection of the supernatural. My worldview is that reality is multilayered similar to an onion.
I welcome the effort taken by Brights because I consider this is the first step toward facilitating a critical thinking self-actualizing citizenry capable of gaining knowledge and understanding of reality and minimizing self-illusions.
The Seller's character is intellectually retarded and naïve and as a result becomes a mirror displaying the reflection of the various other movie characters. Allowing them to transform his idiotic statements into what ever they wish to see. The various other characters, lacking understanding and perspective because of ignorance and arrogance, over-simplify and distort in accordance to their own lack of understanding of reality.
I consider the Brights movement as only the first important step in a long effort to help people become conscious of the superficiality of their worldview.
Chuck O
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@tomic
Administrator
USA
4607 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2004 : 10:06:54 [Permalink]
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Wow, my bad Dave. it was late and I was too tired to even Google it. He was nominated, though. What a year for films. Apocalypse, Alien, The Rose.
I have to say that a main theme of Being There was: people seeing what they wanted to see.
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Gravity, not just a good idea...it's the law!
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2004 : 21:08:29 [Permalink]
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Oh, and I meant to say that I agree with @tomic about the main theme, but I'm not sure it has anything to do with any of the characters' "lack of understanding of reality." Sure, the President heard in Chance's words what he wanted to hear, and twisted them for his own ends, but the only thing he was really "ignorant" of was Chance's "true nature" (and he'd basically been lied to regarding Chance). The other characters "over-simplify and distort in accordance to their own" goals.
Everybody is ignorant of something, and everyone interprets what they see and hear through the biases they've created from past experience. I'm just don't see how Being There exemplifies a Bright outlook more than it does any other philosophical basis (especially with Chance walking on water - a scene which apparently was created near the end of filming, on a whim). |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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coberst
Skeptic Friend
182 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2004 : 22:14:28 [Permalink]
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| All things are possible, even casually walking on water, to one who lives in la-la-land. |
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furshur
SFN Regular
USA
1536 Posts |
Posted - 04/12/2004 : 06:15:55 [Permalink]
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Coberst said:
quote:
I welcome the effort taken by Brights because I consider this is the first step toward facilitating a critical thinking self-actualizing citizenry capable of gaining knowledge and understanding of reality and minimizing self-illusions.
The Seller's character is intellectually retarded and naïve and as a result becomes a mirror displaying the reflection of the various other movie characters. Allowing them to transform his idiotic statements into what ever they wish to see. The various other characters, lacking understanding and perspective because of ignorance and arrogance, over-simplify and distort in accordance to their own lack of understanding of reality.
I consider the Brights movement as only the first important step in a long effort to help people become conscious of the superficiality of their worldview.
I understand.
You feel that in the spring the flowers will bloom and the tress will bud.
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If I knew then what I know now then I would know more now than I know. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
Posted - 04/12/2004 : 07:30:45 [Permalink]
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coberst wrote:quote:
All things are possible, even casually walking on water, to one who lives in la-la-land.
Well, there's the problem: the one character in the film who apparently really does have a supernatural power is also the one character who isn't mocked by the director. With that one scene, the film encourages the viewers to think that by being pure, simple and unassuming, one might be able to walk on water. That idea is anathema to Brights, is it not? |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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