Evangelical Cinema and Culture
- mfunk9786
- Under Chris' Protection
- Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 4:43 pm
- Location: Philadelphia, PA
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
He wasn't always 'the Cronk,' you know. He was quite good-looking in those days, believe it or not. Had a bit of gumption then, too. At least I thought he had.
-
- Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2014 4:14 am
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
I heard about this film for quite some time since its release. The stuff I know about, apparently even Muslims weren't safe. It's not just the atheist professor.
- jsteffe
- Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:00 am
- Location: Atlanta, GA
Re: 'Rediculous' Customer & Critic Reviews
I didn't know that "hate-watching" is a thing. If so, then I hate-watched Patch Adams.Gregory wrote:This part makes me wonder if I should hate-watch God's Not Dead:
God's Not Dead sounds like a fascinating cultural artifact, but perhaps not fascinating enough to spend 114 minutes on it while other films are sitting in my kevyip, crying out for attention.
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
Hate-watching is definitely a thing, though I usually see it ascribed to TV shows (Popular recent choices seem to be Under the Dome, the Newsroom, the Following, and that hostage show on CBS. Mine is Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives)
- Gregory
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 pm
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
My library has it on order, so I just placed a hold and saw this in the description:
Future job interview: "Sorry, Josh, but while your application, recommendations, and interview were all extremely impressive, this grade in your sophomore philosophy course is the kind of black mark we just cannot pretend to overlook. And we can't hire you because it turns out that you're a Christian. This is strictly a heathen firm, and we don't take kindly to your kind coming around here. [Pushes button] Security!"
I guess it's flattering to the field of philosophy that anyone would think that the stakes of an undergrad classroom debate would be quite that high. Even if the evil prof flunks him because he disagrees with him (again, not how the teaching of philosophy works in real life), couldn't he just retake the course?This dare could cost him his relationships, his career, even his future.
Future job interview: "Sorry, Josh, but while your application, recommendations, and interview were all extremely impressive, this grade in your sophomore philosophy course is the kind of black mark we just cannot pretend to overlook. And we can't hire you because it turns out that you're a Christian. This is strictly a heathen firm, and we don't take kindly to your kind coming around here. [Pushes button] Security!"
- CSM126
- Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 8:22 am
- Location: The Room
- Contact:
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
If you hate watch this movie, do it for the climactic scene where Professor Kevin Sorbo gets run down by a car and suffers fatal injuries, prompting two Christian missionaries (one of whom appears to be N!xau from The Gods Must Be Crazy) to berate him into accepting Jesus. After which they celebrate his violent death - "there's a party in Heaven tonight~!" - and then rifle his pockets and steal his cell phone.
This happens.
This happens.
- mfunk9786
- Under Chris' Protection
- Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 4:43 pm
- Location: Philadelphia, PA
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
Hey hey - spoiler tags!
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
Spoiler tag the thread title too
- matrixschmatrix
- Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 11:26 pm
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
The mental gymnastics required to pretend that being a loud, pushily evangelical Christian in America in the year of our Lord 2014 makes one oppressed in any way are gold medal-worthy- this movie is legitimately an inventory of the best they could come up with. Like, sure, we've got money, political and social power, and entire branches of entertainment dedicated to serving us... but college philosophy professors, the most powerful group in America, are holding us down! Fight the power!Gregory wrote:My library has it on order, so I just placed a hold and saw this in the description:I guess it's flattering to the field of philosophy that anyone would think that the stakes of an undergrad classroom debate would be quite that high. Even if the evil prof flunks him because he disagrees with him (again, not how the teaching of philosophy works in real life), couldn't he just retake the course?This dare could cost him his relationships, his career, even his future.
Future job interview: "Sorry, Josh, but while your application, recommendations, and interview were all extremely impressive, this grade in your sophomore philosophy course is the kind of black mark we just cannot pretend to overlook. And we can't hire you because it turns out that you're a Christian. This is strictly a heathen firm, and we don't take kindly to your kind coming around here. [Pushes button] Security!"
Also, it's possible that this bothers me and nobody else in the world, but the poster art for this with the kid sticking 'not' up would mean that the thing he's writing over originally read 'God's dead'. I have never heard anyone reference that phrase without stating it "God is dead" and it's weird and awkward with the contraction, like it was going to have been a lecture about the dead belonging to God.
- Dansu Dansu Dansu
- Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2012 4:14 pm
- Location: California
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
Oh god, I remember that tract. To my credit, even when I worked in a Christian bookstore in high school, these tracts scared the hell out of me with their fanaticism. I didn't even like being in their aisle.
For whatever reason, my brain shuts down when presented with something like God's Not Dead, and not just for the obvious reason. Arguing with people whose ultimate reasoning and identity comes from socialization just short circuits my brain. I mean, where do you even begin? It's just an invitation to get lost in their dissonant reasoning. It goes beyond Christianity and into the realm of truly frightening ideology that claims Christianity in order to thrive. Any rebuttal against it is feeding their notion of the plot of a secular agenda, that there is a constant war to suppress the truth which will eventually lead to dramatized events of Nic Cage's new film. I cringe at seeing it gain some semblance of normality with this recent trend of theatrical films, especially since they have real political power. Sure, it's all rather funny, but having about twenty family members on my Facebook page posting all kinds of fear-based rhetoric has made me extremely frightened of it as well. Some of their posts are more passionate (bordering on unhinged) than they've been about anything, ever.
For whatever reason, my brain shuts down when presented with something like God's Not Dead, and not just for the obvious reason. Arguing with people whose ultimate reasoning and identity comes from socialization just short circuits my brain. I mean, where do you even begin? It's just an invitation to get lost in their dissonant reasoning. It goes beyond Christianity and into the realm of truly frightening ideology that claims Christianity in order to thrive. Any rebuttal against it is feeding their notion of the plot of a secular agenda, that there is a constant war to suppress the truth which will eventually lead to dramatized events of Nic Cage's new film. I cringe at seeing it gain some semblance of normality with this recent trend of theatrical films, especially since they have real political power. Sure, it's all rather funny, but having about twenty family members on my Facebook page posting all kinds of fear-based rhetoric has made me extremely frightened of it as well. Some of their posts are more passionate (bordering on unhinged) than they've been about anything, ever.
-
- Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 5:23 am
- Location: Florida
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
At least Fieri profiles restaurants that make freshly-made food. True hate-watching is for Rachael Ray when shes opens a can of beans in her cooking show.domino harvey wrote:Mine is Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives)
- whaleallright
- Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:56 am
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
I agree—it's hard for me to chuckle at thisstuff, or at least when I do the laughter sticks in my throat. (though I admit I am amused when Jack Chick corrects his strawmen in informative footnotes.)Sure, it's all rather funny, but having about twenty family members on my Facebook page posting all kinds of fear-based rhetoric has made me extremely frightened of it as well.
I'm pretty sure most of the morality and reasoning underpinning this film and the paranoid evangelical mindset in general is just atavism and clannishness dressed up in "Christian" language. there's nothing compellingly Christlike in what I understand to be the plot and message of God's Not Dead.
- Gregory
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 pm
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
I hope I don't come across as making light of religious fanaticism, as it has serious implications that are impossible to ignore. When I do laugh, it's usually because I don't know what else to really do about it, except try to be a good example of a rational person when I can.
Some of the Chick tracts get so gruesome and twisted (yet still cartoony), like whenever he uses fear of AIDS to try to strike a blow against a life of sin, that it's hard to laugh at them. Other times they're so self-parodic and weird that I can't not laugh:
Some of the Chick tracts get so gruesome and twisted (yet still cartoony), like whenever he uses fear of AIDS to try to strike a blow against a life of sin, that it's hard to laugh at them. Other times they're so self-parodic and weird that I can't not laugh:
-
- Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 5:23 am
- Location: Florida
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
At least Mr. Chick is a real artist. If only these movies were as interesting or as decently crafted.
Its not just Christian movies they're covering. It looks like they're trying to cover every straight-to-video product out there. Or at least a large percentage of them. Aesthetic concerns are probably not very high on their list.mfunk9786 wrote:has me wondering yet again why these folks are instructed to review these movies.
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
I myself like the drunk woman who does "Semi-homemade" mealsNumero Trois wrote:At least Fieri profiles restaurants that make freshly-made food. True hate-watching is for Rachael Ray when shes opens a can of beans in her cooking show.domino harvey wrote:Mine is Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives)
Gregory (and others), if you like Jack Chick, you should check out God's Cartoonist, a full-length doc on his work
EDIT: And, wow, apparently Jack Chick made an animated (sort of) feature, which you can find in the sidebar for the doc above
- med
- Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:58 pm
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
That's the stuff.Gregory wrote:
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
I hadn't read that one before and it isn't even coherent, even as far as Chick tracts go.
- jsteffe
- Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:00 am
- Location: Atlanta, GA
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
It's not incoherent at all, it's one of Jack Chick's contributions to apocalyptic (i.e., "Left Behind") literature. Obviously it takes place after the establishment of the one-world government (i.e., the UN) and the persecution and martyrdom of Christians.domino harvey wrote:I hadn't read that one before and it isn't even coherent, even as far as Chick tracts go.
Because, as we can see reading the news these days, the UN is a frightfully effective organization that is on the verge of seizing control of the entire world.
- med
- Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:58 pm
Re: Evangelical Cinema and Culture
If you went into this without knowing anything about it, you'd just assume it's someone taking a piss. This could have been on South Park without changing a word.
- matrixschmatrix
- Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 11:26 pm
Re: Evangelical Cinema and Culture
Buddhists and other believers in reincarnation are known for being especially hateful towards animals, right?
- knives
- Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm
Re: Evangelical Cinema and Culture
I'm mostly surprised that Christians don't believe in reincarnation. It's a tenant of both Judaism and Islam so it is weird if it not with them too.
- colinr0380
- Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
- Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK
Re: Evangelical Cinema and Culture
Whever I see those cartoons of that devil-child I keep getting reminded of Clint Howard in Evilspeak!
- Lemmy Caution
- Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:26 am
- Location: East of Shanghai
Re: Evangelical Cinema and Culture
I have a small cartoon booklet I bought at a Buddhist temple in China. One of my favorite panels says something like: "Don't eat meat, as a pig or chicken might be one of your grandparents or other relatives."matrixschmatrix wrote:Buddhists and other believers in reincarnation are known for being especially hateful towards animals, right?
A reincarnation argument for not being a carnivore which would have eluded me.
-
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2014 8:09 pm
Re: God's Not Dead (Harold Cronk, 2014)
This is a remarkable study of his work as well:domino harvey wrote:Gregory (and others), if you like Jack Chick, you should check out God's Cartoonist, a full-length doc on his work
http://danielraeburn.com/The_Imp,_by_Da ... mp_JTC.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
-
- Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2008 11:54 am
Re: Evangelical Cinema and Culture
The justification that Chick uses in his panel is the same one that some Hindus use to justify the way that the caste system treats the untouchables in the ghettos of India.matrixschmatrix wrote:Buddhists and other believers in reincarnation are known for being especially hateful towards animals, right?