The Vatican’s not impressed by the story of a guy who takes the form of a different race on another planet and is prepared to give up his life in order to save them from destruction and eternal damnation. Go figure.
The Vatican newspaper and radio station criticised James Cameron’s 3-D blockbuster Avatar for flirting with the idea that worship of nature can replace religion – a notion the pope warned against. They call the film a simplistic and sappy tale, despite its awe-inspiring special effects. “Not much behind the images” was how the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, summed it up in a headline. (Times of Malta)
J’accuse has a few questions:
1. To the press (local & international agency). Why do they insist on attempting to create a sensational divide between “the Vatican” and “Hollywood”. Again this is the a newspaper and radio station giving us their movie review. Should we expect otherwise?
“Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said that while the movie reviews are just that – film criticism, not theological pronouncements – they do reflect Pope Benedict XVI’s views on the dangers of turning nature into a “new divinity”.”
See? They are not theological pronouncements – they are simply reflections of PapaRatzi’s view that a hollywood film could actually create a new cult. He may be right of course – given that 0.8% of UK residents seem to register as professors of the Jedi faith (see Jedi Census Phenomenon). That’s more Jedi-ists than Sikhs, Jews or Buddhists. Now you can see why Pope B-16 is worried.
2. The moviegoers & hype. We’ve been. It’s a passable moment of entertainment that I would say has the sensational experience equivalence of the consumption of a Hagen-Dazs bucket of Strawberries & Cream. 3-D is cool, the new world is a fascinating clone of Jurassic earth and the avatar concept is sexy. The story on the other hand is a rehash of a hundred others – gaia, the Bush Iraq invasion, captialism vs green, reincarnation and after-life all thrown into one Hollywood cocktail. If you’re in for a good time Avatar is definitely a good three hours’ spent. If it’s some learning experience or spiritual discovery that you are after then you will only be impressed if you’re the sort of person who draws lessons and knowledge from JK Rowling and Dan Brown. Some tough competition for Benedict I’d say.
