Things could be a bit more serious than we'd like to believe. Allow me to tell you why.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Faith and Reason in Halloween Town Part 3
Alright. Time to finish it. Partly in the interest of time and partly because I'm tired and don't want to have to write a whole lot, I'll just work off of the assumption that the majority of my readers have been following my Halloween blogs and do not require too much exposition as to the details of my thoughts. I will, however, give you a paragraph's worth to see where the major players stand.
The stage has been set for the three viewpoints of Jack, Sally and Oogie-Boogie to clash. Jack, with the help of the Halloween Townsfolk (Forms of Reason) and the kidnapping of Santa Claus, stands ready to take over Christmas (Faith). Sally tries her best to make Jack see reason (pun intended) and to stop his attempt to improve Faith by means of Reason, and Oogie-Boogie holds Santa in the clutches of his bug ridden, baggy hands.
So with that in mind, let's continue.
Just before Jack can take off on his mission, Sally attempts to obfuscate his path by pouring fog juice into the town well. When Jack despairs that he'll never be able to take off, the town despairs with him. It's actually a little touching to see the disappointment evident on everyone's faces. A little zombie child sheds a tear and cries dejectedly "There goes Christmas..." It's as if the hopes and dreams of Reason itself have been crushed, and it makes me think that Reason, on some level, longs for a lasting union with Faith. In a charming nod to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Jack penetrates the fog by having his ghostly dog companion, Zero, light his path with his glowing nose.
Jack, like a scientist going door to door with his newfound Faith, embarks on his quest. He flies on a coffin sled pulled by skeletal reindeer, delivering ghastly toys to frightened girls and boys. Needless to say, he does not understand Christmas, nor does he understand Faith. Regardless of his good intentions, people around the globe are disturbed by his behavior. So disturbed, in fact, that they mobilize the military to stop him. This is similar to what happens if you run about, willy nilly, trying to externally influence other people with your faith. The nature of Faith is that it is not something that can be forced on someone. It's something that only you can experience for yourself. As explained earlier in the Town Meeting scene, Faith is essentially incommunicable. To top it all off, if you force Faith on someone, it's only going to sour that person's view of Faith.
As Jack joyously (and unwittingly) ransacks Faith, Sally voices her concerns in one of the very best songs of the film.
6. Sally sings about the internal rift inside Reason, lamenting that she (Moderate Thomastic) and Jack (Radical Empiricist) do not have a more defined relationship with regards to Faith.
The subtle love story between Jack and Sally is central to our philosophical concerns. It illustrates both the relationship between Faith and Reason as well as the differing viewpoints within Reason itself. Of the two, Sally is the more in touch with the reality of Faith. She sings "I sense there's something in the wind that feels like tragedy's at hand." Through unprovable, incommunicable knowledge provided by Faith, she knows that Jack's plan is flawed. "And though I'd like to stand by him, can't shake this feeling that I have," she continues. She clearly understands the good intent behind Jack's idea, and she feels that Faith and Reason need not oppose nor dominate one another. "And does he notice my feelings for him? And will he see how much he means to me? I think it's not to be." Sally's tone is darkened with realism that could be confused for pessimism. Jack is oblivious, just as Reason is oblivious to the concept of knowledge gained by un-Reasonable means, and Sally realizes that as much as she may long for the proper union of the two, Faith and Reason are separate. Though they should both attempt to understand each other, they can never be one.
Sally also points out that Jack's plan does the most harm to Faith itself. "Where will his actions lead us then?" she ponders. If he exposes the world to a flawed and disingenuous version of Faith, the world will inevitably reject it. Much the same as people of Faith attempt to live godly and worthwhile lives to lead by example, Sally believes that Faith should be tempered with Reason in a way that takes the real elusive nature of Faith into account, not one in which Faith is made to be something it is not.
Meanwhile, Jack is carrying out his plan with fiendish efficiency. Nothing lasts forever, though, and the aforementioned military is galvanized to shoot him out of the sky. At first, Jack is (again) oblivious, thinking that the search lights and explosions burning up the atmosphere are the people of the world celebrating, thanking him for doing such a good job at handling Faith. His illusion is cut short when the sled is pierced by a freaking howitzer shell, and he, Zero, undead reindeer and all go plummeting to the earth. Those in Halloween Town see this from afar and assume the worst. Jack is declared dead, his plan failed. Despair grips the land of Reason, and Oogie Boogie still has Santa, the only one who can fix this, captive. Sally takes it upon herself to rescue the avatar of Faith, but her mission fails, and she too falls prey to the Boogie Man.
It's around this time that we see Jack at his absolute lowest. His moroseness doesn't last for long, though, because it isn't in Jack's nature to be moderate. He is an extreme, obsessive, and ultimately optimistic factor. Once he gets a good idea into his head, he won't be down for long, as the below video will make clear.
7. Jack laments the failure of his plan when he realizes how negatively people have reacted to having Faith forced on them. But, ever the symbol of Reason, when he examines his methods in retrospect, he excitedly begins thinking of how he could do better next time.
This scene is among the most powerful and rich in the entire film. It contains not only the turning point of Jack's thoughts on Christmas, but also an instance of thesis-antithesis-synthesis. This is when two differing, usually extreme viewpoints clash, hence the thesis and the anti-thesis. The synthesis occurs when something or someone happens to reconcile the two points in a compromise that ultimately turns out to be the correct viewpoint. When people on two different sides believe something very, very strongly, there is usually some amount of truth in what they believe. Why then, if they both have a measure of truth, should they conflict with one another? According to the Islamic philosopher Averroes, truth cannot conflict with truth. This is called the Double Truth Theory. If Jack was correct in wanting to understand Faith better, and, as his recent misfortune has made clear, Sally was correct in warning him to not subject Faith to Reason, then the correctness of both Jack and Sally needn't be in conflict but rather working towards the same goal.
To put it another way, let's examine the scene itself. The imagery alone is poetic enough to convey a deep regret and sorrow on Jack's part. He has fallen from the sky to land in the arms of an angel, a representative of Faith itself. Like a believing scientist who begs God in prayer to make clear the answers, so he comes to this angel. Also, observe what is left of his cloths, the tattered remnants of his Santa Claus suit. He is now in a state of flux, a crisis of identity. Is he Jack, the Pumpkin King of Reason? Or is he Jack, the Santa Claus, avatar of Faith? "What have I done? What have I done? ...Why all I ever wanted was to bring them something great! Why does nothing ever turn out like it should?" he moans as he surveys the destruction his plans have wrought. His intentions were good; he wanted to touch something ideal, something more than this mere world of the senses, and he wanted to share the goodness he found. There was nothing wrong with this, but clearly his methods ended with a most undesirable result. His thesis was partly correct, but so was the anti-thesis.
So what of the synthesis? The mood changes when Jack begins to examine his plan more closely through retrospect. "I never intended all this madness, and no one really understood. Well, how could they?" He realizes that in dealing solely through means of Reason (the Townspeople Forms of Reason), he was doomed from the start. He was working completely out of his element. In fact, it was amazing he even got as far as he did. Suddenly, he comprehends the synthesis. By discovering the limits of Reason, he has a better understanding of what Reason can do. In learning what NOT to do, he has come one step closer to learning what he SHOULD do. This wasn't a failure, but a learning experience! He joyously casts aside the torn visage of Faith to embrace his true identity, Jack, the King of Reason. It isn't that he dismisses Faith completely, but rather that he knows now to play to his strengths. "For the first time since I don't remember when, I felt just like my old boney self again!" Jack has found a sort of Greek fulfillment in finding his virtue and sticking to it. "And I just can't wait until next Halloween, 'cause I've got some new ideas that'll really make them scream!" Jack knows now that in this teleological universe, his place is to work towards truth via Reason, and that doesn't mean he can't have a great appreciation for Faith too. Both Faith and Reason are doors towards truth, and both should be embraced, in their due respective time, by each individual. His road to truth has been set beneath his feet, and he resolves to walk it to the end.
Suddenly, it all becomes clear. He has made a mess of things, but the act of making the mess has given him clarity of thought. Now that the grand experiment is over, he must restore the status quo. This can be done by returning Santa Claus to his rightful place, but where is he now? The ones to kidnap Santa Claus were the minions of Oogie-Boogie, so surely Santa is there at the Boogie Man's lair. With determination in his eye sockets, Jack storms back to Halloween Town to set things right.
At this point, I would show you a clip of the final confrontation between Jack and Oogie Boogie, but my searches bore little fruit, so I'll quickly describe.
Jack shows up, returning from the grave as far as the Halloween citizens are concerned, demanding that Oogie-Boogie relinquish Santa. Oogie seems afraid, but we quickly learn it is a ruse. Oogie-Boogie flips a switch, and suddenly his entire lair comes alive with mechanical precision to stop Jack from saving Christmas. Finally, Jack exposes Oogie for what he is, nothing but a fraud of an idea, a parody of a living thing, a sack full of bugs. "How dare you treat my friends so shamefully!" Jack shouts in anger. Whether Jack is referring to Sally and Santa or the countless enslaved bugs is unclear, but either way, it is a philosophical statement (which I will leave for you to work out =P).
8. All's well that ends well. Jack is now secure in his identity as a man of Reason, but with a greater comprehension of the legitimate relationship between Faith and Reason. Snow, an alien symbol of Christmas (and therefore, Faith), begins to fall in Halloween Town. Faith and Reason, in discovering their boundaries, are brought closer together than ever before.
Oogie Boogie is vanquished, Santa is freed to save Christmas, and Jack returns with Sally to the now overjoyed Townsfolk. As Santa flies overhead, he shouts "Happy Halloween!" as a courtesy, to which Jack replies "Merry Christmas!" It's almost a statement that says the two understand each other now. Snow begins to fall in Halloween Town, much to the wonderment of the Townsfolk. Just as Jack experienced Faith, so too do the Townsfolk each discover the value of Faith. The picture is almost one of the individual on a grand scale. Because Jack, the King of Reason, has found harmony with Faith, so too is Reason itself affected.
And so it is that we end on one of the most uplifting scenes of the film, Jack's realization that he loves Sally, just as she has loved him this whole time. The love between them always seemed a bit forced to me, almost unbelievable, but when viewed in a philosophical light, it makes much more sense. The two differing viewpoints inside reason, the thesis and the anti-thesis, have found synthesis at long last. And just as our gaze lifts up towards the stars in the final shot, so too does that blessed synthesis, that vehicle for truth, lift us up and away from the limited world of the senses to see something greater, something that only could have found through both Faith and Reason.
I love this movie, if you couldn't tell. =D
I hope I've given you all something new to think about. Whether you are of Reason and don't yet understand what it is to have Faith, or a person of Faith who feels satisfied without Reason, Christmas is a time to come together. This Christmas, let yourself believe in something, or allow yourself to ask those really big questions. Searching for truth, whether through means of Faith or Reason, is never a wasted effort.
Merry Christmas and Happy Halloween to you all!
Maybe I'll do the Grinch next year...
The stage has been set for the three viewpoints of Jack, Sally and Oogie-Boogie to clash. Jack, with the help of the Halloween Townsfolk (Forms of Reason) and the kidnapping of Santa Claus, stands ready to take over Christmas (Faith). Sally tries her best to make Jack see reason (pun intended) and to stop his attempt to improve Faith by means of Reason, and Oogie-Boogie holds Santa in the clutches of his bug ridden, baggy hands.
So with that in mind, let's continue.
Just before Jack can take off on his mission, Sally attempts to obfuscate his path by pouring fog juice into the town well. When Jack despairs that he'll never be able to take off, the town despairs with him. It's actually a little touching to see the disappointment evident on everyone's faces. A little zombie child sheds a tear and cries dejectedly "There goes Christmas..." It's as if the hopes and dreams of Reason itself have been crushed, and it makes me think that Reason, on some level, longs for a lasting union with Faith. In a charming nod to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Jack penetrates the fog by having his ghostly dog companion, Zero, light his path with his glowing nose.
Jack, like a scientist going door to door with his newfound Faith, embarks on his quest. He flies on a coffin sled pulled by skeletal reindeer, delivering ghastly toys to frightened girls and boys. Needless to say, he does not understand Christmas, nor does he understand Faith. Regardless of his good intentions, people around the globe are disturbed by his behavior. So disturbed, in fact, that they mobilize the military to stop him. This is similar to what happens if you run about, willy nilly, trying to externally influence other people with your faith. The nature of Faith is that it is not something that can be forced on someone. It's something that only you can experience for yourself. As explained earlier in the Town Meeting scene, Faith is essentially incommunicable. To top it all off, if you force Faith on someone, it's only going to sour that person's view of Faith.
As Jack joyously (and unwittingly) ransacks Faith, Sally voices her concerns in one of the very best songs of the film.
The subtle love story between Jack and Sally is central to our philosophical concerns. It illustrates both the relationship between Faith and Reason as well as the differing viewpoints within Reason itself. Of the two, Sally is the more in touch with the reality of Faith. She sings "I sense there's something in the wind that feels like tragedy's at hand." Through unprovable, incommunicable knowledge provided by Faith, she knows that Jack's plan is flawed. "And though I'd like to stand by him, can't shake this feeling that I have," she continues. She clearly understands the good intent behind Jack's idea, and she feels that Faith and Reason need not oppose nor dominate one another. "And does he notice my feelings for him? And will he see how much he means to me? I think it's not to be." Sally's tone is darkened with realism that could be confused for pessimism. Jack is oblivious, just as Reason is oblivious to the concept of knowledge gained by un-Reasonable means, and Sally realizes that as much as she may long for the proper union of the two, Faith and Reason are separate. Though they should both attempt to understand each other, they can never be one.
Sally also points out that Jack's plan does the most harm to Faith itself. "Where will his actions lead us then?" she ponders. If he exposes the world to a flawed and disingenuous version of Faith, the world will inevitably reject it. Much the same as people of Faith attempt to live godly and worthwhile lives to lead by example, Sally believes that Faith should be tempered with Reason in a way that takes the real elusive nature of Faith into account, not one in which Faith is made to be something it is not.
Meanwhile, Jack is carrying out his plan with fiendish efficiency. Nothing lasts forever, though, and the aforementioned military is galvanized to shoot him out of the sky. At first, Jack is (again) oblivious, thinking that the search lights and explosions burning up the atmosphere are the people of the world celebrating, thanking him for doing such a good job at handling Faith. His illusion is cut short when the sled is pierced by a freaking howitzer shell, and he, Zero, undead reindeer and all go plummeting to the earth. Those in Halloween Town see this from afar and assume the worst. Jack is declared dead, his plan failed. Despair grips the land of Reason, and Oogie Boogie still has Santa, the only one who can fix this, captive. Sally takes it upon herself to rescue the avatar of Faith, but her mission fails, and she too falls prey to the Boogie Man.
It's around this time that we see Jack at his absolute lowest. His moroseness doesn't last for long, though, because it isn't in Jack's nature to be moderate. He is an extreme, obsessive, and ultimately optimistic factor. Once he gets a good idea into his head, he won't be down for long, as the below video will make clear.
7. Jack laments the failure of his plan when he realizes how negatively people have reacted to having Faith forced on them. But, ever the symbol of Reason, when he examines his methods in retrospect, he excitedly begins thinking of how he could do better next time.
This scene is among the most powerful and rich in the entire film. It contains not only the turning point of Jack's thoughts on Christmas, but also an instance of thesis-antithesis-synthesis. This is when two differing, usually extreme viewpoints clash, hence the thesis and the anti-thesis. The synthesis occurs when something or someone happens to reconcile the two points in a compromise that ultimately turns out to be the correct viewpoint. When people on two different sides believe something very, very strongly, there is usually some amount of truth in what they believe. Why then, if they both have a measure of truth, should they conflict with one another? According to the Islamic philosopher Averroes, truth cannot conflict with truth. This is called the Double Truth Theory. If Jack was correct in wanting to understand Faith better, and, as his recent misfortune has made clear, Sally was correct in warning him to not subject Faith to Reason, then the correctness of both Jack and Sally needn't be in conflict but rather working towards the same goal.
To put it another way, let's examine the scene itself. The imagery alone is poetic enough to convey a deep regret and sorrow on Jack's part. He has fallen from the sky to land in the arms of an angel, a representative of Faith itself. Like a believing scientist who begs God in prayer to make clear the answers, so he comes to this angel. Also, observe what is left of his cloths, the tattered remnants of his Santa Claus suit. He is now in a state of flux, a crisis of identity. Is he Jack, the Pumpkin King of Reason? Or is he Jack, the Santa Claus, avatar of Faith? "What have I done? What have I done? ...Why all I ever wanted was to bring them something great! Why does nothing ever turn out like it should?" he moans as he surveys the destruction his plans have wrought. His intentions were good; he wanted to touch something ideal, something more than this mere world of the senses, and he wanted to share the goodness he found. There was nothing wrong with this, but clearly his methods ended with a most undesirable result. His thesis was partly correct, but so was the anti-thesis.
So what of the synthesis? The mood changes when Jack begins to examine his plan more closely through retrospect. "I never intended all this madness, and no one really understood. Well, how could they?" He realizes that in dealing solely through means of Reason (the Townspeople Forms of Reason), he was doomed from the start. He was working completely out of his element. In fact, it was amazing he even got as far as he did. Suddenly, he comprehends the synthesis. By discovering the limits of Reason, he has a better understanding of what Reason can do. In learning what NOT to do, he has come one step closer to learning what he SHOULD do. This wasn't a failure, but a learning experience! He joyously casts aside the torn visage of Faith to embrace his true identity, Jack, the King of Reason. It isn't that he dismisses Faith completely, but rather that he knows now to play to his strengths. "For the first time since I don't remember when, I felt just like my old boney self again!" Jack has found a sort of Greek fulfillment in finding his virtue and sticking to it. "And I just can't wait until next Halloween, 'cause I've got some new ideas that'll really make them scream!" Jack knows now that in this teleological universe, his place is to work towards truth via Reason, and that doesn't mean he can't have a great appreciation for Faith too. Both Faith and Reason are doors towards truth, and both should be embraced, in their due respective time, by each individual. His road to truth has been set beneath his feet, and he resolves to walk it to the end.
Suddenly, it all becomes clear. He has made a mess of things, but the act of making the mess has given him clarity of thought. Now that the grand experiment is over, he must restore the status quo. This can be done by returning Santa Claus to his rightful place, but where is he now? The ones to kidnap Santa Claus were the minions of Oogie-Boogie, so surely Santa is there at the Boogie Man's lair. With determination in his eye sockets, Jack storms back to Halloween Town to set things right.
At this point, I would show you a clip of the final confrontation between Jack and Oogie Boogie, but my searches bore little fruit, so I'll quickly describe.
Jack shows up, returning from the grave as far as the Halloween citizens are concerned, demanding that Oogie-Boogie relinquish Santa. Oogie seems afraid, but we quickly learn it is a ruse. Oogie-Boogie flips a switch, and suddenly his entire lair comes alive with mechanical precision to stop Jack from saving Christmas. Finally, Jack exposes Oogie for what he is, nothing but a fraud of an idea, a parody of a living thing, a sack full of bugs. "How dare you treat my friends so shamefully!" Jack shouts in anger. Whether Jack is referring to Sally and Santa or the countless enslaved bugs is unclear, but either way, it is a philosophical statement (which I will leave for you to work out =P).
8. All's well that ends well. Jack is now secure in his identity as a man of Reason, but with a greater comprehension of the legitimate relationship between Faith and Reason. Snow, an alien symbol of Christmas (and therefore, Faith), begins to fall in Halloween Town. Faith and Reason, in discovering their boundaries, are brought closer together than ever before.
Oogie Boogie is vanquished, Santa is freed to save Christmas, and Jack returns with Sally to the now overjoyed Townsfolk. As Santa flies overhead, he shouts "Happy Halloween!" as a courtesy, to which Jack replies "Merry Christmas!" It's almost a statement that says the two understand each other now. Snow begins to fall in Halloween Town, much to the wonderment of the Townsfolk. Just as Jack experienced Faith, so too do the Townsfolk each discover the value of Faith. The picture is almost one of the individual on a grand scale. Because Jack, the King of Reason, has found harmony with Faith, so too is Reason itself affected.
And so it is that we end on one of the most uplifting scenes of the film, Jack's realization that he loves Sally, just as she has loved him this whole time. The love between them always seemed a bit forced to me, almost unbelievable, but when viewed in a philosophical light, it makes much more sense. The two differing viewpoints inside reason, the thesis and the anti-thesis, have found synthesis at long last. And just as our gaze lifts up towards the stars in the final shot, so too does that blessed synthesis, that vehicle for truth, lift us up and away from the limited world of the senses to see something greater, something that only could have found through both Faith and Reason.
I love this movie, if you couldn't tell. =D
I hope I've given you all something new to think about. Whether you are of Reason and don't yet understand what it is to have Faith, or a person of Faith who feels satisfied without Reason, Christmas is a time to come together. This Christmas, let yourself believe in something, or allow yourself to ask those really big questions. Searching for truth, whether through means of Faith or Reason, is never a wasted effort.
Merry Christmas and Happy Halloween to you all!
Maybe I'll do the Grinch next year...
Saturday, November 26, 2011
The Idiot's Guide to Philosophy-Plato's Republic
The latest installment in my series of video notes on philosophy.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Faith and Reason in Halloween Town Part 2
If you haven't read my previous post regarding this topic, the following post might not make much sense. But, just like a lost student in the wrong classroom on the first day of school, you should stick around. You just might learn something you'd have never thought about otherwise.
When we last left Jack, he was brooding over the mysteries of Christmas (which we had previously examined as being symbolically representative of the ambiguities of knowledge via Faith), and Sally received a premonition of sorts, leading to her to believe that Jack's Christmas won't be as jolly as he thinks. After paying a visit to Halloween Town's resident scientist, Dr. Finkelstein, Jack procures the necessary tools for examining the specimens he brought back from Christmas Town. When testing the conductivity of candy canes and the dissecting of teddy bears fails to shed any light on the matter, Jack paces in his tower, pondering the mystery of the physical representations of Christmas/Faith. The following video is one of the most important to this discussion because it doesn't take very much effort to imagine any philosopher or scientist agonizing in much the same way Jack is.
4. In the song "Jack's Obsession", we witness firsthand Jack's (what else?) obsession. His research into the empirical aspects of Faith prove fruitless until Jack reaches an extreme interpretation of Faith being made manifest in the actions of the individual.
The texts Jack has studied regarding Faith all lead him in circles. As an empirical scientist may be when reading the Bible, Jack is unable to understand the ultimate meaning behind the words because the words are all he sees, and thusly, they are all he is able to believe. This scene is rich with philosophical symbolism. The house of cards Jack is attempting to build is an excellent analogy of philosophy itself. The individual cards represent the basic principles, or axioms, that we ironically have to accept on Faith in order to build up our understanding of the world. Without first assuming a few axioms, all human activity becomes paralyzed. For example, the computer you're using is a complex system. If you're reading this, the computer in question can access the internet. It can pluck dancing lines of code from the digital ethernet and interpret it as legible text. This computer is a useful tool, but in using this, you are operation on the assumption that this computer exists at all. This implies that one of your axioms is belief in the existence of computers. Now, if you went to the other side of the spectrum and suddenly became a skeptic about the existence of all computers, you would have good reasons to do so, but again, you are operating on an axiom, this time a belief of the non-existence of computers. Whether or not you believe computers exist, you are still assuming an axiom. Jack has built up a complex house of cards, a complicated series of fundamental axioms, but since his paradigm is that of the radical empiricist, his house of cards cannot support the weight of an axiom of Faith.
Up until this point, Jack has been scrutinizing things external of himself, but it suddenly occurs to him that it isn't these physical objects that are important. Faith has no bearing on material matter; it is only of any significance to sentient beings capable of doubt and belief. If Faith is to manifest itself physically, it can only do so in the actions of the individual, and this is what most profoundly strikes Jack. Faith is like a seed that grows into a tree, but only if the potential inside the seed is actualized. Ecstatic at this epiphany, Jack leaps to the conclusion that if Christmas/Faith is to be made real as he believes it must be, he has to make it a reality in himself and others. His empiricist outlook evolves somewhat when we take a closer look at the words he sings: "It's simply really, very clear, like music drifting in the air, invisible, but everywhere. Just because I cannot see it doesn't mean I can't believe it!" He has made a huge step towards a more rational, moderate outlook by admitting that something can exist without having physical form. Jack still believes that for Faith to be really real, it should be made manifest in the actions of people, but he has firmly grasped the concept of an intangible, rational force that can legitimately exist outside the scope of his senses.
Unfortunately, Jack doesn't stop there. At first his thoughts are that everyone should experience some degree of Faith, as he has. But Jack, extremist that he is, takes it too far. He assumes that if Faith can become physical in any sense, it can be improved by means of Reason. If Faith, by its very nature is such that it doesn't build upon itself as Reason does, then Jack believes it should be made to build. Feeling in his heart that he is doing the right thing, he proclaims to the citizens of Halloween Town that Christmas will be theirs this year, and that Faith will be embraced and perfected by Reason. His argument is logical by Reason's standards, so the townsfolk eagerly agree to help him in his scheme.
This is where things might get a wee bit complicated.
If the nature of Faith is such that it will build upon itself without external influence, than Faith must be subdued by Reason. This is shown in the symbolic kidnapping of Santa Claus, the task of which forces Jack to call upon the services of Hallween's finest trick-or-treaters, Lock, Shock and Barrel, all of whom are associated with the darker figure in Halloween Town, Oogie-Boogie the Boogie Man. Jack trusts the three devils with the task of capturing St. Nick, but they have their own plans, all revolving around the ambition of their master. Santa is abducted from Christmas Town, and Lock and company take him to Oogie-Boogie's lair.
5. Santa Claus falls into the clutches of Oogie-Boogie, the collective incarnation of Reason that refuses to acknowledge Faith.
Oogie-Boogie is a gambling Boogie Man. He represents a side of Reason that puts more stock in chance than anything else. It is completely Faithless, selfish, immoral and unwilling to even open itself to the idea of something greater than itself. In other words, his view of the universe is completely the opposite of a teleological one, a universe of chaos and disorder. We later learn that Oogie-Boogie is actually a collective of insects given shape and form by the sack he wears as skin. Without these insects, he is helpless and without form. This weakness represents the fact that a chaotic view of the universe is made strong only by the sheer number of people it attracts and/or by the evils of the world that point to a less ordered universe. Many brilliant thinkers throughout history have not thought existence was merely the product of chance. Plato's Demiurge and Aristotle's Unmoved Mover are examples of a counter to Boogie's position. Though the existence of a creator figure cannot be proven (hence the necessity of Faith), it is still more logically probable than an incredibly complex reality coming about purely by chance. Oogie-Boogie also mocks Santa/Faith repeatedly, implying that he believes Faith is not a necessity nor a reality. He is radically empirical, as Jack is, but he is different in that he internally resolves to never accept any force greater than himself or chance.
Notice also a lyrical similarity between Jack and Ooogie-Boogie in the mention of "music in the air." Earlier, Jack described Faith as being "-like music drifting in the air, invisible but everywhere." Oogie-Boogie says that to him, "-the sound of rolling dice is music in the air." Where Jack sees Faith as being an intangible yet omnipresent force, Oogie-Boogie differs in offering that if there is any room for Faith in his worldview, it is only enough for Faith in the sound of rolling dice, Faith in the forces of chance.
Notice also a lyrical similarity between Jack and Ooogie-Boogie in the mention of "music in the air." Earlier, Jack described Faith as being "-like music drifting in the air, invisible but everywhere." Oogie-Boogie says that to him, "-the sound of rolling dice is music in the air." Where Jack sees Faith as being an intangible yet omnipresent force, Oogie-Boogie differs in offering that if there is any room for Faith in his worldview, it is only enough for Faith in the sound of rolling dice, Faith in the forces of chance.
While Oogie-Boogie schemes against Jack and plays host to the captive Santa Claus, the Halloween townsfolk are hard at work. The townsfolk labor hard to make Faith a physical reality, but as good as their intentions are, they are also misguided. As they work, they chant "Making Christmas, Making Christmas". They think that Faith is something than can be manufactured by their labor, not something that they need to embrace and actualize. Jack notices this, but knowing that the townsfolk cannot truly understand Faith as he does (remember that the townsfolk represent the Forms of Reason itself), he does not berate them.
As the work proceeds and Christmas draws nearer, Sally grows more concerned about Jack's plan. When Jack begins giving out work assignments, he asks Sally to make him a Santa Claus suit so that he may embody Faith through his physical appearance as well as his actions. Again, the intention is good, but the action is a misguided one. When Sally makes that point to Jack, he remains oblivious, still obsessed with his idea of making Faith a reality and showing it to everyone. Sally, though increasingly desperate to convince Jack of his folly, concedes and makes him the suit.
We should ask ourselves "why is Sally so desperate to stop Jack?" Isn't Jack's raw intention good? All he wants is to share the wonderful feeling of experiencing Faith. To make the point more clear, suppose that an idea suddenly occurred to you. It is not originally yours, but this idea is so incredible and revolutionary that you believe everyone needs to at least hear it. Suppose also that you believed you could make improvements to the original idea. Wouldn't you want to share it? It's exactly the same with Jack. He's stumbled upon something he believes is very important and he wants to share it with everyone. Sally is not in conflict with him on this. Since her premonition was also an experience of Faith (the vision gave her knowledge that she knows without knowing), she knows what he is talking about. Where she has issue with him is his belief that he can improve Faith by means of Reason.
But wait. If both Jack and Sally had experiences of Faith, why are they in conflict? How can two people see truth and not agree on it? The answer is that they are not truly in conflict because of Faith. If Faith imparts truth and Reason discerns truth through logic, are they not both true? Truth cannot conflict with truth because all truth comes from the same source. The real conflict, then, comes from differing interpretations of the truth. Jack has seen truth and believes he can improve the means by which this truth is acquired (via Faith). Sally has also seen truth and realizes that Faith, since it is independent of Reason, cannot be improved. It simply is.
So far, we have three viewpoints regarding Faith: Jack says that Faith is to be pursued wholeheartedly and subject to Reason. Sally believes that Faith and Reason are separately existing spheres (not unlike Thomas Aquinas), different methods to perceive the truth that should not conflict with one another. And finally, Oogie-Boogie states that Faith is irrelevant because the universe is guided purely by chance, and that the only truth worth finding is the truth we make for ourselves.
Which of these views will ultimately be proven correct? Will Jack's plan to subdue Faith succeed? Will Faith and Reason finally find a lasting compromise? Find out next time when the Idiot posts the final chapter in this philosophical saga!
As the work proceeds and Christmas draws nearer, Sally grows more concerned about Jack's plan. When Jack begins giving out work assignments, he asks Sally to make him a Santa Claus suit so that he may embody Faith through his physical appearance as well as his actions. Again, the intention is good, but the action is a misguided one. When Sally makes that point to Jack, he remains oblivious, still obsessed with his idea of making Faith a reality and showing it to everyone. Sally, though increasingly desperate to convince Jack of his folly, concedes and makes him the suit.
We should ask ourselves "why is Sally so desperate to stop Jack?" Isn't Jack's raw intention good? All he wants is to share the wonderful feeling of experiencing Faith. To make the point more clear, suppose that an idea suddenly occurred to you. It is not originally yours, but this idea is so incredible and revolutionary that you believe everyone needs to at least hear it. Suppose also that you believed you could make improvements to the original idea. Wouldn't you want to share it? It's exactly the same with Jack. He's stumbled upon something he believes is very important and he wants to share it with everyone. Sally is not in conflict with him on this. Since her premonition was also an experience of Faith (the vision gave her knowledge that she knows without knowing), she knows what he is talking about. Where she has issue with him is his belief that he can improve Faith by means of Reason.
But wait. If both Jack and Sally had experiences of Faith, why are they in conflict? How can two people see truth and not agree on it? The answer is that they are not truly in conflict because of Faith. If Faith imparts truth and Reason discerns truth through logic, are they not both true? Truth cannot conflict with truth because all truth comes from the same source. The real conflict, then, comes from differing interpretations of the truth. Jack has seen truth and believes he can improve the means by which this truth is acquired (via Faith). Sally has also seen truth and realizes that Faith, since it is independent of Reason, cannot be improved. It simply is.
So far, we have three viewpoints regarding Faith: Jack says that Faith is to be pursued wholeheartedly and subject to Reason. Sally believes that Faith and Reason are separately existing spheres (not unlike Thomas Aquinas), different methods to perceive the truth that should not conflict with one another. And finally, Oogie-Boogie states that Faith is irrelevant because the universe is guided purely by chance, and that the only truth worth finding is the truth we make for ourselves.
Which of these views will ultimately be proven correct? Will Jack's plan to subdue Faith succeed? Will Faith and Reason finally find a lasting compromise? Find out next time when the Idiot posts the final chapter in this philosophical saga!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Faith and Reason in Halloween Town Part 1
Halloween has come and gone, but before it went, I ended up watching Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas three times this year, twice as a film and once as a live stage opera. I loved the story already, and by this point, Halloween is buzzing in my skull. Will it let me be? I cannot tell.
Maybe it's because I was reading Saint Augustine, but a few thoughts occurred to me over my recent viewings of the holiday classic, and I thought I'd share them here. They led me to a frankly fascinating thesis: Nightmare Before Christmas is an allegorical explanation of the interactions between Faith and Reason. It seems a bit far fetched, but if you keep reading (and if you are familiar at all with the story of Jack Skellington), you just might see what I mean.
I begin by proposing that Halloween Town represents Reason and that Christmas Town represents Faith, and I provide my reasons for thinking so with the following observations. In Halloween Town, there is an increased propensity amongst the populace to be scientific. Dr. Finkelstein, Sally's creator, is a bonafide scientist, and owns an entire laboratory complete with advanced scientific equipment. Sally herself is incredibly adept at alchemy and potion making, which may be in and of itself a slightly outdated science, but is a science nonetheless. We even see at one point that Jack reads a book simply entitled "The Scientific Method"shortly before conducting a series of experiments. If you think of the remaining citizens as representations of the Form of Reason, rather than the Form of Halloweeny-Scariness, replacing terms like "scary" with "empirically provable", scenes like Town Meeting make much more sense. Another fun comparison to make would be that of the Greeks (Reason) and their initial attempts to understand the alien ideas of the early Christian church (Faith). For a time, the analytical Greeks were at odds with the significantly less analytical Christians. Just as the logic of the Greeks prevented them from fully comprehending the Christians, the inability of the Halloween folk to grasp the concept of Christmas (Faith) is understandable, considering that they are capable of thinking only in terms of Halloween (Reason). The main point I make here is that the denizens of Halloween Town only put stock in that which can be empirically proven and disproven.
Christmas Town is a bit trickier to explain, as we see significantly less of it than we do of Halloween Town, and as such, there are fewer examples to be cited. The only real evidence I can provide is Christmas Town's effect on the character of Jack Skellington.
The best explanation involves a bit of storytelling. The story opens on the citizens of Halloween Town celebrating (what else?) Halloween, and Jack Skellington, the terrifying Pumpkin King has "-grown so weary of the sound of screams." He sneaks away from the celebrations to privately express his dissatisfaction with Halloween (or rather a dissatisfaction with radical monism rooted in empiricism). Go ahead and watch the video below, and try to bear in mind the idea of Halloween Town representing Reason.
1. Jack, the Paragon of Reason, begins to realize that as comprehensive as Reason is, it cannot provide answers to every question. After a long life of radical empiricism, he begins to long for something more (Faith)
What follows is that Jack, driven by his enigmatic need, wanders aimlessly through the woods, not unlike Dante, who "-went astray from the straight road and woke to find [himself] alone in a dark wood." The morning after Halloween, Jack passes beyond the boundaries of the Halloween Town he knows, and stumbles upon something peculiar, a door in a tree, bearing the symbol of a Christmas tree. Whether by accident or some external influence, Jack gets sucked into the door and finds himself transported to a place completely and utterly alien to him. He comes to know the place by the name of Christmas Town. Please watch the video below. Imagine that Jack, a radical empiricist, is encountering something that defies everything his senses tell him, comparable perhaps to a divine revelation of sorts.
2. Jack experiences something beyond the senses, unable prove or disprove the intangible aura of Faith, but despite this, he is possessed by the obsession to bring the mysterious Faith under the heel of Reason. Little does he know that doing so will not have the desired effect.
You may have noticed by now that Jack is not one to do things by halves. He's either exuberant or exhausted, happy or sad, almost bipolar. This is indicative of what he symbolically represents, which is obsessive, radical belief, an ironically faith-like attribute. He is confident that all the rules of logic can be applied to something like Faith, and with this in mind, he triumphantly returns to Halloween Town, collected specimens in his boney hands. With more excitement and vigor than he can recall ever feeling, Jack calls for a town meeting to discuss the concept of Christmas and its possible impact on the citizens of Halloween.
3. Jack's attempts to convey his recent experience with Faith to the townspeople partly fails. Though the people understand Faith in a purely logical sense, they cannot know what it is in particular what Jack feels. In the end, Jack must settle for stirring their interest by making Faith sound appealing in a logical, Reason based way.
When Jack returns to explain his experience of Christmas/Faith, he finds that the task is impossible. He can no more make them understand than he can tell a blind person what a sunset looks like. This is because Faith is relevant in particular to the individual. Faith is not something that can be taught, as Jack learns. To make the point more clearly, imagine talking on the phone with a friend. Your friend is eating some exotic dish that you've never even heard of. Having never tasted this food, you have no idea what the experience is like. Your friend could explain the taste and texture of the food, and this might help refine your conceptions, but no matter how specific the details, the friend's description will not make you realize what the experience of eating this exotic dish is like.
The sometimes incongruent natures of Faith and Reason clash in this scene, particularly in the case of the packaged present Jack displays on the stage. It isn't difficult to imagine that the present represents the ambiguity of Faith. It represents the concept of knowledge that can be known without knowing. Most would describe Faith as being something you learn without the aid of the senses (perhaps through divine revelation[?]) that you know beyond all shadow of doubt. The individual in question, for example, may know for certain that there is a God, but this knowledge cannot be truly communicated or proven by any reasonable means, and as such, this knowledge is only of use to the individual. How can people who think strictly in terms of Reason be expected to understand knowledge that cannot be communicated? How can empiricists be expected to believe that there is a limit to the scope of their Reason? So it is with the Halloween Townsfolk. When his attempt to convey the experience of Faith fails, Jack resorts to translating the notion of Faith in terms they can understand. This excites the townsfolk and sparks an interest in Faith, but Jack sighs that "-at least they're excited, but they don't understand that special kind of feeling in Christmas Land...oh well..."
The relationship between Jack and Sally bears some exposition here, as it is loaded with delicious symbolism. Sally sympathizes with Jack's emptiness prior to his experience in Christmas Town, and she harbors deep feelings for him that have thus far gone unspoken. Because of the circumstances regarding her possessive creator, Dr. Finkelstein, she cannot be open with her affections. One night, after sending Jack an anonymous token of her love, Sally has an unexplained vision that gives her Faith in the error of Jack's thinking, that is to say that she knows without knowing that Jack's thinking will end badly.
She sees a Christmas tree, complete with glistening decorations, burst into flames. The destruction of the tree, obviously representing the destruction of Christmas and therefore Faith, does not necessarily mean that Christmas and Faith are futile and unworthy of our interest. It merely means that trying to interpret Faith with Reason is ultimately useless, as we will see later. While Jack becomes obsessed with trying to solve the riddle of Faith by scientific means, Sally quietly contemplates whether or not what Jack is doing is right. Where Jack represents radical, obsessive Reason that feels the need to explain everything in logical terms, Sally represents a moderate Reason that knows its place in relation to Faith. Despite the curiosity she has in common with Jack, she realizes that Reason does not rule Faith, nor does Faith rule Reason. The two have a legitimate relationship, but she hopes that the boundaries will be carefully observed.
You know what? This has turned into a LONG blog post. Nobody likes reading LONG blog posts, so I'm gonna stop here, but I will continue explaining my thesis in another post soon.
What's going to happen? Will Jack's experiments and study into Christmas/Faith bear fruit? Will Faith be understood by Reason, or will Jack's good intentions shake the foundations of Halloween Town? Stay tuned, and even if you already know the answers, you just might learn something new next time!
I begin by proposing that Halloween Town represents Reason and that Christmas Town represents Faith, and I provide my reasons for thinking so with the following observations. In Halloween Town, there is an increased propensity amongst the populace to be scientific. Dr. Finkelstein, Sally's creator, is a bonafide scientist, and owns an entire laboratory complete with advanced scientific equipment. Sally herself is incredibly adept at alchemy and potion making, which may be in and of itself a slightly outdated science, but is a science nonetheless. We even see at one point that Jack reads a book simply entitled "The Scientific Method"shortly before conducting a series of experiments. If you think of the remaining citizens as representations of the Form of Reason, rather than the Form of Halloweeny-Scariness, replacing terms like "scary" with "empirically provable", scenes like Town Meeting make much more sense. Another fun comparison to make would be that of the Greeks (Reason) and their initial attempts to understand the alien ideas of the early Christian church (Faith). For a time, the analytical Greeks were at odds with the significantly less analytical Christians. Just as the logic of the Greeks prevented them from fully comprehending the Christians, the inability of the Halloween folk to grasp the concept of Christmas (Faith) is understandable, considering that they are capable of thinking only in terms of Halloween (Reason). The main point I make here is that the denizens of Halloween Town only put stock in that which can be empirically proven and disproven.
Christmas Town is a bit trickier to explain, as we see significantly less of it than we do of Halloween Town, and as such, there are fewer examples to be cited. The only real evidence I can provide is Christmas Town's effect on the character of Jack Skellington.
The best explanation involves a bit of storytelling. The story opens on the citizens of Halloween Town celebrating (what else?) Halloween, and Jack Skellington, the terrifying Pumpkin King has "-grown so weary of the sound of screams." He sneaks away from the celebrations to privately express his dissatisfaction with Halloween (or rather a dissatisfaction with radical monism rooted in empiricism). Go ahead and watch the video below, and try to bear in mind the idea of Halloween Town representing Reason.
1. Jack, the Paragon of Reason, begins to realize that as comprehensive as Reason is, it cannot provide answers to every question. After a long life of radical empiricism, he begins to long for something more (Faith)
What follows is that Jack, driven by his enigmatic need, wanders aimlessly through the woods, not unlike Dante, who "-went astray from the straight road and woke to find [himself] alone in a dark wood." The morning after Halloween, Jack passes beyond the boundaries of the Halloween Town he knows, and stumbles upon something peculiar, a door in a tree, bearing the symbol of a Christmas tree. Whether by accident or some external influence, Jack gets sucked into the door and finds himself transported to a place completely and utterly alien to him. He comes to know the place by the name of Christmas Town. Please watch the video below. Imagine that Jack, a radical empiricist, is encountering something that defies everything his senses tell him, comparable perhaps to a divine revelation of sorts.
2. Jack experiences something beyond the senses, unable prove or disprove the intangible aura of Faith, but despite this, he is possessed by the obsession to bring the mysterious Faith under the heel of Reason. Little does he know that doing so will not have the desired effect.
You may have noticed by now that Jack is not one to do things by halves. He's either exuberant or exhausted, happy or sad, almost bipolar. This is indicative of what he symbolically represents, which is obsessive, radical belief, an ironically faith-like attribute. He is confident that all the rules of logic can be applied to something like Faith, and with this in mind, he triumphantly returns to Halloween Town, collected specimens in his boney hands. With more excitement and vigor than he can recall ever feeling, Jack calls for a town meeting to discuss the concept of Christmas and its possible impact on the citizens of Halloween.
3. Jack's attempts to convey his recent experience with Faith to the townspeople partly fails. Though the people understand Faith in a purely logical sense, they cannot know what it is in particular what Jack feels. In the end, Jack must settle for stirring their interest by making Faith sound appealing in a logical, Reason based way.
When Jack returns to explain his experience of Christmas/Faith, he finds that the task is impossible. He can no more make them understand than he can tell a blind person what a sunset looks like. This is because Faith is relevant in particular to the individual. Faith is not something that can be taught, as Jack learns. To make the point more clearly, imagine talking on the phone with a friend. Your friend is eating some exotic dish that you've never even heard of. Having never tasted this food, you have no idea what the experience is like. Your friend could explain the taste and texture of the food, and this might help refine your conceptions, but no matter how specific the details, the friend's description will not make you realize what the experience of eating this exotic dish is like.
The sometimes incongruent natures of Faith and Reason clash in this scene, particularly in the case of the packaged present Jack displays on the stage. It isn't difficult to imagine that the present represents the ambiguity of Faith. It represents the concept of knowledge that can be known without knowing. Most would describe Faith as being something you learn without the aid of the senses (perhaps through divine revelation[?]) that you know beyond all shadow of doubt. The individual in question, for example, may know for certain that there is a God, but this knowledge cannot be truly communicated or proven by any reasonable means, and as such, this knowledge is only of use to the individual. How can people who think strictly in terms of Reason be expected to understand knowledge that cannot be communicated? How can empiricists be expected to believe that there is a limit to the scope of their Reason? So it is with the Halloween Townsfolk. When his attempt to convey the experience of Faith fails, Jack resorts to translating the notion of Faith in terms they can understand. This excites the townsfolk and sparks an interest in Faith, but Jack sighs that "-at least they're excited, but they don't understand that special kind of feeling in Christmas Land...oh well..."
The relationship between Jack and Sally bears some exposition here, as it is loaded with delicious symbolism. Sally sympathizes with Jack's emptiness prior to his experience in Christmas Town, and she harbors deep feelings for him that have thus far gone unspoken. Because of the circumstances regarding her possessive creator, Dr. Finkelstein, she cannot be open with her affections. One night, after sending Jack an anonymous token of her love, Sally has an unexplained vision that gives her Faith in the error of Jack's thinking, that is to say that she knows without knowing that Jack's thinking will end badly.
She sees a Christmas tree, complete with glistening decorations, burst into flames. The destruction of the tree, obviously representing the destruction of Christmas and therefore Faith, does not necessarily mean that Christmas and Faith are futile and unworthy of our interest. It merely means that trying to interpret Faith with Reason is ultimately useless, as we will see later. While Jack becomes obsessed with trying to solve the riddle of Faith by scientific means, Sally quietly contemplates whether or not what Jack is doing is right. Where Jack represents radical, obsessive Reason that feels the need to explain everything in logical terms, Sally represents a moderate Reason that knows its place in relation to Faith. Despite the curiosity she has in common with Jack, she realizes that Reason does not rule Faith, nor does Faith rule Reason. The two have a legitimate relationship, but she hopes that the boundaries will be carefully observed.
You know what? This has turned into a LONG blog post. Nobody likes reading LONG blog posts, so I'm gonna stop here, but I will continue explaining my thesis in another post soon.
What's going to happen? Will Jack's experiments and study into Christmas/Faith bear fruit? Will Faith be understood by Reason, or will Jack's good intentions shake the foundations of Halloween Town? Stay tuned, and even if you already know the answers, you just might learn something new next time!
Saturday, October 15, 2011
"Super"
I watched a movie today.
It was the kind of movie that I'm sure you wouldn't think twice about, even if you'd heard of it. I'd certainly never heard of it before my sister asked me if I wanted to watch it with her. Neither of us had ever seen it.
The premise was simple: a dull, boring, but more or less goodhearted guy (Rain Wilson, 'The Office") marries a recovering drug addict (Liv Tyler, "LoTR"), loses her, and tries to get her back. The first lines of the movie are an inner monologue of Rain talking about the two best moments of his life, the moment he helped an officer serve justice, and the moment when he married Liv.
Rain is a person of questionable sanity and reasonably strong faith. In the handful of scenes when he prays to God, I felt my heart fracture, the cracks spreading down familiar lines, as he begged God for help and direction. He knows very well that he might be insane; he continually questions himself, unsure of whether he is conversing with God or just talking to his own twisted mind. Regardless of his doubt in himself, Rain has an incredibly strong sense of morality, even going so far as to equate cutting in line with rape and the selling of drugs.
To make a long story short, Rain receives a vision that he believes is from God, which is more likely his warped interpretation of the situation at hand. The 'Holy Avenger' tells him that he has been chosen and shows him a symbol. Rain awakens and creates a superhero outfit. He then dubs himself the 'Crimson Bolt and sets out to fight evil and get Liv back.
This is where I'll stop talking about specifics, because the specifics are twisted. This movie is, on many levels, disturbing. When I watched it, I saw things that I wish I could un-see. I heard language of the most foul variety, witnessed far too much awkward cringe humor, and beheld several scenes of multiple kinds of rape. This movie is not comfortable. It is sick and deranged.
But more than this, it is honest. It is so disturbing because it tears away a facade of perfection and beauty that has dominated storytelling where superheroes are involved. When we go to see a superhero movie, we expect things to be a certain way. We expect it to be formulaic. The hero starts as a regular person. Tragedy strikes, vows of revenge are uttered, villains are faced, a lesson is learned, and good old fashioned justice prevails. A perfect example of this is the recent 'Captain America' movie. It shows the world as we wish it was, with clearcut heroes and clearcut villains. To put this in perspective, let me tell you about something that struck me so hard, that it inspired me to write this blog entry.
My sister went into this movie expecting wholesome, superhero action with good guys wearing white and bad guys wearing black, twirling their mustaches and practicing their laughs. After the movie was over, she was disgusted. She immediately turned on an episode of Justice League: Unlimited, in which bright, flashy music played as our wise-crackin' hero dispatched the stereotypical villains. Black and white, pure and simple. But I realized something after watching this movie.
Life isn't black and white, nor pure and simple.
The movie, entitled 'Super', doesn't have any superheroes. It might not even have any regular heroes. Instead, it shows both the world and the people in it as they really are. People are shown buying drugs, raping, beating each other senseless, hurting one another emotionally, lying, cheating, but more importantly, it shows us one of these deranged people trying to be good. He fails, repeatedly, but as he puts it, "The truth was written on my heart."
I recommend that you see this movie, but know that you'll be disgusted. Your comfortable reality of right and wrong will be challenged. When the strange, the horrific and the so-very-wrong present themselves to you through this film, you'll think to yourself "Why am I watching this?" You'll think back to me, and your faith in my good judgement will be shaken, maybe even shattered. You'll want this movie to never be seen by anyone, and you'll wish I'd kept my opinions to myself.
But if you can persevere to the last two or three minutes in the movie, you'll realize a few things. Rain, addressing the audience through an inner monologue says "I know how this looks. You might think I'm crazy. But sometimes the way a thing looks and the way a thing is are two completely different pictures." Rain does some pretty despicable things in this movie, but he almost never swerves from his belief in good. "The rules were made a long time ago," he says. "They don't change." He sees, in hindsight, that however filthy he is, his earnest attempt to do good has born fruit. If it hadn't been for his lack of sanity, he would never have found the courage to try and save Liv. He does save Liv, though she leaves him a short while later. While she didn't truly return his love like he'd hoped, his actions motivated her to clean up her act, go back to school, meet a lonely but good man, have several wonderful children, all because Rain tried his best, however horrible, to do something right.
The truth is that we're all sick and deranged people. Whether by choice or by accident, we've all fallen away from the good, but not completely. As disgusting and vile as we are, there is a small spark of the divine in us that takes pride in things that are honorable, noble, pure and good. We all long to love far more than we long to hate, and sometimes we are chosen to do good, even if we are inherently bad.
There are no superheroes, only sinners and sinners who want to be good.
It was the kind of movie that I'm sure you wouldn't think twice about, even if you'd heard of it. I'd certainly never heard of it before my sister asked me if I wanted to watch it with her. Neither of us had ever seen it.
The premise was simple: a dull, boring, but more or less goodhearted guy (Rain Wilson, 'The Office") marries a recovering drug addict (Liv Tyler, "LoTR"), loses her, and tries to get her back. The first lines of the movie are an inner monologue of Rain talking about the two best moments of his life, the moment he helped an officer serve justice, and the moment when he married Liv.
Rain is a person of questionable sanity and reasonably strong faith. In the handful of scenes when he prays to God, I felt my heart fracture, the cracks spreading down familiar lines, as he begged God for help and direction. He knows very well that he might be insane; he continually questions himself, unsure of whether he is conversing with God or just talking to his own twisted mind. Regardless of his doubt in himself, Rain has an incredibly strong sense of morality, even going so far as to equate cutting in line with rape and the selling of drugs.
To make a long story short, Rain receives a vision that he believes is from God, which is more likely his warped interpretation of the situation at hand. The 'Holy Avenger' tells him that he has been chosen and shows him a symbol. Rain awakens and creates a superhero outfit. He then dubs himself the 'Crimson Bolt and sets out to fight evil and get Liv back.
This is where I'll stop talking about specifics, because the specifics are twisted. This movie is, on many levels, disturbing. When I watched it, I saw things that I wish I could un-see. I heard language of the most foul variety, witnessed far too much awkward cringe humor, and beheld several scenes of multiple kinds of rape. This movie is not comfortable. It is sick and deranged.
But more than this, it is honest. It is so disturbing because it tears away a facade of perfection and beauty that has dominated storytelling where superheroes are involved. When we go to see a superhero movie, we expect things to be a certain way. We expect it to be formulaic. The hero starts as a regular person. Tragedy strikes, vows of revenge are uttered, villains are faced, a lesson is learned, and good old fashioned justice prevails. A perfect example of this is the recent 'Captain America' movie. It shows the world as we wish it was, with clearcut heroes and clearcut villains. To put this in perspective, let me tell you about something that struck me so hard, that it inspired me to write this blog entry.
My sister went into this movie expecting wholesome, superhero action with good guys wearing white and bad guys wearing black, twirling their mustaches and practicing their laughs. After the movie was over, she was disgusted. She immediately turned on an episode of Justice League: Unlimited, in which bright, flashy music played as our wise-crackin' hero dispatched the stereotypical villains. Black and white, pure and simple. But I realized something after watching this movie.
Life isn't black and white, nor pure and simple.
The movie, entitled 'Super', doesn't have any superheroes. It might not even have any regular heroes. Instead, it shows both the world and the people in it as they really are. People are shown buying drugs, raping, beating each other senseless, hurting one another emotionally, lying, cheating, but more importantly, it shows us one of these deranged people trying to be good. He fails, repeatedly, but as he puts it, "The truth was written on my heart."
I recommend that you see this movie, but know that you'll be disgusted. Your comfortable reality of right and wrong will be challenged. When the strange, the horrific and the so-very-wrong present themselves to you through this film, you'll think to yourself "Why am I watching this?" You'll think back to me, and your faith in my good judgement will be shaken, maybe even shattered. You'll want this movie to never be seen by anyone, and you'll wish I'd kept my opinions to myself.
But if you can persevere to the last two or three minutes in the movie, you'll realize a few things. Rain, addressing the audience through an inner monologue says "I know how this looks. You might think I'm crazy. But sometimes the way a thing looks and the way a thing is are two completely different pictures." Rain does some pretty despicable things in this movie, but he almost never swerves from his belief in good. "The rules were made a long time ago," he says. "They don't change." He sees, in hindsight, that however filthy he is, his earnest attempt to do good has born fruit. If it hadn't been for his lack of sanity, he would never have found the courage to try and save Liv. He does save Liv, though she leaves him a short while later. While she didn't truly return his love like he'd hoped, his actions motivated her to clean up her act, go back to school, meet a lonely but good man, have several wonderful children, all because Rain tried his best, however horrible, to do something right.
The truth is that we're all sick and deranged people. Whether by choice or by accident, we've all fallen away from the good, but not completely. As disgusting and vile as we are, there is a small spark of the divine in us that takes pride in things that are honorable, noble, pure and good. We all long to love far more than we long to hate, and sometimes we are chosen to do good, even if we are inherently bad.
There are no superheroes, only sinners and sinners who want to be good.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
The Idiot's Guide to Philosophy-Socrates pt2
The second installment in this series to deal with Socrates. Boy, things are really heating up now! =D
Check out Kathleen O'Bannon's blog to see episodes of the partner show, "Notes From the Christian Underground" http://flamingpoetic.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
The Idiot's Guide to Philosophy-Socrates
The next video in my "Idiot's Guide to Philosophy" youtube series. This time, we cover the man himself, Socrates!
Friday, August 19, 2011
The Idiot's Guide to Philosophy-The Sophists
A video from my youtube channel, one in a series of videos about the history of philosophy called "The Idiot's Guide to Philosophy". You should subscribe! It'd make me happy! =D
Friday, August 12, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
On Government and Allowed Knowledge
Unity is one part love, one part hate, and one part ignorance. According to the Taoists (and I agree with this strongly), a true leader is one who can unite or harmonize the minds of the people. They must be of one love, cherishing the same things, and they must be of one hate, expressing the same dislikes. For both of these things are indelibly etched into the human soul, and if they will always be, then both must be focused and channeled appropriately. The people must also be, to a degree, ignorant. With many wise people comes many differing and often conflicting opinions, and while some would argue that from this conflict comes resolution, the immediate effect is disunity, chaos and unreliability in times of need. An open minded people may benefit from a wealth of knowledge, but without a way to be certain that all reach the same conclusion, conflict will be the inevitable result. What good is a wealth of knowledge if there is no consensus on how it must be used? While ignorant people suffer in that the individual is denied access to a wealth of information, they do benefit in a strong sense of absolution, unity, duty, and morality, because they have experienced only one dominant truth. Open mindedness benefits a society in the moment, but ultimately leads to corruption, diminished sense of collective self, and immorality. Close mindedness takes constant toll on a people, but it ensures the traits of an enduring cultural and national identity. Solomon once said that he who increases in knowledge increases in sorrow. This is true both on the scale of the individual and of the nation.
Applying the concept of Yin and Yang, or any Law of Balance, though, this idea can be rendered meaningless. There will always be flukes, things that do not adhere to the system, whether for good or for ill. In a close minded society, there will always be those who rebel against the barriers erected between them and information that the system denies them. In today's America, these are often thought of as heroes, and our culture glorifies them in all forms of media. This is the road more travelled. The rarer alternative is that in an open minded society, there are occasionally those who see the long term drawbacks of the system, and attempt to either flee or subvert it. These are often thought of as villains, and our present culture demonizes any non-conformity to open mindedness. This is the road less travelled, and therefore, I think, the more noble one.
Redheaded Ruminations
The following is the testimony/thoughts/confessions, whether preceded by others or not, of a follower of Jesus Christ. May He look kindly upon my undertaking, and if I am wrong, let his correction be swift and merciful. I write this all with an uneducated mind, using only what sense God has given me. Let it benefit someone somewhere, someday.
My words will have no meaning for those who cannot or will not see the bad in the good and the good in the bad. Few things are purely good, and few things are purely evil. It is not arrogance on my part to say that when you see all angles of any given thing, you have opened your eyes.
To an ignorant man, the world is bearable, perhaps even pleasant. To an ignorant man in love, the world is a paradise waiting to yield fruit. To a mindful man, the world is corrupt, nothing is as it should be. To a mindful man who is embittered, the world is a nightmare from which he cannot awaken. An ignorant and embittered man can live on, for though he tastes bitterness, he cannot see its source. To the mindful man in love, everything is perilous, nothing seems safe. The struggles of the world are born of a conflict in perception.
Man is innately a seeker of truth. When he finds even the smallest glimmer of truth, he clings to it. This is part of why men everywhere fight. All cling to their pieces of truth, declaring their own to be dominant. They cannot see that their individual pieces are part of a larger puzzle.
This puzzle is a collection of truths. The world is filled with truth, but none of it is valid unless looked at objectively through a lens of one dominant truth. This is where humans become divided. No one can agree on what “dominant truth” is. To make full use of what little wisdom I offer, you must open yourself to examining truths from my perspective.
It would be more diplomatic of me to say that each person must examine truths from their individual perspectives, but that invites division. Truth is both relative AND absolute. Because there are many truths, all varying on perception, truth is relative. But because truth is relative, it is open to the concept of truth being all things, that is to say that it is open to the concept of being relative AND absolute. Absolute truth can be equated with fact. Fact: the world had a beginning, though no one can agree on how it began. In this way, relative truths encircle absolute truths.
We have established, then, that people cling to legitimate truth when they find it, and because their truths are legitimate, truth can be said to be everywhere. But if one were to accept all truths, one invites both confusion and disaster. Some truths are incompatible or contradictory. For example, the religions of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all share the same roots; they essentially have the same beginning. They become contradictory, however, the further one examines their ideas and history. It is possible for some truths to be compatible despite differences. The Muslims call God Allah, the Christians call him God. Both touch upon the same truth, but both contradict the other.
With logic, one can reason that the world could not begin exactly as described by the Hindi AND exactly as described by the Christians. Both may share elements of truth, but neither is 100% correct, as they both claim to be. The world began, but it can only begin as it began, not as each individual says it began. The only leeway for several relative truths to be correct is that perhaps they are speaking of the same thing, but using different names, different cultural references. Again, truth is both absolute and relative. The world could not have begun as each truth says it did, but it is possible that these truths are blind men examining an elephant. Beyond knowing that the world began a certain way, absolute truth on the matter can be touched upon, but it cannot be discerned. It is eternally elusive.
It takes more courage to stand against the majority than to side with it. Sometimes the heroes are remembered as villains, and the villains are remembered as heroes.
There are two things you must see to in life: the well being of your soul, and the well being of your heart. What good is an enduring soul when the heart is lifeless?
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