Sunday, February 6, 2011
What is controversial?
So, we're going to be talking about controversial films in the next few weeks, so I'm going to ask you to speculate on what causes controversy. Why did a film as shockingly violent as Machete hardly raise an eyebrow while a seemingly innocent film like The Golden Compass caused a public uproar? What is it that makes a controversial film? As usual, 250 word post up by Thursday night and 100 word response up by Sunday night.
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What made “The Golden Compass” so damn controversial is the fact that the movie (and the novels) is (are) blatantly anti-religion. Movies like Machete, where violent acts are heavily portrayed are not controversial because, Americans, as a society, have become desensitized to violence. We see it everywhere: in TV shows like CSI (insert a city here), Spartacus, Oz, The Shield, Dexter, Criminal Minds, etc; in movies like Machete, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, The Fighter, Rocky (1-5), Rambo (hahahaha), Saving Private Ryan etc; in video games like Halo, Call of Duty, Borderlands, and any first person shooter; in songs by artists such as DMX, Tupac, Eminem, Three 6 Mafia etc. However, because we are a predominantly Christian society, and because Christians are usually very faithful and loyal to their god, any kind of criticism heaped upon their theological believes is seen as a sort of attack. When the movie came out, the Catholic League called for a boycotting of the film because they believed that the film would encourage kids to read the books and promote atheism (aka freedom of thought, because what’s worse for a religion than free thinking children…) in them. Obviously, the Catholic League’s idea of freedom of speech lies in not letting kids think for themselves and letting them develop their own ideas about spirituality. Because who would want to be an atheist, amiright amiright?
ReplyDeleteUsually, controversies spring up when our beliefs are challenged or when something goes against our very ideologies as a society, for example: a smoking baby (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/smoking-baby-causes-web-controversy-10757122). Most of us know that children are supposed to smoke, and that adults are supposed to smoke.
Gregory Bedford did a superb job at describing the causes of controversies: “Passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real (true) information available”
children ARE NOT supposed to smoke****
ReplyDeletehahahaha
I haven't watched a controversial movie probably ever. The closest I have come is the movie 1984 based on the Orwellian nightmare. Movies like Passion of the Christ and Clockwork Orange are movies that have been known to cause controversy and a lot of heat from the critics. As of The Golden Compass, I thought it looked like a Siberian version of Narnia and I had no desire of watching bears go at it, if I did, I would have watched Discovery. Machete on the other hand, I could see why its not controversial, from the previews it seems to play out like Taken or 24 where the motive and violence is centered around revenge. With that, many people have seen it before and have become jaded to gratuitous violence. Things like the toaster explodes and the whole kitchen goes up with knives flying in all directions. Its stuff like that that is so far out in the crazy field that people are watching it for its intended purpose, to be entertained. Passion of the Christ and others are controversial because the people are not being sucked into the oooo and ahhh of fancy graphics but are left to think of the structure of the movie. So if Jesus was abducted by aliens during the film, it would no longer be a controversial film. That kind of scene would be out of the normal and people would then distance their emotional connection with the film. With this in mind, I would have to say a controversial film is something that pans the normal individual's belief but twists it such that it goes against the morals of many groups of people, and that is what we call show biz.
ReplyDeleteThe reason that Machete is not as controversial as The Golden Compass is because our society is becoming numb to violence. Violence is nearly socially accepted due to the popularity of it in video games, TV shows, and films. Another reason why Machete could be less controversial is because of the revenge aspect of the movie. When people realize that the protagonist is seeking violence due to revenge, they tend to lay off a bit and almost relate to the main character. If you take a look at Law Abiding Citizen or Taken, the audience feels some type of relation to the protagonist because they realize the hardships they encountered and they think that he/she deserves to go and seek violence on these bad people. For example, when I watched Law Abiding Citizen with my Dad, he said that he would have done the same thing as Gerard Butler if his wife and children were raped and killed. Mind you he was in the Army so his ego probably fed his words a bit, but you get the gist of what I'm saying. Now if you take a look at The Golden Compass and pay attention to its subliminal messages, you will realize that it is a anti-religion movie. Americans might be desensitized to violence, but religion is still very popular in the States, so if parents bring their children to see this movie, they do not want to expose them to movies like this, especially if the family is religious. I, myself, was raised in a Christian home, and when the first Harry Potter movie came out, my Mom did not want me watching it because it has sorcery in it. She eventually gave in and now I am a huge fan of the books and movies. On the other hand, I play violent video games and watch violent movies all the time and my Mom cares but she still lets me watch them. It's an odd concept to grasp but I believe that both movies should stir some type of controversy.
ReplyDelete@ hubbacraft. I agree with what you said about The Golden Compass and Machete. I had no interest in watching The Golden Compass but was forced because my sister wanted to see it very badly. Also, I pointed out exactly what you pointed out in regards to Machete and how it is more of a revenge- motivated film. I also pointed out that people can not exactly relate to the films, but they feel sorry for the protagonist so they almost agree with the violent measures they take to seek revenge. And yes, it is also for the entertainment. I do not exactly love watching violent films, yet violent films are the pinnacle of entertainment in today's generations so that is why they are very popular
ReplyDeleteMost of the controversial films I've seen and heard of seem to take root at their "attacks" on religion - any religion, but mainly Christianity / Catholicism. For example, the easiest ones I can think of are the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. Those two books (the books came first, and that controversy became much more blown up when the movies came out) almost tore my family and friends apart into two halves. Because my family is Roman Catholic, the older members thought the books were an insult to their faith, while most of the younger ones thought the book was just a work of fiction, they saw it as no big deal.
ReplyDeleteMost controversy seems to have a theme to it, and I honestly think it is religion, above everything else, mainly because it is something most families want to hang on to as they see the younger generations losing sight of it as time goes by. That is why some parents still send letters to middle-school science teachers and asking them to "excuse" their children from class when the time comes to learn about the theory of evolution, and don't allow their children to watch certain movies that might make them think any different. The moment their faith gets "ridiculed / insulted / attacked", people start losing their minds and calling perfectly fine works of art "blasphemy".
-Astrid
Controversy can come through one comment, the lyrics from a song, or the theme of a movie. In the case of "The Golden Compass", a theme contradictory to the beliefs in christianity caused much outrage. This is because these beliefs are generally taught from the time that many christians are born and then continuously throughout their lives. When people are taught one certain thing their entire lives and then it is challenged or in jeopardy because of a children's movie that preaches the opposite of their beliefs, controversy is sparked. When someone is told that the way they think and have always thought is wrong, they generally take offense and will attack whoever or whatever is challenging them. The reason violence is not as controversial is because Americans see violence everyday almost everywhere we look. Not from war or political strife (like Egypt), but in movies, television, and video games we are surrounded with violence. "Machete" may have an excess in violent scenes but I have seen all of those things before. For example, today playing Call of Duty I blew up multiple people with grenades, shot various people in the head, and even threw a hatchet into someone's chest. This is normal and laughable at times because I, like most Americans, are accustomed to this type of violence. Controversy is something caused by shock and anger, which, in America, is caused by challenging religion rather than exposure to extraordinary violence.
ReplyDelete@astx7- I completely agree with your ideas on how religion seems to be the center of most controversies. All of the films that cause problems and outrage in the public are works that challenge religion, whether it be christianity, hinduism, or islam. Also, I agree that there should be no controversy because in most cases these works are fictional and should be taken for the way they are made and the artistic values rather than an underlying theme that people pull from a film attempting to portray something much bigger.
ReplyDeleteThere are many reasons controversy may be stirred up over movies, songs and different forms of expressions. Most of the time, I do not understand why some of these movies are as controversial as they are considered. Depending on society and “the times”, I think decides whether the film will be considered controversial or not. Therefore, I believe most aspects of controversy are due to kairos. In the twentieth century, at a symphony performance by the composer, Stravinsky, people were so outraged by the “controversial” music, that most of the audience left half way through the concert. While the concert was performing, the audience literally started a riot outside the hall due to the offensive music. Listening to the music today, I could not imagine why on earth, someone would be so offended by the music. Therefore, the times and actions we consider social acceptable, like violence, may determine whether or not it is controversial.
ReplyDelete@ Carlos.
ReplyDeleteI believe that stating; freethinking children are bad for religion is a controversial statement itself. A good percentage of the United States is of a Christian religion. Are you stating that much of the United States is religious brain washed zombies? Christian and Catholic groups may of boycotted the film but that is their right and they did not instruction everyone to not see the film, but the boycott was asked by followers of their religions. Atheism movies, such as The Golden Compass were very controversial, however religious movies, such Passion of The Christ, were considered just as controversial if not more.
Groups have petitioned video games and music for installing violent ideas inside of the youth. These groups or ideas may not be seen protesting as much as religious groups. Does religious groups standing up for beliefs and peacefully boycotting make them controlling and not allowing freedom of speech?
I do agree that movies, such as Machete, and violent movies are not viewed as controversial or offending because our society is accustomed to the violence. Music and video games can make our society numb to crude lyrics or violent acts. Since we see and hear things like this daily, it because less shocking and offensive. However, they have still be protested and groups have even accused video games of causing massacres?
Controversy makes these films well known, most of the time. The controversy starts conversations of beliefs and the directors/ producers make these films many times knowing the dust that will be stirred up beforehand.
@ Danied22: Honestly, I do believe that a great majority of the American populace are somewhat brainwashed. And in that light, I also believe that free thinking children who are allowed to develop their own ideas and not have their parents instill in them a fear of a omnipotent, omniscient god are bad for religion. After all, religions are fueled by blind faith, which is passed down through tradition; children aren’t simply born Christians. I think you’ve misinterpreted what I’ve said, though. I have never questioned the Christian’s freedom to boycott whatever they want; that’s an inalienable right protected by the first amendment; I’m simply stating that the only reason why I believe The Golden Compass was so controversial is because it attacks religion; the Passion of the Christ was a different sort of controversy (e.g. too much violence, historical inaccuracy, anti-semitism). But I disagree with you in the respect that when religions such as Christianity want to “boycott” something, what they really want to do is either outright ban it or censor the shit out of it. A good example of this is when the printing press was created, the Catholic Church immediately wanted to control how many books and which books were printed, because educated people who could read fostered dissenting and free thought.
ReplyDeleteReligions are based on blind faith; they gave people explanations to unknowns, but now they have outgrown their usefulness. We no longer need them to explain what we don’t understand, and we certainly don’t need to be controlled and manipulated by zealousness like Europe was in the Middle Ages by the Roman Catholic Church. Freethinking children are a threat to religions because that’s how religions are passed down; through children. My claim is that religions have no claim on children! Children shouldn’t be brainwashed into believing an outdated, ancient, and in my opinion, silly belief; they should be given a choice, not some arbitrary decision made for them by their parents. If they want to believe in those things, then when they are adults, they can choose to. Morals can still be instilled into children without the necessity of religions; don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t cheat, don’t lie; these are all principles that we should all live by.
Lets take a step back from everyone’s arguments real quick and look at controversy as a whole. In my opinion controversy is like fire and ice. That is, two (or more) opposing sides fighting, arguing, differing in opinions over the same topic. So to start a controversy, take two (or more) strong personality individuals who have separate beliefs on a topic, and have them talk to each other about it. There you have it, controversy. It is funny though. People view controversy as a problem in society, but at the same time, with out it, how would anything get accomplished? If no one has free thought, where do new thoughts come from? Take for example the Golden compass. Free thought, sparked up a fire on the religious front. People who have the ability to think for themselves made a movie opposing religion, and thus thinking on a different wavelength than the religious minded, broke free of the of tradition and caused a controversy. I think the point I am trying to make is, no matter where one is to go, controversy is everywhere, and I think it is as simple as disagreeing on a topic. This in turn could escalate into much bigger forms of controversy, but I believe controversy in its most simplistic manner is plain old disagreement. Now to answer the question of what makes a controversial film… I think any film can be viewed as controversial, just depends on the populous it is being shown to.
ReplyDeleteControversy arises when something presents itself that is contrary to what the greater population may believe. I consider a controversial film to be one that makes some sort of comment on an aspect of society that goes against the “normal” flow of things. One thing that is always a topic for a film to be controversial is religion. Whenever there is any form of social commentary about religion people tend to be offended. Films that portray religion in a form other than what the church calls appropriate controversy is inevitable no matter if the script is based on true events or completely from fiction. I believe that films that involve violence are not as controversial as films based on religion because I do believe that people have normalized violence. Violence is expected and the only time there is a controversy is when there is violence acted out on someone of notoriety or of something to a large extent. Thus films that have a heavy violence base are not controversial. When violence becomes controversial is when it is combined with a social commentary. If a movie is just based on people killing people in vicious ways with no real plot then there won’t be any controversy. Controversy is not noted when only a few people are offended. This was even mentioned in class where if we wish to choose our own film. If a film only affects a certain group of people then isn’t suitable as controversial enough.
ReplyDelete@ttroyer: Something you said really stuck out to me and that is when you mentioned that things such as religion are instilled in people from a young age. So when someone expresses an opinion that says you’re wrong in your belief people will take offense to it. This is so true with everything and saying that, I think this is one of the foundations of controversy. When someone feels they are being attacked and takes a stand up against it that is when controversy arises. Some are socialized to believe one thing and when they are trying to pass down these same beliefs to the next generation and something comes along to challenge that there is offense anger and controversy.
ReplyDeleteA film I saw recently for my World Regional Geography class was rather controversial. It was called Bling: A Planet Rock, and was about taking hip hop artists and rappers to Sierra Leone to see where their diamonds come from. This film was very controversial because it was and is very real. This is happening right now and has been affecting the nation of Sierra Leone for decades now. A very shocking scene in Bling was when the rappers all went to hospital that took in people who were amputated during the war. One of the rappers, Raekwon, did not want to go into the hospital because of what he was told he was going to see. From what I saw in the film I would have done the same thing because what was shown made me turn away. We saw pictures of a man who had his hands cut off and then was forced to hold them on his arms. The man was explaining what had happened to him and how he is trying to help others who suffered the pain that he suffered.
ReplyDeleteThe film really sent out a message about how tough life is at other parts of the world. It really made me think about what I've been doing with my life. We never really know how blessed we are to be living our lives because even though there are people out there doing much better, there are ten times as many people out there doing worse.
I think that right now this whole conversation is controversial... :)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, @... Everyone, really...
Like Julie-Ann said, violence has very little to do with controversy unless it has some kind of social context or commentary to go along with it (like the documentary Bsukhram mentioned), so the fact that our society has "normalized" violence doesn't really explain why other films are controversial. The root of controversial films is the radically different ways of thinking the creative minds behind the movies have, and how they bring them to life.
Eric made a very good point (which I agree with entirely) by saying that controversy is necessary to society. If no one dared to think differently, there would be no new concepts, society would not advance as quickly. I would like to add something else to that. I believe society needs controversy, at least every now and then, because sometimes getting stirred up by something new is good, and for those who feel strongly about it, to stand up for what they believe in. I feel controversy doesn't just divide society, it also unifies it in a way, and helps it grow stronger and bolder.
Controversial artistic works have been common since we accepted the Constitution of the United States. I can remember when a South American “artist” justified the starvation of a dog as a work of art, and that was quite controversial. I think that Machete was socially accepted because the general public was familiar with the director, and relatively unaffected by the violence due to the amount of exposure we have to violence already. Unfortunately, violence is no longer a topic that we take as serious as we did before, but in terms of the Golden Compass, religion is. Controversy stems from our deepest moral beliefs, what we really don’t want to know or hear. Transgender adults have spawned ridiculous amounts of controversy ever since they’ve become more open about their lifestyle choices. This causes a chain reaction through our core values which we have been raised to strictly adhere too. Controversy is the end product of finding that deep dark place that no one wants to talk about, that the world wants to turn a blind eye to and ignore so they do not have to confront the struggle, and when they do have to face that unsettling truth, the world reacts in controversy. Why do you think during the Vietnam Conflict no one ever talked about Cambodia? Polpot’s regime was training children to be the leaders of a mass genocide. It might have stirred up a bit of controversy in the world if everyone realized we were fighting a nation that wanted to be united, instead of a tyrant filling mass graves with his own people.
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ReplyDeleteI have never heard of the movie Machete or the Golden Compass before so I looked up both of them. First of all, I am Catholic and I understand why the Golden Compass raised eyebrows and I believe it was because of the movie’s terminology with the word “Magisterium” according to abcnews.com. I have been going to Catholic schools all my life to know what the Magisterium is and that is the teaching authority of the Catholic Church which is a good thing because they are the Pope and bishops who guide people to a religious path. In the movie however, they used the word “Magisterium” in a negative way because the summary of the movie says that the movie labels the Magisterium as a group of people who kidnap children, steal their souls, and take their free will away. That is just messed up in my opinion and I would definitely make a controversy over. As for the movie Machete, it sounds like a weird and violent movie from what I read but there are other weird and violent movies out there so it makes me not want to care as much either. The reason why the Golden Compass is very controversial is because I researched that it is actually an anti-religion movie because the writer is an atheist. I don’t care if writers are atheists or not because religion should not get in the way of their creativity but if they use that creativity to bad mouth my religion than that is another thing. My Catholic religion is very important to me because it is my faith and I do not appreciate people bad mouthing my faith. I also know there are other controversies but my main problem is the movie using the word Magisterium to label the bad guys.
ReplyDeleteI myself, as well, haven't heard of either of these two movies. I will start with Machete. If you look at society today as a whole, in my opinion, there has been a desensitization towards Violence. I know that isn't a valid reason or argument but if movies like Natural Born Killers were to come out today, I wouldn't think there would be much controversy because society has accepted Violence and therefore shrugs it off. Society today has accepted many things that, in my opinion, should be definitely looked at or taken more seriously. As with A Golden Compass, I will start off by saying this. I have never been to church, I am not religious whatsoever. I guess you could say I am Atheist because Faith isn't for me. One of the problems with movies with a religious message of any sort is, people will get upset or start controversies for even the slightest disagreements/differences because they feel "offended". You know, people/society don't agree with a lot of the things that I do, but I don't get offended. This is completely off topic but for one, I'm a major health freak, I work out a lot, and when I see a fast-food commercial, like right now while I'm typing this, I get upset, because no-one knows about what is in their food and practically nobody cares they are harming their bodies every day, but I don't get offended and start mass controversies. What I am trying to get at is people need see views from all fronts and even if you disagree with something and feel like your religion is getting "attacked", try and think about why it was made that way.
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ReplyDeleteI believe that controversy begins whenever a group of people feels offended or attacked by someone else’s comment or, in this case, artistic expression. The main reason why a movie like The Golden Compass sparked so much controversy is simply because many Catholic groups throughout the world felt attacked by the film’s plot, and felt that it depicted their religion negatively. It is the same as when the Anti-Defamation League protested that “The Passion of the Christ” showed Jewish people in a negative way, and that Mel Gibson was an anti-Semite. I think that people should understand that these are works of art, and if they should not be offended by them. But if they are, they should simply refrain from watching these films. The controversy will start whenever this group of people begins to put down the director’s work and call it controversial, simply because they don’t agree with the content of it. The controversy surrounding any subject will always be determined by the individual’s cultural background and his/her set of moral values. A film that is seen as normal by a group of people might be seen as controversial by another, depending on the background of each of the groups.
ReplyDeleteThe reason why violent films are not as controversial as this type of films is because actual society has become immune to violence. Hollywood is an industry that has glorified violent acts since its beginnings, an every time they go a step further concerning violence. I recently watched a film called “The Killer Inside Me.” This movie has a very graphic violent scene in which Casey Affleck brutally beats Jessica Alba to the point that he believes he killed her. I understand that this is a work of art but I also do not understand why this particular scene had to be so graphic. There are hundreds of examples like this one, and they all prove my point that people does not mind to see violence on the screen, not even if it escalates to the point of watching a dude beat the “shit” out of a woman.
Well, I kind of had to do some Googling for this post because I have never really paid attention to controversial films..or controversial anything for that matter. I never even knew the Harry Potter movies were controversial until I saw them on a list a few minutes ago, but I do understand why they are. I think pretty much anything can be controversial; racism, violence, religious stuff, etc. What mostly causes controversy is whatever defies religion, like The Golden Compass, which caused controversy probably because Phillip Pullman is...an atheist. Seriously, that has to be what began the whole thing. What if he wasn't an atheist? I don't think Catholics would've made all the weird connections abcnews.go.com talks about like "the supposed likeness of the Magisterium to the Catholic Church". And what could possibly be wrong with Harry Potter? Is it the witchcraft stuff? Gosh, I really never thought about that. So what is controversial? Anything that goes against what we believe. We tend to react very strongly towards whatever or whoever goes against what we think, and that's just natural, no? Any-who, I'm hoping to learn more about controversial films with this upcoming project :D
ReplyDeleteOh, I forgot about the violence. I'm actually not that much into violent movies.. (except maybe for Salt; that was a good one)they don't really make sense to me so I just ignore them, unlike others, who seem to really enjoy these kinds of movies and I think it's because violence doesn't exactly go against a belief.. maybe.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, the Golden Compass was a great movie. I saw it for the first time over the Christmas break. I am a Christian and I didn’t find any controversy with the film. It was a Fantasy film! I thought it was cool that the people’s souls were animals who walked next to them. A movie’s original purpose is to entertain, and in my opinion, the movie did just that. People are always trying to find the “hidden” evil in things. Apparently President Obama has six letters in each of his three names (first, middle, and last) which makes him the devil and in Lil’ Wayne’s hit song “Drop the World”, the devil talks when you play the song backwards. I think some people are so “over religious” that it makes them hypocrites and otherwise forces them to try to find evil in other things to overshadow their own wickedness; or else their bored with their own lives so they find controversy with films or music for entertainment. I was at a friend’s dorm and they were watching Machete and after one scene I couldn’t watch it anymore, but that’s just me. Of course there’s no controversy with an action film; America lives for action! If there isn’t a car explosion or a fast highway speed chase where billions of cars are destroyed then the movie gets a razzie. I think that if the movie isn’t offensive to things like race, gender, or sexual orientation then everyone needs to shut up, grab some popcorn and just watch the damn movie!
ReplyDeleteWhat makes a lot of movies that come out these days controversial is the fact that people in society today see one thing that offends them and they get all emotional about it. Though it is okay to get upset about some topics, not everything should be disputed against by groups of people. Movies in general are made to entertain people, and there are different genres of movies for audiences to watch that fit their interest; yet still people believe that a movie has to please all. Films cause controversy for all sorts of reasons, maybe because of mindless killing that part takes in movies, language, religious views, and the list can go on forever. It seems to me that people in society have issues whenever something they believe in or disagree with, they go make a big fuss that seems to go out of proportion. But the easiest way to not have the controversy start is by research the movie and then you DO NOT HAVE TO GO SEE THE MOVIE. No one is forcing people to go see these movies that stir up controversy, people can easily just say no I do not want to see it because of this and then they will not get offended. Our country allows us to do what we want, if people want to make a movie, they can do whatever they want with that movie, same with the fact that we can choose to see it or not. Also another thing that gets at me is how the movie ratings are in place so for the sole purpose that people of a certain age group should not see it, but when parents take their kids to a violent movie or movies that have strong language and they cause a commotion because their child should not be watching it; it isn’t the movie companies that are at fault, it’s the parents.
ReplyDeleteControversial Movies are a great part in our culture, and two of the movies listed above are very good examples of these movies. the Golden Compass is a good movie, but is controversial because it is about Catholics. To me personally, the movie was good and fictional. There was really nothing against religion in the movie. The term Magisterium, has something to do with kidnapping people's souls. I guess in a way, Catholics could be offended because of the term and how it is used with souls. Overall the movie was really good and it captured the cultural aspect. Another supposedly controversial film is Machete because it an action film. To be honest, the violence in this movie is not as bad as other movies. Every action movie can be a little harsh, but that should not be a reason to analyze Machete as a controversial film. Maybe some people feel like this movie is very bad, but at the same time, it is an action movie and in America most movies are based on violence. In my opinion people need to calm down with the way they feel about one action movie, and realize that this is AMERICA, land of the free. We can watch any movie our heart desires, and I don't think we should stop or ban a movie because of what a few people think.
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ReplyDeleteAs a society, we define the start of controversy as what goes against our beliefs. It may not be necessarily immoral, or against our religion, but anything that has a different viewpoint than we do, can cause us to think that something is controversial. One of the movies that I thought caused controversy at the time of its release was The Exorcist. Anyone that has seen this movie would probably agree with me. Multiple movie viewers rated the exorcism as the scariest movie of all time. It had every ingredient of a great horror film; with a dramatic selection of blood, guts, gore and aggressive violence, it definitely has it all. It also holds the record for most people having heart attacks while watching in theatre. If this movie was released today, we would probably think that it is no big deal. But try watching this movie in the 18th century, oh my, I could only imagine how much of a big deal it could have been. The drastic images are what really brought the viewers over the top. Especially when we see the 13 year old girl Ragan, real name Linda Blair, walking down a flight of stairs, with her legs over her shoulders, possessed by evil and turns her head a complete 360 while she’s upside down.
ReplyDeleteI truly think that controversy is what makes our society what it is today. Our similarities, our differences, and our beliefs, are what make us who we are today. It’s what gives us opinions that we stand by, which gives us a unique personality. So I think controversy is necessary. We would not be what we are as a society if did not exist.
Some of the reasons that films such as Machete do not bring about as much controversy as films like The Golden Compass is because it doesn’t go against the beliefs of many people. Movies like Machete which have a lot of violence in them do not bring about a lot of controversy because we see a lot of violence every day that we have just become use to it. Machete was about a guy trying to get revenge on someone who had tried to kill him but failed, this movie does not offend many people because it was simply meant to entertain its audience while on the other hand the Golden Compass was about a little girl who set out to kill god which pissed off a lot of Christians because the movie went against their religion. Another reason why films like the Golden Compass can cause such controversy is who the movie is meant for, which in this case was Children. Usually movies that are meant for children are analyzed a bit more because parents think that at early ages children are learning from everything they see around them, so they do not want them learning something that goes against their values. What makes a video controversial depends on who the audience is and whether it offends the audiences’ beliefs, ethnicity or something that they take sacred.
ReplyDelete@Leidy. I agree with you in that religion is the main cause of controversy. People will make such a big deal if they feel that their religion is being attacked, even if it is not the case. I think that people would have still made a big deal about “The Golden Compass” even if the author of the book series was not an atheist. The fact that the book/film “touches” such sensitive subject is enough for people to feel offended and start controversy. One example is Martin Scorsese, who is a very devout Catholic, and when he directed “The Last Temptation of Christ” there was a lot of controversy.
ReplyDeleteLike Eric said, I also believe that us, as a society would not exist as what we are today without the controversy that surrounds us. The issue of religion, violence, sex, race, and every issue that once existed in this country, is what helped shape what it is today. However, these ideas and issues are also what give us our own voice and opinion. We may say that when a controversy exists, we don’t take sides but we always have something to say about it. And as Victor said, we tend to mostly use our emotions in making a judgment when it comes to what really is controversial. It is absolutely okay to do that, but sometimes it’s better to be rational than emotional when laying out our opinions about other people’s beliefs.
ReplyDelete@Aquela,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about a movie's purpose being mainly for entertainment. Although there are films made for other purposes, entertainment is the main one, and I find it a bit hard to find out what underlying connections some films may have. People should really just learn to relax and enjoy their movies instead of analyzing them so much, because when you do that it's almost impossible to actually enjoy what you're watching.
Right now I'm watching Anchorman, and if it wasn't so stupidly (?) funny, the fact that they don't want Veronica (Christina Applegate) to work for Channel 4 news because "it's anchorMAN nor anchorLADY!" (according to Champ Kind), would probably bother me. I don't think that's the message the movie is trying to let out though
@Victor:
ReplyDeleteThis is what I pointed out in my earlier post as well. I totally agree with you about how society always blows everything out of proportion when they are challenged with someone elses views. On top of blowing it out of proportion, they also interpret controversial issues/things in a totally different way because of their views. Everyone in society does this, some more than others. About the whole movie ratings thing, I don't know. I assume everyone has seen a rated R film before they were the legal age to actually see one themselves/with friends, hell, the Internet is WAY worse than seeing any movie, and you can access anything on it despite your age. Today, there are so many restrictions on everything you do and it seems everything is watered down because we try to "appease" people rather than tell them the truth.
@Danied
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comments regarding the unbelievable attitudes some people take towards such bland, and harmless things. The attitudes and moral values that some people form can really take on a negative face that causes ridiculous amounts of outrage over nothing. I am familiar with Stravinsky rearrangement of the star spangled banner that offended the entire audience, even though his sole intention was to pay tribute to Francis Scott Key, through a musical remake. It is unbelievable how people can get so mad, and take things so far out of context.
@Aquela:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you fully about Golden Compass. I myself am a Catholic, and I did not find anything offensive about this movie. Like i explained above about the word, that is the only seemingly controversial reason for the uproar. Still in my mind, I think there is nothing wrong with the movie and that yes it is a fantasy film. The only problem with your comment is that Machete is not a bad film. There is nothing wrong with the film except the violence, but even the violence in the movie is just as explicit as other movies. There should be no reason for going against one movie, because other action movies are like that also. I agree with your comment about people just watching and not commenting about it, because the movie loses it's reason.
@Ed
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%. You and I have to be the complete opposites considering your beliefs, and I could create a response post indirectly criticizing you for it. However, if I’m not mistaken this is the "land of the free" i.e. your free to believe anything you want to. For example, if someone wants to believe that we all evolved from monkeys or that the universe and its entirety came into existence by a big boom then so be it. Controversies arise from people’s opinion and sometimes it’s best for people to keep their opinions to themselves. Its okay to get a little upset when you disagree with people’s decision but starting mass controversies is pushing it.
@Dustin
ReplyDeleteI agree that the movie Machete is a socially accepted violent film because society is used to numerous obscene movies in the film industry. I also do agree that violence is not a topic that concerns anyone anymore because we are used to seeing them all the time. I also agree that religion is a part of our moral beliefs and that is why the Golden Compass caused so much controversy because people will get mad if something is said about their religion. That is why it brought up so much controversy because it is very important to us.
@glanderos
ReplyDeleteI agree, most of the movies that are controversial are because parents do not want their kids to watch it. A lot of parents do not also care what their kids watch. For example the Transformers movies are PG-13, and parents are fine with their kids watching the movie. But once there is a movie like the Golden Compass comes around, it spurs up parents not wanting their kids to see it. But come on now, can we actually believe the kids are analyzing these movies like the parents are? I mean when I was a kid and saw movies I didn't pay attention to the minor details in them.
@cliz
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean because I was also raised in a Christian home and when I wanted to go watch a movie that had to do with witchcraft or something along those lines they wouldn’t want me to go but for some reason when it was a movie with violence in it they wouldn’t care as much. I agree with you that our society has become numb to violence but even it wasn’t violent movies will usually give the killer a motive that most people would be able to relate to so that they will not care as much.
@Jackielyn
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement you made regarding our society. Without controversy our society today would not be where it is. Controversy itself seems to be an opinion that differs from another’s, which tends to spark up arguments, but without it everyone would just agree on everything and that would just be/feel wrong. I partially agree that emotions are the drive for our controversial opinions. While they may be a large part of how we view ideas I would not necessarily say they are the deciding factor on which side to take for a controversy.
@Victor I agree that no movie can please all. People would go crazy and find films controversial but the truth is that nobody forced them to watch it. Its very similar to the situation with fast food. People are not forced to buy that much food that often or go see that film that many times. If they hear that this film could disturb them with whats in it then they can choose not to go see that film. We are given the choice to watch whatever we want and not watch whatever we want. It is so true that films are made to entertain certain people.
ReplyDelete@Victor
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree that one does not have to go see that film. I don't understand that if you feel that the issue in the film is against your morals, than dont see it and dont argue about it either. Someone wants to see it, otherwise why was it made? All one has to say is "I didnt like it" and thats the end of it. Movies like Passion of the Christ and Natural Born Killers are not going to change the fabric of our lives because we watched it and people afraid that it will, have an insecurity issue that needs professional help.