Unsettled Christianity

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October 28th, 2012

Joss Whedon supports Mitt Romney #whedony

If you can… get past the partisanship (truth) and laugh a little

Tags: 2012, Joss Whedon, Mitt Romney
Posted in Religion and Politics | 1 Comment »

May 4th, 2012

Joss Whedon assembles the #Avengers right

avengers-wallpapers5

My son, a friend of ours, and I went to see the Avengers movie (3-d) last night at the midnight showing.

I’m not a Marvel guy (not to be confused with marvelous guy, because well, I am); however, I’ve been following the various superhero movies regardless of studio. Unlike the masterminds at DC and WB, Marvel did it right. They did it slowly, developed the characters, and moved forward to a goal – The Avengers.

There is not much Joss Whedon (mythology, cf Dollhouse, Firefly, Cabin in the Woods) in the movie, although the excellent directing which he is famous for comes through. There are a few scenes of gods v gods, but they are mostly for humor-sake. One line, delivered by the boy scout Captain America about Thor the Norse thunder god, was particularly insightful. Someone told him that Thor was essentially a god, to which the Cap responds, “There is only one God, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.” Regarding Whedon’s eschatology, almost sort of a reverse eschatology, when an agent and the Cap were discussing the changes to the uniform, the Cap quips that maybe it was time to get rid of the stars and stripes (remember, this was a major issue from Fox News regarding Brandon Routh’s Superman Returns), the agent responds that maybe during all of the expected mess and “what’s about to be revealed,” people would need something a little old-fashioned. Beyond that, not a lot of Whedon. I mean, the story lines are pretty much written, and as we learned from Green Lantern, fanboys get pretty upset if you mess with their stuff.

As far as a kid’s movie? Not really that bad. The violence was space action, of course. Lots of one liners, but they fit. The characters actually acted like heroes. I mean, you would think with an already proven cast, that you’d have ego issues. The camera had no real favorites, a directorial feat, I believe.

Overall… 13 out of 5 stars.

Tags: Joss Whedon, The Avengers
Posted in Media | 1 Comment »

April 21st, 2012

Joss Whedon, Christus Victor, Science is dead, long live the old gods! Cabin in the Woods

I got a lot of good things from this movie, of course.

The movie is bracketed by discussions that perhaps our world, or even our race, has come to an end. Maybe it is time to pass it on. The first discussion centered around the use of technology while the latter, the inhuman consideration that a friend could readily kill another friend.

Marty is the kill figure in these discussions. He is also a stoner, so much so that laced weed no longer affects him. He makes the statement along the lines of “Society needs to crumble…. we are just afraid to let it.” In the end, he and his friend, who both contemplated letting the other die, one to save the world and one out of revenge, discuss that maybe we no longer deserve to be the dominant species on the plant.

This is Whedon’s style though, isn’t it? In Firefly and Dollhouse, there is the underlying theme that society has reached a level of corruption, inhumanity, and immorality and all guided by technology.

Once the group arrives, they go to their respective rooms. In one room in particular, there is a see-through mirror underneath a gruesome painting of a sacrifice. It is decided that they will leave the painting in place. When the camera pulls away, the audience gets to see that people are watching the camping party which makes any sense of modesty seem silly. After all, we are voyeurs, aren’t we? Marty replies later that one of the girls cannot see what she doesn’t want to see… that we aren’t who we are.

In a twist on the horror genre, magic, monsters, and old gods exist and they are protected by science. These, we are told, are where our nightmares come from, rather than the reverse.

Another scene which got me was when Marty walks outside, seeing no stars, mentions that “we are abandoned.” Odd, considering that for some, the stars were gods.

In the end, the Director gives Marty a choice – either die with them, or die for him. He was the one which was needed to die. But, he didn’t.

The old gods return.

So much for a part two.

Some serious language at the beginning and other scenes not suitable to people under 30.