O.K. its doesn’t have to be Snakes on a Plane, but we all know movies, novels or other cultural products that are so terrible that we find perverse pleasure in them. Often times this enjoyment arises from the fact that the work in question takes itself very seriously as it launches, with abandon, down the course of its own absurdities; while at the same time containing a high level of formal and or technical ineptitude. The Twilight series of books and movies being the most recent examples of kitsch so painfully bad that there is an honest – admittedly morbid- pleasure in the experience of the work.
For the philosophical / religious version of this experience I recommend Dr. Leroy W. Thompson’s power point lecture series titled “Postmodern Christianity” which is available at iTunes U for free. It may well be the worst, most poorly informed, most derivative, and just plain wrong attempt at a critique of postmodernism I have ever encountered, and yet I was riveted. I listened to the lectures in one sitting. Beyond being bad, they are actually quite instructive as to how and why a certain kind of mind needs to knock down straw men that go by the names of “postmodernism”, “Jacques Derrida” and “Michel Foucault” among others. Granted, Thompson does not address Derrida and Foucault, rather he talks about someone named “Dairy-day” and someone else named “Michael” Foucault –its actually spelled that way on the power point card. This does make me wonder what Thompson would do if a student of his started talking about “Jesus Crust” or “Pontius Captain.”
Not surprisingly Dr. Thompson relies on a set of standard issue misconceptions of postmodern and post structural thought: the idea that postmodernism teaches there is no such thing as truth, that nihilism is inherent to it, that postmodernism is inherently anti-enlightenment, anti-reason and anti-religion. And of course Thompson insists that postmodernism can’t be defined. A claim he makes with the help of a series of images of Bart Simpson. What is curious is that Thompson spends a lot of time defining characteristics of postmodernism that he does not like and yet he repeatedly says that is has no definition.
This sort of thing has been going on for years so its no surprise to find it repeated yet again, but, what I find interesting is how it is repeated here. First, the lectures provide a very good example of the way certain types of conservatives see it as their job to advance a set of propositional statements that they believe provide intellectual certainty and fully describe the truth and correctness of their own ideology. What is more, these folks seem to believe that everyone else is up to the same thing, even post structural thinkers. Thus for Thompson all of human thought is reduced to ideological competition. This helps explain why some conservatives (and perhaps some liberals as well) are so threatened by contemporary philosophy and why they can’t understand it. It’s lost on someone like Thompson that Nietzsche or Foucault aren’t advancing a simple ideological scheme, that they might be presenting detailed critiques of the concepts of God or Truth and how these concepts function historically, culturally and so on, without making broad propositional claims of their own. For Thompson Nietzsche is simply guilty of attempting the pre-meditated murder of an actual God. Similarly, Foucault is a vicious cynic, who seeks to deny reality, destroy all truth, and everything Thompson believes with it. I find this fascinating and it sheds light on what is meant when some conservatives talk about a “biblical world view”. Its less a form of religious faith than it is a competitive ideological program that sees itself as embattled and always in need of defending, while at the same time its greatest hope is to achieve ideological hegemony.
Another notable feature is the way Thompson points in the direction of phenomenology but does not recognize it or see it as salient to his own truth claims. Thompson criticizes scientists for believing that if something can’t be perceived with the senses it does not exist. His big “gotcha!” moment is when he claims to have asked a scientist if the man loved his wife. Thompson reports that the scientist answered in the affirmative that he did love his wife. Thompson insists therefore that the scientist’s worldview is inconsistent and unlivable because the scientist’s love for his wife can’t be perceived directly through the senses of sight, touch, taste, smell, or hearing. What’s odd here is that Thompson seems unable to tell the difference between a crude form of phenomenology and the application of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to scientific observations. Further, while Thompson is on some level aware of the distinction between human consciousness and the objects of experience, his awareness only extends to his own misunderstanding of science. The idea that this might be a broad issue for anyone attempting to describe the nature of the world, including himself, is not present.
One final point, Christianity is also done considerable violence by Thompson. It’s interesting that pretty much all of the villains in Thompson’s scheme are philosophers. In taking on philosophy as such he can’t help but to make his argument in philosophical terms that, unfortunately, reduce Christianity to a pre-modern ontological and epistemological conglomerate that is largely free of messy things such as faith, interpretation, and theology. Although he wants to argue from a Christian point of view, its very difficult to see how Christianity as such, as a matter of faith, informs Thompson’s understanding at all. In the end its clear that the Christianity Thompson seeks to defend is synonymous with a reactionary politics that longs for the good old days of pre-modern, pre-humanism, pre- phenomenology ontology.
Enter Caputo
The good news is that we don’t have to rely on Thompson as the only source available on the Internet that describes the relationship between postmodernism and religion. In 1999 John D. Caputo gave a talk at the Sunstone Symposium on deconstruction and religion, in which he summarizes a number of sections from his 1997 book The Prayers and Tears of Jacques Derrida. You can down load an Mp3 of the presentation here.
The juxtaposition of Thompson and Caputo is stunning. Unlike the embattled, ignorant, cynicism of Thompson, Caputo’s reading of Derrida is original, and poetic. What Caputo sees at work in Derrida in general and in deconstruction in particular is the structure of the messianic, a deeply religious structure that occurs in Derrida’s work without the formal trappings of religious institutions or authority. In short messianism is a way of describing an aspect of the future. Not a future that is predictable, like going to work in the morning or keeping appointments. This is a future that exceeds our horizon of expectations. It’s the arrival of the totally other, an arrival that cannot be predicted or anticipated, it can only be welcomed. This openness, the welcoming of the other is quite clearly located in close proximity to the notion of hospitality that has a long history in religion and philosophy. It’s the idea of openness to the stranger, the foreigner, and the outsider. This openness allows the other to lay claim to us, and calls us into a relationship of responsibility for the well being of the other. This openness is also called the messianic because the in the truest sense the totally other of the human is the divine. Thus the messianic in general finds specific examples in things such as the second coming of Christ, or in Jewish hopes for the arrival of a messiah.
It’s this religious structure that I find so exciting, and that provides the perfect counter to people like Thompson. Hospitality and the messianic are deeply rooted in the Christian tradition but as Christianity in America becomes more reactionary and overtly political in the narrowest sense, it has come to understand the arrival of the other as always consisting of a threat to the self. The other is always an opponent that must be defeated in order to preserve the ideological, political, social and economic position of the self. Thus, in order to preserve the institutional characteristics of formal religion, contemporary Christianity betrays one of its central and most beautiful challenges.
Postmodern Christianity then is the movement by which the entanglement of ideology and theology is put into question for the sake of allowing concepts such as hospitality, the gift, forgiveness and so on, to do their work without needing to directly serve the limited interests of political ideologies. Not that the entanglement of ideology, politics, and theology can ever be undone, it can’t be; but the impossibility of a total separation does not mean that we shouldn’t take the critique as far as it can go. Guiding us in the act of taking spiritual risks for the sake of a faith capable of finding expression in ways that we are quickly forgetting the names of.
Do listen to Thompson and Caputo and enjoy.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Monday, August 10, 2009
2009 Sunstone
I have been writing full time for the past few months and I have noticed that the last thing I want to do after 4 - 8 hours of writing is more writing. So I have neglected blogging, and email, and other things as well. But there is so much going on now to write about. Ah, so little time. Anyway The Constant Process is screening at Sunstone in Salt Lake City next Saturday 8/15 at 2:15 in the afternoon in the Canyons room in the Sheration Salt Lake City Hotel.
I am joined by two wonderful respondents, Margaret Young of BYU and one of the producers of Nobody Knows, a documentary about the experiences of black Latter Day Saints. AND Mary Ellen Robertson who is the director of Symposium for Sunstone. Both women are great thinkers and had very interesting things to say about the film at other screenings, so I really wanted to have their perspectives regarding the film for this screening because the theme of the symposium is: women's contributions to church and culture. I think the film provides a very interesting context to discuss such issues in Mormon culture. Obviously Susan Russell is empowered in a way that is impossible for a Mormon woman, but still Mormon women do craft theology, Mormon women do have powerful experiences of revelation, Mormon women are concerned about and working to encourage a better understanding of what inclusion requires. So I think this is going to be a good discussion.
I am joined by two wonderful respondents, Margaret Young of BYU and one of the producers of Nobody Knows, a documentary about the experiences of black Latter Day Saints. AND Mary Ellen Robertson who is the director of Symposium for Sunstone. Both women are great thinkers and had very interesting things to say about the film at other screenings, so I really wanted to have their perspectives regarding the film for this screening because the theme of the symposium is: women's contributions to church and culture. I think the film provides a very interesting context to discuss such issues in Mormon culture. Obviously Susan Russell is empowered in a way that is impossible for a Mormon woman, but still Mormon women do craft theology, Mormon women do have powerful experiences of revelation, Mormon women are concerned about and working to encourage a better understanding of what inclusion requires. So I think this is going to be a good discussion.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Prop. 8 upheld by Ca Supreme Court
As many of us expected the CA Supreme Court upheld Prpp 8 while also allowing the gay couples that were married last year to remain married. Of course this is less of an ending than it is one moment in a longer narrative, so while disappointed I remain hopeful, and committed to the project of interfaith dialogue, and of working towards understanding in the Mormon community and the broader community. Below are some thoughts towards a progressive Mormon response to the decision:
1) As a Mormon I believe the emotional and spiritual growth, the life experience, the nurturing and acceptance we experience as members of strong, loving families is joyous, necessary and an expression of God's hope for all of us. Yet we live in a society that values some families more than others. I reject the idea that families with same-sex partners are any less vital, any less loving, any less able to nurture their members, any less deserving of recognition or protection than heterosexual families.
2) As a Mormon I am moved by the recognition that both the Mormon and gay communities have experienced the agony of misunderstanding, marginalization, violence, and persecution. Communities that share the pain of common histories and status as "outsiders" have a unique opportunity to come together; to empathize with each other, and to heal one another; to work together for the advancement of inclusive communities, and for the defeat of prejudice for the benefit of us all.
3) As a Mormon, I am lead by the essential Christian idea that the great commandment consists of a full commitment to God and to loving my neighbor as myself. This is not merely a feel-good truism; it establishes the very foundation of Christian ethics that call us into relationship with God and those who are different from ourselves. The way we listen to, engage with, and treat those who are radically different from us is a true test of our commitment to Christ. It's not enough that we be "tolerant" while living in judgment of and isolation from one another. Christian ethics insists that we allow our lives to be intertwined with the lives of those around us, even those who are radically different.
4) As a Mormon I see ethical dialogue as a way forward in difficult times. This is dialogue that originates from our commitment to community ethics and from a desire for mutual understanding. This is dialogue that seeks to include, to listen, and to guide us in doing our best for those around us. The Mormon community does not benefit when people respond to us based on stereotypes and fear. Nor does it benefit us to respond to other communities in such a way. Fear is never a legitimate basis of action. Dialogue is a tool for putting aside fear and building ethical and democratic communities.
In the short term I know there is a great deal of work to do. As one person I commit myself to dialogue, to community building and to resisting those voices that encourage us to fear one another. The lives and relationships of gay people embody the same dignity, love, respect, understanding, nurturing, and spiritual potential as those of straight people. I acknowledge this and hope that others will too.
1) As a Mormon I believe the emotional and spiritual growth, the life experience, the nurturing and acceptance we experience as members of strong, loving families is joyous, necessary and an expression of God's hope for all of us. Yet we live in a society that values some families more than others. I reject the idea that families with same-sex partners are any less vital, any less loving, any less able to nurture their members, any less deserving of recognition or protection than heterosexual families.
2) As a Mormon I am moved by the recognition that both the Mormon and gay communities have experienced the agony of misunderstanding, marginalization, violence, and persecution. Communities that share the pain of common histories and status as "outsiders" have a unique opportunity to come together; to empathize with each other, and to heal one another; to work together for the advancement of inclusive communities, and for the defeat of prejudice for the benefit of us all.
3) As a Mormon, I am lead by the essential Christian idea that the great commandment consists of a full commitment to God and to loving my neighbor as myself. This is not merely a feel-good truism; it establishes the very foundation of Christian ethics that call us into relationship with God and those who are different from ourselves. The way we listen to, engage with, and treat those who are radically different from us is a true test of our commitment to Christ. It's not enough that we be "tolerant" while living in judgment of and isolation from one another. Christian ethics insists that we allow our lives to be intertwined with the lives of those around us, even those who are radically different.
4) As a Mormon I see ethical dialogue as a way forward in difficult times. This is dialogue that originates from our commitment to community ethics and from a desire for mutual understanding. This is dialogue that seeks to include, to listen, and to guide us in doing our best for those around us. The Mormon community does not benefit when people respond to us based on stereotypes and fear. Nor does it benefit us to respond to other communities in such a way. Fear is never a legitimate basis of action. Dialogue is a tool for putting aside fear and building ethical and democratic communities.
In the short term I know there is a great deal of work to do. As one person I commit myself to dialogue, to community building and to resisting those voices that encourage us to fear one another. The lives and relationships of gay people embody the same dignity, love, respect, understanding, nurturing, and spiritual potential as those of straight people. I acknowledge this and hope that others will too.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The Mirror Turns 35
I put film and aesthetics in the title of this blog but I have yet to write on aesthetics and my posts on film are limited to my own efforts. So here is the perfect excuse to write about Aesthetics and film.
Andri Tarkovsky's renound work The Mirror is 35 years old in 2009.
The Mirror has held a critical place in my imagination since first seeing the image of the woman on the fence, the wind moving through the trees and other images. The film is an example, maybe the best example there is, of poetic narrative cinema. It sets the bar high for those who want to work in that way.
The film does have something of a narrative arc,it presents characters and events but the organization and presentation is based on the emotional experiences and memories of the characters, rather than on traditional story structure. In its best moments it comes as close as any art form can to presenting individual consciousness and memory as such.
Granted this type of film leads to great confusion for viewers who come to it with traditional expectations about how a story is to be presented to an audience. In this film its difficult to tell who the characters are and even what some of the relationships are between them. The film moves fluidly between different times, sometimes announcing this movement, other times not. What is interesting is that on the level of plot many viewers would conclude that the film is a total mess. Be that as it may, on the level of emotional structure, and refinement of the image The Mirror is an amazing work. It's completely enthralling, its a beautiful slow lament mulling life lived. Its also amazingly liberating to experience, anythings seems possible, and greatness is made to look easy.
Here is part of the opening sequence from you tube.
Andri Tarkovsky's renound work The Mirror is 35 years old in 2009.
The Mirror has held a critical place in my imagination since first seeing the image of the woman on the fence, the wind moving through the trees and other images. The film is an example, maybe the best example there is, of poetic narrative cinema. It sets the bar high for those who want to work in that way.
The film does have something of a narrative arc,it presents characters and events but the organization and presentation is based on the emotional experiences and memories of the characters, rather than on traditional story structure. In its best moments it comes as close as any art form can to presenting individual consciousness and memory as such.
Granted this type of film leads to great confusion for viewers who come to it with traditional expectations about how a story is to be presented to an audience. In this film its difficult to tell who the characters are and even what some of the relationships are between them. The film moves fluidly between different times, sometimes announcing this movement, other times not. What is interesting is that on the level of plot many viewers would conclude that the film is a total mess. Be that as it may, on the level of emotional structure, and refinement of the image The Mirror is an amazing work. It's completely enthralling, its a beautiful slow lament mulling life lived. Its also amazingly liberating to experience, anythings seems possible, and greatness is made to look easy.
Here is part of the opening sequence from you tube.
Long Beach Film Festival
Had some fun this weekend at the Qfilm festival. Susan and I went down for the screening and Q&A. We were joined by composer Douglas Romayne, who did the music for The constant Process. As it was mother's day attendance was a bit light, but the audience was very supportive. The Art theater in Long Beach is a wonderful venue and the organizers are putting on a serious festival. The Q&A was lead by a wonderful moderator who did a great job fostering discussion.
The Constant Process was screened with the feature length documentary For My Wife, a film that tells some heart breaking stories of Gay and Lesbian couples facing discrimination in critical situations such as when one partner lay dying in the ER and the hospital staff refuses to let the other partner into the room. Or after the partner has died and the funeral director refuses to speak with the living partner, or refuses to turn over the ashes. One story that was really remarkable was of a woman who's partner died of cancer and was cremated. The women had done everything right, legally speaking, the funeral director acknowledged as much but decided he would rather disregard the legality of the situation, rather than turn over the urn to a member of a same sex couple.
These are the sort of stories that give strength to the idea that communities with common histories of persecution and misunderstanding have a unique opportunity to empathize with and help one another. Its a given that most Mormons are against gay marriage. But this shouldn't mean that Mormons participate in a sort of de facto support of the kind of cruelty and discrimination that the film For My Wife chronicles, by working against gay marriage and being largely silent on domestic partnerships and other legal protections that can help same sex couples in these kind of situations.
Does our cultural emphasis on a certain type of family mean that we don't see or are not aware of families headed by single parents, interracial families, poor families, families with a father in prison, broken families, or same sex families?
The Constant Process was screened with the feature length documentary For My Wife, a film that tells some heart breaking stories of Gay and Lesbian couples facing discrimination in critical situations such as when one partner lay dying in the ER and the hospital staff refuses to let the other partner into the room. Or after the partner has died and the funeral director refuses to speak with the living partner, or refuses to turn over the ashes. One story that was really remarkable was of a woman who's partner died of cancer and was cremated. The women had done everything right, legally speaking, the funeral director acknowledged as much but decided he would rather disregard the legality of the situation, rather than turn over the urn to a member of a same sex couple.
These are the sort of stories that give strength to the idea that communities with common histories of persecution and misunderstanding have a unique opportunity to empathize with and help one another. Its a given that most Mormons are against gay marriage. But this shouldn't mean that Mormons participate in a sort of de facto support of the kind of cruelty and discrimination that the film For My Wife chronicles, by working against gay marriage and being largely silent on domestic partnerships and other legal protections that can help same sex couples in these kind of situations.
Does our cultural emphasis on a certain type of family mean that we don't see or are not aware of families headed by single parents, interracial families, poor families, families with a father in prison, broken families, or same sex families?
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
And the Winner is . . .
The Constant Process Wins Best Documentary prize at Smogdance 2009!
This weekend was the 11th annual Pomona Valley Film Festival, otherwise known as Smogdance '09.
Its a shorts film festival that includes a broad range of work from narrative, to experimental, to documentary. It was held at the newly restored Fox theater which opened 87 years ago and is everything you would hope for in a theater from that era.
I attended the festival on Friday night and was impressed. First, the Fox theater is wonderful. As a filmmaker, you want to have your work screened in a place like that. The projection was really impressive, they got a new projector and the results were excellent, my film really looked the way it is supposed to look, with great color and crisp clear blacks and whites. What's more impressive is that due to some trouble setting up, they could only project DVDs. I never thought a projected DVD could look that good. They only thing they need to work on for next year is the audio. The Fox is a BIG room with a lot of reverb, which made the films hard to hear.
The audience was was also very good. I suspect they had 300+ in attendance with over a thousand total attendance over three days. It was a diverse audience, I was impressed to see good numbers of people under 25 and over 50 at the same event. This really made it a "something for everyone" event for both the audience and the filmmakers. After screening events were held at the Da Center for the Arts and that too was a good venue. A cool place to hang out and talk with the audience and other filmmakers surrounded by an impressive collection of work by local artists.
Of course the best part of the festival was winning the best documentary award. I'd like to express my gratitude to the festival, the judges, and all the work that the cast and crew put into the film. Its wonderful to be acknowledged like that! This was the film's 5th festival and its second award. It also won a Director's Choice Silver Medal for Excellence, at the Park City Film Music Festival in January.
This weekend was the 11th annual Pomona Valley Film Festival, otherwise known as Smogdance '09.
Its a shorts film festival that includes a broad range of work from narrative, to experimental, to documentary. It was held at the newly restored Fox theater which opened 87 years ago and is everything you would hope for in a theater from that era.
I attended the festival on Friday night and was impressed. First, the Fox theater is wonderful. As a filmmaker, you want to have your work screened in a place like that. The projection was really impressive, they got a new projector and the results were excellent, my film really looked the way it is supposed to look, with great color and crisp clear blacks and whites. What's more impressive is that due to some trouble setting up, they could only project DVDs. I never thought a projected DVD could look that good. They only thing they need to work on for next year is the audio. The Fox is a BIG room with a lot of reverb, which made the films hard to hear.
The audience was was also very good. I suspect they had 300+ in attendance with over a thousand total attendance over three days. It was a diverse audience, I was impressed to see good numbers of people under 25 and over 50 at the same event. This really made it a "something for everyone" event for both the audience and the filmmakers. After screening events were held at the Da Center for the Arts and that too was a good venue. A cool place to hang out and talk with the audience and other filmmakers surrounded by an impressive collection of work by local artists.
Of course the best part of the festival was winning the best documentary award. I'd like to express my gratitude to the festival, the judges, and all the work that the cast and crew put into the film. Its wonderful to be acknowledged like that! This was the film's 5th festival and its second award. It also won a Director's Choice Silver Medal for Excellence, at the Park City Film Music Festival in January.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Constant Process News
Traveling with the family makes it difficult to be consistent with posts so here is a quick note about upcoming screenings of The Constant Process:
April 24: The Somgdance Film Festival in Pomona California. Information can be found here:
www.smogdance.com
Also on the weekend of april 24 the film is playing at the West Chester Film Festival in West Chester PA. Information can be found here: www.westchesterfilmfestival.com
Then on May 10th the film is screening at the Qfilm festival in Long Beach California, and I believe that both Susan and I will be in attendance. Information can be found here: http://www.centerlb.org/programs/lbqfestival.html
also I got word today of an interesting event down in Orange County California, its a Human rights week for high school students and I have been asked to screen and attend. Which is exactly the kind of invitation that I love to get.
In other news, the film also won a silver medal at the Park City Music and Film festival. So congrats to my composer Doug Romayne who's music really did bring something special to the film.
April 24: The Somgdance Film Festival in Pomona California. Information can be found here:
www.smogdance.com
Also on the weekend of april 24 the film is playing at the West Chester Film Festival in West Chester PA. Information can be found here: www.westchesterfilmfestival.com
Then on May 10th the film is screening at the Qfilm festival in Long Beach California, and I believe that both Susan and I will be in attendance. Information can be found here: http://www.centerlb.org/programs/lbqfestival.html
also I got word today of an interesting event down in Orange County California, its a Human rights week for high school students and I have been asked to screen and attend. Which is exactly the kind of invitation that I love to get.
In other news, the film also won a silver medal at the Park City Music and Film festival. So congrats to my composer Doug Romayne who's music really did bring something special to the film.
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