I don’t really have much to say about this trailer other than ‘I will see this’. I was always a fan of Maher’s Politically Incorrect, and the addition of Larry Charles has definitely piqued my interest. Is Bill Maher an asshole? Yes. But he is an entertaining asshole that seems to have a response to everything. The kind of guy that drives you completely fucking insane if he’s not arguing on your side.
Sean posted about this film over at Film Junk, and the result was a 70+ comment section that is the internet equivalent of my cat pawing at his own reflection in a mirror for an hour. However, that’s not to say we here at The Documentary Blog aren’t open to some good discussion! So if you feel like joining in on the fun, feel free to share your atheist, agnostic, christian, catholic, jewish, spaghetti monster beliefs in the comments below. Oh…feel free to comment on the actual trailer as well.
Can you feature your cat in your next movie? Possibly do a short cat film with it? Cats are nice, and it would save all of us the trouble of commenting on posts on FilmJunk, we could just watch the cat film!
I try not to get to upset when I see stuff like this. I just ask myself What would Jesus do?
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Just kidding. Bill will get excommunicated from the Pope when this hits cinemas. But I will get a statue made and worship him like the heathen that I am.
ok, here is thread number three…
From close observation of religious people, from heated discussions with them, from research into religions and the philosophies thereof I have come to the following unflattering observations:
religious people are generally overly sensitive whenever you probe them on why they believe what they believe. They get about as far as God works in mysterious ways and when you challenge that, and even if you are doing so as politely and congenially as possible, things tend to turn ugly.
religious people are generally not detail-oriented. They like their ideas black and white, they like the word ‘faith’ to be a get out of jail free card for any impending critique. The idea of ‘faith’ is an impediment to thinking outside of it, whereas someone not yet indoctrinated can look at things from different angles, there is a tendency for knee-jerk reactions to call it faith and be done with it.
Religion gives too much authority to the clouded judgment of half-glimpsed hunches, a rumbling stomach at an opportune time could be misconstrued as divine intervention.
harsh maybe but I am a bit tired of the baby gloves I normally have to use.
I like Maher. But he’s almost unbearable to watch sometimes (I said almost – I’ve never actually turned away). And although I’m not a “penitent,” I think with the right kind of questions, Maher would reveal the obvious truth about us all; we carry a mixed bag of reasoned beliefs, half-reasoned beliefs, and the real killers – those assumptions we can hardly see and rarely test with human reason (because we need them to be true).
Yes, I’m pretty sure even Maher has a collection of semi-organized beliefs in his head that ultimately have no empirical root. Many have tried (and failed) to pass the test of a creating a world-view (with any coherence) that rests firmly on empirical foundations. I try it at least once a year. Then I quit and go get a dark beer with friends.
But regardless, Maher gives me uncomfortable chuckles – a kind of intellectual salsa that’s just a little too hot for my tongue. And I keep going back. However, I do hope religionists aren’t his only target. It would be a shame if his intellect only had one target now that he’s picking up the Moore/Spurlock torch.