When I saw the movie trailer for 2012, the motion picture seemed to me to be more about a lot of action/blow-them-up scenes than any real plot. Because of that, I decided to hold off on seeing the movie until it came out on DVD.
Then I read certain comments by Roland Emmerich, the director of the movie, which gave me other reasons not to see 2012. When discussing why he had not blown up the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure in the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Emmerich advised scifiwire.com that:
- “Well, I wanted to do that (blow up the Kaaba), I have to admit,” Emmerich says. “But my co-writer Harald said I will not have a fatwa on my head because of a movie. And he was right. … We have to all … in the Western world … think about this. You can actually … let … Christian symbols fall apart, but if you would do this with [an] Arab symbol, you would have … a fatwa, and that sounds a little bit like what the state of this world is. So it’s just something which I kind of didn’t [think] was [an] important element, anyway, in the film, so I kind of left it out.”
Much as he indicated, Emmerich spared the Kaaba in the movie, but had no qualms about destroying a number of Christian religious symbols in 2012. In Hollywood-blow-them-up fashion he trashed the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica in Italy and Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro.
So I guess I’m boycotting Emmerich’s 2012 movie for a couple of reasons.
The first reason: If it’s disrespectful to destroy religious symbols for the purpose of fictional stories, then maybe Emmerich should respect all religions and not just those that might threaten harm to him.
The second reason: As long as we kowtow to extremists because they might do us harm, we’re actually encouraging them to continue with those practices. It’s the typical bully in the schoolyard scenario, although unfortunately these bullies have big bombs. As long as you let the bully continue to beat you down or threaten to beat you down, he’s in control. When you stand up to bullies, you end the power of their threats and intimidation.
Mr. Emmerich, I won’t put a fatwa on your head and hurt you physically because I’m a good Christian and don’t believe in that kind of thing. But I will put one less penny in your pocket.
What are your feelings on this? Do you think what Emmerich did was right?
I don’t even know what fatwa is… I did however see the movie. The thing that stuck out to me was the book of Rev. in the bible. Bottom line, the religious icons of our world were distroyed and the christians were ‘lifted’ to heaven… so to speek. I don’t think this was the real point of the movie, but it didn’t escape me. The only real survivors were the rich and politicians… and a few others who managed to get on the Ark’s.
As for the ‘blowing up’ of our beliefs etc… I actually think the movie solidified what the bible says will happen to mankind as we know it. JMHO
I am a Christian and am offended by anything that puts Christ in a negative light. I will not watch this movie. The world today needs to take a long hard look at what is happening in our country. The government has taken God out of everything and we wonder about the conditions in our schools, courts and government. We are told that it is not PC to say “Merry Christmas” because we might offend someone. I refuse to give in to that. I will not be a sheep following everyone else. We all need to stand up for what we believe in. I didn’t mean to drag out my soapbox, but it feels good to sound off sometimes. Have a great day and hugs to all.
I am a Christian also, and I totally agree with you. I was completely disgusted when I saw the Cathedral fall on the praying faithful, and the other religious leaders.
This just shows how completely oblivious the producer of the film is to persons of the Christian religion. This guy, sounds like a wimp to me, as he is picking on non violent peaceful people, to get across a point.
At the rate America is going, it’s not long before it falls right to peices.
I’m not likely to see this movie one way or another, but when I read his statement, I actually thought he was just saying, ‘Christian’s aren’t crazy murderers likely to kill me and my children…”
HIs view is stupid. Yes, he’s the Hollywood blow everything up king. But what does he think? We are still in the middle ages and the Crusades? Ha, maybe we are, only we fight our wars with big weapons now. I agree, I don’t want to see this rediculous movie either!
I’ve always been a firm believer in the statement “it’s only a movie”, maintaining that any violence or even absurd things were just actors in a filmed play for entertainment purposes.
That said, narratively speaking, the director of 2012 went way way out of his way to send the subliminal message that the huge crowd praying when the Sistine Chapel was obliterated, was praying to the wrong, non-existent or non-caring entity.
The movie did go out of its way to do absurd timing on special effects getaways by the lovable characters, which was okay with me, but regardless of whether the director handled it the way he did with the praying Christians, or even if Godzilla stepped on the Chapel and the people, it was a definite negative statement about Christianity while protecting another chosen religious symbol. To me, that either could be taken as ensuring global sales while assuming American audiences would “weather” the religious feedback storm, or, but to me, too much expense and emphasis was placed upon what happened to the Christians.
The FDA rules over pharmaceutical advertising using the words “fair balance” when a brand is compared to another brand, and in creative license within the entertainment industry, Independence Day used fair balance with a focus on global buildings as in the aliens wanted everyone snuffed out, as exemplified in the Area 51 scene where the alien comes out and communicates that.
To me, 2012 went the extra yard to ridicule the praying Christians. I’m not Catholic, Godzilla and aliens are fun, but I was offended immediately in the movie theater when I gathered that in global distribution, nations that hate Americans and Christians elsewhere, will love that scene just as much as they might have taken extra pleasure in seeing The White House being zapped in Independence Day.
For fair balance, they need to either be unafraid to wipe out other religious entities in the same tone, or, do the Sistine shot a la ID4 and just focus on the building, and not focusing on how praying people in Rome were obliterated without help from a God.
Other films such as Twister, Key Largo, etc. focus on how the characters deal with the elements without making any religious statement on whether praying will or will not help, it’s entertainment, but 2012 in my opinion is absolutely doing exactly what you noted in your blog, Caridad.
I liked it simply because I’ll go see anything John Cusack is in, and it’s a good thing it ended the way it did, because if it didn’t, that would have riled me up.
But in sports, the proverbial saying is “not in our house”, as in not in our arena. This isn’t Gladiator showing injustice in old Rome, this is post 9-11, the movie theaters in the US are “our house”, and Hollywood is well known for having different endings and having options for scenes depending upon the media outlet. In support of what you and others went through in NY, I support you in that the entertainment industry either needs to emphasize fair balance, otherwise, it’s coming into “our house” and making a statement, and the director is worthy of a Madison Square Garden, Wachovia Center, Staples Center-like not in our house boo.
I agree with your comment about giving in to the bullies. On the other hand you know Einstein’s quote: Einstein said that he didn’t know what weapons would be used in WWIII. But the war after that would be fought with sticks and stones!
Roland Emmerich is the king of “destruction porn”–he ushered it in with “Independence Day” (which I actually liked), refined it with “The Day After Tomorrow” (I nearly threw up when I saw the destruction of NYC in its trailer–post 9/11, of course) and now seems to have kicked it up a notch with “2012.”
I don’t care what he blows up–Christian, Muslim or Jewish. By depicting destruction as a slick spasm of “gee-whiz!” CGI moments divorced from human emotion, it distances the viewer from the true terror that real people of all faiths (or no faiths) face–whether it’s from a bomb, an air strike, an earthquake or a tsunami.
I can’t think of anything I’ve ever done to deserve a fatwa, but maybe a couple of towel jokes…. Oh, dear! I didn’t know about this fatwa business.
Um, how does one get rid of a fatwa?
Are there fatwa busters out there somewhere????