Agora
Those of you who know of Carl Sagan probably know of his documentary, Cosmos. And those of you who have watched it, know that the one place he most often mentions in the series is the Library of Alexandria. And whenever he mentions the Library of Alexandria, one name unfailingly comes up: Hypatia.
The more I read about her, the more I realize just how much of an embodiment of the wisdom of classical civilization and the tragedy of its downfall she is. It was by pure accident, while browsing on RottenTomatoes for reviews of recent films, that I came across a Spanish film made in 2009, titled "Agora". It was interesting, reading the reviews, because they are as polarized as they can be - critics either loved it or hated it. I would like to think the critics who hated it are tasteless Americans who have a fondness for movies like G.I. Joe and Transformers, because Agora is possibly the best film I've seen in a long while... sorry, Avatar, but even you cannot compare. There's something to be said about European finesse in film-making that Americans just can't seem to be able to grasp...
Now, I may be a bit biased, classical antiquity being one of my favorite period in history after all. But this is not just any plain toga-and-sandal film. It is not obsessed with big battle scenes and abusive use of CGI. It is, truly, a film about the time, its people, its conflicts and ideas. The number of issues tackled by the film is... impressive to say the least, but one thing above all else... I felt an absolute loathing for religion after watching it.
I knew, beforehand, the story of Hypatia. I knew the historical setting at the time, but to see the religious and social conflicts re-enacted... that was very, very unsettling.
Agora gave Hypatia a much more... "dignified", shall we say, death than was historically recorded... but it was not any less bearable to watch.
I think Carl Sagan would have loved to see this film, though... it feels almost like it was made just for him, even though I know it is not...
Almost two thousand years have passed. Slavery was only gone a little over a hundred years ago; ethnic, religious, and cultural differences still divide our world. We have come so far from where we was in many sense, and in many others... we are still very much in the same place.
It is a harsh thing to say... but I am becoming convinced that religion must die, for mankind to survive. To the common people, it is but a source of false comfort, and to men of wealth and power, it is a tool for manipulation and control. Everyone says we need to learn from history, but history made it clear over and over again... the harm of religion far outweighs its benefits.
The more I read about her, the more I realize just how much of an embodiment of the wisdom of classical civilization and the tragedy of its downfall she is. It was by pure accident, while browsing on RottenTomatoes for reviews of recent films, that I came across a Spanish film made in 2009, titled "Agora". It was interesting, reading the reviews, because they are as polarized as they can be - critics either loved it or hated it. I would like to think the critics who hated it are tasteless Americans who have a fondness for movies like G.I. Joe and Transformers, because Agora is possibly the best film I've seen in a long while... sorry, Avatar, but even you cannot compare. There's something to be said about European finesse in film-making that Americans just can't seem to be able to grasp...
Now, I may be a bit biased, classical antiquity being one of my favorite period in history after all. But this is not just any plain toga-and-sandal film. It is not obsessed with big battle scenes and abusive use of CGI. It is, truly, a film about the time, its people, its conflicts and ideas. The number of issues tackled by the film is... impressive to say the least, but one thing above all else... I felt an absolute loathing for religion after watching it.
I knew, beforehand, the story of Hypatia. I knew the historical setting at the time, but to see the religious and social conflicts re-enacted... that was very, very unsettling.
Agora gave Hypatia a much more... "dignified", shall we say, death than was historically recorded... but it was not any less bearable to watch.
I think Carl Sagan would have loved to see this film, though... it feels almost like it was made just for him, even though I know it is not...
Almost two thousand years have passed. Slavery was only gone a little over a hundred years ago; ethnic, religious, and cultural differences still divide our world. We have come so far from where we was in many sense, and in many others... we are still very much in the same place.
It is a harsh thing to say... but I am becoming convinced that religion must die, for mankind to survive. To the common people, it is but a source of false comfort, and to men of wealth and power, it is a tool for manipulation and control. Everyone says we need to learn from history, but history made it clear over and over again... the harm of religion far outweighs its benefits.