The Wicker Sham
A friend of ours, who reads this journal and who also happens to be of the pagan persuasion, once recommended a movie to us. It's called The Wicker Man. She said that every year, on Samhain (I think), she watches it. It was one of her favorite movies. So, I'm sure she'll have an argument for me in the comments section. :) Sarah and I had never heard of it, but we were fascinated and so when we signed up for Netflix a couple months ago we added it to our queue. Well, it showed up a few days ago and we just finished watching it.
What the fuck.
The synopsis is this: A Christian cop comes to some small island in the Scottish islands. He has come to find a girl who is supposed to be missing which he has found out about through a letter he received. Nobody claims to know the girl. Through his shrewd detective skills, which seem to be limited to threatening people with his legal authority, he discovers that they are all lying and that the whole town worships the "old gods". He's under the assumption that she is dead, sacrificed through some ritual to save the island's apple crop. Having made up his mind he tries to leave, but his plane won't start and so he must stay. Of course that day is May Day (which is not the pagan name for that holiday but we'll overlook that). There is a festival, some strange religious rights that I've never heard of. Our hero dresses up in costume to spy on them. He discovers the girl he was looking for is not dead, but he believes is about to be sacrificed. He unties her and she willingly leads their escape into this trap the townsfolk have for the cop. He is to be there sacrifice, not her. Oh, the wonderful, terrible irony of it all. They dap some shit on him, put a white robe on him, and stick him in this giant wicker man along with all manner of goats, pigs, geese, etc. Then of course, comes the fire. During the fire he starts yelling all kinds of Christian threats proclaiming to speak the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. They just dance and sing. He then cowers in the corner of his wicker prison and prays for salvation as he burns alive. End Film.
Riiiiight. The second it was over and the credits started to roll. I looked at Sarah and said, "I'm just not sure what I'm supposed to take away from that." She agreed and claimed that those were the exact words going through her mind at the exact same time as me.
As far as I'm concerned all it seems to do is further the Christian religion's arguments about pagans. We're all a bunch of naked heathens who run around in the fields and sacrifice animals and humans.
Not particularly enlightening. Not particularly well written. Not particularly....well....anything. In fact I'd say it's opposite of particular. Let's call it vague.
I'm calling Netflix and asking for an hour and a half of my life back. Maybe they have Navy Seals.
What the fuck.
The synopsis is this: A Christian cop comes to some small island in the Scottish islands. He has come to find a girl who is supposed to be missing which he has found out about through a letter he received. Nobody claims to know the girl. Through his shrewd detective skills, which seem to be limited to threatening people with his legal authority, he discovers that they are all lying and that the whole town worships the "old gods". He's under the assumption that she is dead, sacrificed through some ritual to save the island's apple crop. Having made up his mind he tries to leave, but his plane won't start and so he must stay. Of course that day is May Day (which is not the pagan name for that holiday but we'll overlook that). There is a festival, some strange religious rights that I've never heard of. Our hero dresses up in costume to spy on them. He discovers the girl he was looking for is not dead, but he believes is about to be sacrificed. He unties her and she willingly leads their escape into this trap the townsfolk have for the cop. He is to be there sacrifice, not her. Oh, the wonderful, terrible irony of it all. They dap some shit on him, put a white robe on him, and stick him in this giant wicker man along with all manner of goats, pigs, geese, etc. Then of course, comes the fire. During the fire he starts yelling all kinds of Christian threats proclaiming to speak the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. They just dance and sing. He then cowers in the corner of his wicker prison and prays for salvation as he burns alive. End Film.
Riiiiight. The second it was over and the credits started to roll. I looked at Sarah and said, "I'm just not sure what I'm supposed to take away from that." She agreed and claimed that those were the exact words going through her mind at the exact same time as me.
As far as I'm concerned all it seems to do is further the Christian religion's arguments about pagans. We're all a bunch of naked heathens who run around in the fields and sacrifice animals and humans.
Not particularly enlightening. Not particularly well written. Not particularly....well....anything. In fact I'd say it's opposite of particular. Let's call it vague.
I'm calling Netflix and asking for an hour and a half of my life back. Maybe they have Navy Seals.