Posted by Isis at d7a083.dialup.cornell.edu on February 21, 2000 at 17:11:49:
In Reply to: Magnolia vs. Dogma posted by Brian H. on February 21, 2000 at 16:38:22:
: But if you want to go with the religious angle on this flick, I think that the message at the center of "Magnolia" is quite a bit more obtrusive and condemning than the message of "Dogma." While I have yet to get a totally satisfactory explanation for the falling froggies, I think that "Magnola's" closing moments is trying to tell us that no matter how hard we try to control our own lives, it doesn't really matter too much because at any given moment, God can come along and fuck it all up whenever he sees fit. We get a motivational speaker who tries to control his life by hiding his past and "taming the cunt," we get a woman trying to take control through casual sex and drugs, and a fella who thinks he needs braces so he can be accepted by the man of his dreams. All of these folks attempts at controlling their own destiny gets fucked up when God steps in.
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Interesting. That's not at all what I got from "Magnolia". What I found was that all the characters thought they had some semblance of control over their lives through all the ways you mentioned, but they are really at the mercy of the things that have happened in their past. They have refused to face their pasts, and are thus unable to really understand who they are and why they are doing the fucked-up things they are. I could elaborate on the symbolism in the movie which lends itself to my point, but I'm not sure if you're interested.
I don't think "Magnolia", despite all the biblical references, was really a comment on God at all. The rain of frogs doesn't really change anything for any of the characters, so it's not exactly a divine intervention. I think the point of that bit was more like everything has consequences, nothing stays hidden forever, everything is connected, and strange shit therefore is bound to occur.