Posted by B. Buster at spider-wa031.proxy.aol.com on August 24, 2000 at 23:39:24:
In Reply to: Yo D. Stratford -- about "Dogma" & "Blair Witch" posted by Isis on August 24, 2000 at 14:55:37:
: Okay, sorry to use this board to call out somebody, but I wasn't around yesterday to respond to people's various statements, and it does relate to "Dogma" somewhat, so hey...shoot me, Ming the message, or suffer.
: This one is for my good friend D.
: : That's some great reasoning you've got for yourself there. "Since the sequel won't be original like I was told the first one was, it'll turn us all into lazy, ignorant, and uncurious wastes of flesh! Stay away, `cause I'm feelin' a whole lotta bad kharma on this one!"
: First of all, karma is generally spelled without an "h" in current Hindu-English translations. "Dharma" retains its "h", who knows why, and if anyone here is fluent in ancient Eastern languages perhaps they'll let me know.
: Secondly, I wasn't told the first "Blair Witch" was original; I saw it, enjoyed it, and that's the reaction I had...
: Isis says:
: :: I am tired of this deliberate bigotry & exploitation of a cultural fear of nature. I mean, one doesn't go out and make a movie called "Scary Jew: the Unholy Talmud",
: does one? Will there be a "Heathen-burning Christian: Revelations Strikes Hard" coming out anytime soon?
: D. Stratford says:
: : This is just ridiculous. You're claiming that this movie is bigoted against Pagans when you don't know anything about it yet, but that there's a witch and it's set in the
: forest?
: I know this much; "Blair Witch" was based on the premise that a supernatural being -- a witch -- who has either committed murders itself or possessed humans to do it, is being hunted by these amateur journalists.
: Fine. I can deal with that. I have no problem with it, as long as its clear the entire time that the witch concept is supernatural, it's fantasy, so forth. There was nothing in the first "Blair Witch" to suggest that the present neo-pagan or witchcraft revivals, that the REAL religions had anything to do with the plotline.
: Now, if you go and call your sequel, "Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows", that's all shot to shit. The Book of Shadows is a concept only used within modern witchcraft -- basically, it's a book of various religious insight and mysteries, different groups may pass them down from generation to generation and it is rumored that the current pagan revival has its roots in a Book of Shadows given to a dude named Gerald Gardner by a group of witches who, according to Gardner, claimed to have been practicing the original British form of paganism since before the burning times.
: Not that you care about all that, but the point is, the Book of Shadows is an important and holy concept to pagans & witches. It's very serious & real to us, and attaching it to a movie wherein a supernatural being known as a witch is killing people, well, it's irksome to say the least.
: : I'm betting there are some witches in your religion that could use their powers and incantations for evil purposes.
: Powers? What powers are you talking about? Flying through the air on broomsticks? Making pencils stand upright by themselves? If I had "powers", would I be sitting here arguing with your ass instead of just mentally telepathizing you until you see what I mean? This is the shit that "Blair Witch" encourages...people still think of witches as supernatural or occult or some such. And an incantation is nothing more than a prayer by a more fanciful name.
: Certainly, there are "evil witches". Just as there are evil Buddhists, evil Jews, and evil Christians. Evil is individual; simply because David Koresh used the words of the Bible to acheive his evil ends doesn't give me the right to go make a movie called "Scary Christian: The Book Said Eye for an Eye, Mothafucka".
: : Just because it might have an evil witch,
: doesn't mean they're anti-Pagan. You being upset about this movie is no less close-minded or ignorant than Catholics being upset about "Dogma".
: Really? Consider that Catholicism is a highly powerful, ingrained, socially acceptable religion -- it may not have been at some point, but it certainly is today. Picking on Catholicism is like throwing twigs at a fucking citadel. Whereas witchcraft has never been socially acceptable or widely understood since the original days of paganism -- picking on us is just unfair when we have no political power, no establishment, and few resources. And Kevin, while he may have tweaked Catholic theology on the nose and questioned some of its details, was NEVER unfaithful to the true essence of Catholic philosophy.
: "Blair Witch" is not only completely inaccurate about witchcraft, it uses every false stereotype & lie ever concocted about it as the basis of its plotline. That I can deal with -- hell, "The Wizard of Oz" does that. But don't throw real Craft concepts into it.
: : Here's some
: news for you: I could burn down a forest and it wouldn't be because I'm anti-Pagan.
: Consciously, you might not be thinking that. But many pagans, including myself, would consider it an act of divine desecration worse than pissing in the communion wine.
: : Nature doesn't belong to the followers of your religion, therefore a movie that
: exploits a fear of nature could have absolutely nothing to do with Paganism. It has to do with fear of the unknown.
: Fear of nature IS the fear of the unknown -- the dark place in the forest, the stirring in the deep ocean. Nature is death and change. They are absolutely the same thing.
: Of course nature doesn't *belong* to us. We belong to it.
: And considering that pagans worship both nature and the unknown, I say it has everything to do with it. If I made a movie about God ("Scary God: We Tried to Warn You He Was Coming Back", even if I never mentioned a thing about Christianity, Christians would be affected.
: : The world's gonna go hand-in-hand to the movie theater's singing "What's So Funny `Bout Peace, Love, & Understanding?" while protesting
: the hatred coming from Hollywood and get that shit thrown out just like they did to "Dogma".
: The fuck they are! Did I mention we have no political power? Not to mention that most pagans and witches are NOT "out of the broom closet" in their communities and could not attend a public protest? And that we have bigger fish to fry, like Jesse Helms attempting to outlaw our religion and throw us in jail?
: Nobody has the time, the energy or the power to protest a damn movie. It's just another fucking indignity to be endured. I've protested shit like this before, and you know what? It NEVER works. Because the minute you open your mouth and say, "But it's sacriligious to pagans and witches", you get either a) blank stares and must explain everything about the entire philosophy, b) horrified grimaces and people crossing themselves, or c) lynched.
: Honestly, it's not worth it. But bitch to you guys? That I can do. You can however, feel free to ignore the agonized sounds of me herniating my spleen.
: : Because I'm sure that's what they did to the "Black Circle Boys" and it
: didn't sink because, say, it sucked a lot and starred DONNIE WAHLBERG.
: Now there, you have a good point.
: -- Isis
: And after all this shit, you know I'm going to have to watch the flick.
In lieu of the bullshit Isis and Dobbin throw up on this board on a daily basis, I feel like I owe Smalls and turtle an apology.
A momentary lapse of sanity? Perhaps.
b. buster