Posted by dadarkness at dsl-65-186-39-37.telocity.com on June 30, 2002 at 00:49:38:
Greetings,
I know I'm new, but I have been lurking for some time (Just never had anything to say).
After all the hype about Dogma when it was released, I was very suprised at the quality of the flick after viewing it 2 years later (so suprised that I would have viewed it say... only after 1 year of waiting). I teach 6th grade religion (Its to public school punks, most places call it CCD, we call it PSR, some call it simply "sunday school"). I've always wanted to show the scene from Dogma where Affleck is ranting in the parking garage as an example of the consequences of pride, but had a small problem (Take a guess - its a Kevin Smith Movie... Parents of 6th graders have a hard time with their kids hearing the F word even if it is part of a greater message (Are these parents really so shocked, given the amount of swearing a 6th grader does already?)). This summer, however, Comedy Central is broadcasting Dogma, so perhaps I can snare a clean version from there.
My question to the group is (and Kevin if he would like to join in) - What actions, short of a miracle, could happen in society to sway people to first learn about something before shunning/criticizing/protesting it. How hard is it to say "Gee, before I say this is the work of Satan, I should probably watch it and make up my own mind". The younger memebers of society today are probably 5x more open than the previous generation when it comes to accepting alternative ways of life and artistic statement, so is the solution to wait 100 years till the vestiges of "I-Will-Tell-You-What-You-Think-About-This-Subject" thinking to go away? Or could soceity be changed in other ways?
Pretty lenghty for a new guy to post - for anyone who cares, my name is Jon, I am a full time college student (Psychology Major - wonder why my question was deep?), and just wasted my last 2 hours listening to the director's commentary on J&SB Strike Back.