Bargain-Bin Movies

I picked up an old computer-animated film called Kaena the other day.

It appears that the film was supposed to be a French answer to the rather disappointing Final Fantasy: Spirits Within Film. Unfortunately, the copy I picked up was an English-only dub which resulted in a painful attempt to transform an abstract, nightmarish, freaky French film into a children's fairy tale. The cartoon-quality American voice actors' deliveries simply did not sync up with the grotequeness of the imagery.

Plus, several of the recurring themes in the film were not at all suitable for children. (I'm fairly certain there was a liquid-creature rape scene...but it was hard to tell with the abstract graphics.)

The weakest part of the movie for me, though, was it's take on religion and its science-fiction rewrite of the origins of humanity. The humans all live in a giant tree where they do nothing more than eat giant worm-creatures and worship sap gods. The sap gods, it turns out, are actually liquid-based indigenous peoples who have duped the humans into worshiping them. Thus, the origin of religion among the people is a misunderstanding of science and exploitation at the command of their priest who is himself trapped between being the schemes of the pseudo-gods and his own desire to save face in front of the people. It involves a lot of painful, cringe-filled moments as you watch believers accept blatantly illogical and self-debasing commands from their high priest. The believers absurdly debase themselves at the behest of the high priests foppish rationalizations.

But the filmmakers have not completely removed any sense of the supernatural from the story.

We learn that the humans are actually the product of a giant living computer that crashed deep within the tree...and one of the humans (the titular Kaena) has been predestined by the computer to liberate the humans from faith in the liquid creatures and guide them down from the tree to populate a planet quite similar to a prehistoric Earth. When an alien from the race shows up to reclaim the computer, he realizes that it has fused with the humans' habitat as well as with Kaena. In other words, the planet has a life force, and that life force expresses itself in humanity.

Organized religion is replaced with Gaia theory -- which promises humans a greater freedom, independence, and -- most importantly -- dignity than any belief in gods could produce.

Obviously, I was a bit skeptical about the film's skepticism.

I am certainly willing to concede that the film may in fact capture the main thrust of world religions -- particularly primitive paganism. There is something about Kaena that is like reading Augustine's complaints about Roman worship in the City of God without ever getting to the parts where he advances Christianity. Pagan sacrifices and forms of worship do come off as a bit suspect. Indeed, ancient Romans were often more interested in the benefits of religion than in its reality. In some cases those benefits might have been material wealth to the priests and governors, or (at their most well-intended) the benefits might simply have consisted in maintaining social order.

Christianity -- particularly modern Catholicism -- generally defies the aspects of paganism that made it suspect. It's why Paul is so adamant in reminding his listeners that he hasn't been exploiting them for goods--he's worked for his food. It's why local Catholic pastors can't pocket whatever is given in the collection basket (unlike some denominations). It's why no one is forced to make donations.

Compare the Catholic Church to, say, Scientology, which is the most suspicious and perhaps most pagan of all the modern "religions" (to use the word loosely). Scientology demands payment for services. Sure, on a local level, a parish might have fees for things like using the Church building for a wedding (and, believe me, I know all about that now), but I've never heard of anyone denied a sacrament because they couldn't ante up.

It's also a good reason for the Church to operate independently from the State -- so that it can't be reduced to a mere Ideological State Apparatus.

The Church is at its most persuasive when there are no immediate, visible benefits for its practitioners or its authorities. One might even say that the Church is perhaps even more persuasive when believers seem to be swimming through internal chaos.

When Paul asks slaves not to seek their liberty, I think it's because he wants them to provoke questions in their masters. "Why are they Christian? They don't seem to be getting anything out of it."

When we face absurdities and chaos in parish life, could this trigger a similar response? "Why would anyone bother still going to Mass with the state that parish is in? They don't seem to be getting anything out of it."

Of course, the Christian does get something out of it -- but what is gained can't be seen or measured. Sometimes it can't even be perceived by the Christian himself.

Comments

[John]

"Indeed, ancient Romans were often more interested in the benefits of religion than in its reality."

But that was the whole point of the Roman civic religion. It existed to benefit society, not pursue personal salvation. That notion didn't develop in the Roman world until Christianity brought it.

[Peter Terp]

John,
I think we're agreeing.
My point is just that a religion that has an obvious worldly purpose will more readily appear suspicious and to have worldly origins.

Obviously, personal salvation doesn't validate Christianity's reality--but it's shedding of compulsory acceptance and worldly benefit does defy the common sense explanations for a religion.