2008 Woodie Awards
Maher preaches disbelief in incendiary Religulous
Issue date: 10/9/08
Religulous begins at the end. Bill Maher introduces his documentary standing on a hilltop in Megiddo, Israel, where according to the Bible, the final battle will take place; It is the very site of Armageddon. This sobering backdrop juxtaposed with Maher's brand of wry, biting humor sets the tone of the rest of the film which jumps from hilarious to critical and promises an irreverent, at times biased, take on religion in society.
Bill Maher is the host of the weekly HBO hit Real Time with Bill Maher, a commentary show known for its heated round table discussions featuring prominent actors and musicians, as well as columnists and pundits from every point in the political spectrum. Maher's style involves bringing up several hot-button issues and then punctuating the ensuing discussion with his own blunt remarks. He brings this style to Religulous, prodding his subjects with pointed questions and then letting their well-edited circumlocutions and often unreasonable responses speak for themselves.
The topic of the movie is age-old: Why do people believe what they believe, and how, in the face of rational, scientific thinking, can they go on believing it? It targets mainly Judaism and Christianity, diverting briefly to Islam. Maher aims to look at how these faiths will react to a number of point-blank questions, to figure out just why people believe in them and to show the viewer that his own belief in any kind of organized religion is absurd.
Maher was born to a Catholic father and a Jewish mother and raised Catholic. Thus, from the beginning, his view on religion straddled the fence between two very different faiths. He makes a point of interviewing people with similarly divided perspectives, arguably to prove that the mystical veil becomes thinnest at the fringe. Maher interviews such fringe personalities as the former director of the Human Genome Project, Francis Collins, who is a prominently religious scientist. Others include a fervently anti-Israel rabbi, gay Muslim activists, an ex-Jew for Jesus, a man claiming to be the second coming of Christ himself, among many fascinating others. From each of these perspectives, Maher cobbles together the central idea that no one of any faith, when pressed, exactly knows the nature of what they're talking about. Their seemingly impermeable certainty is actually a shallow defense for an irrational system of belief.
Bill Maher is the host of the weekly HBO hit Real Time with Bill Maher, a commentary show known for its heated round table discussions featuring prominent actors and musicians, as well as columnists and pundits from every point in the political spectrum. Maher's style involves bringing up several hot-button issues and then punctuating the ensuing discussion with his own blunt remarks. He brings this style to Religulous, prodding his subjects with pointed questions and then letting their well-edited circumlocutions and often unreasonable responses speak for themselves.
The topic of the movie is age-old: Why do people believe what they believe, and how, in the face of rational, scientific thinking, can they go on believing it? It targets mainly Judaism and Christianity, diverting briefly to Islam. Maher aims to look at how these faiths will react to a number of point-blank questions, to figure out just why people believe in them and to show the viewer that his own belief in any kind of organized religion is absurd.
Maher was born to a Catholic father and a Jewish mother and raised Catholic. Thus, from the beginning, his view on religion straddled the fence between two very different faiths. He makes a point of interviewing people with similarly divided perspectives, arguably to prove that the mystical veil becomes thinnest at the fringe. Maher interviews such fringe personalities as the former director of the Human Genome Project, Francis Collins, who is a prominently religious scientist. Others include a fervently anti-Israel rabbi, gay Muslim activists, an ex-Jew for Jesus, a man claiming to be the second coming of Christ himself, among many fascinating others. From each of these perspectives, Maher cobbles together the central idea that no one of any faith, when pressed, exactly knows the nature of what they're talking about. Their seemingly impermeable certainty is actually a shallow defense for an irrational system of belief.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Jimbo
posted 10/10/08 @ 12:23 PM EST
"Maher was born to a Catholic father and a Jewish mother and raised Catholic. Thus, from the beginning, his view on religion straddled the fence between two very different faiths. (Continued…)
Post a Comment