No, you're right. Those "international jetways" were made possible by military investments in building long runways to launch bombers. Militaries are funded by governments.
If it weren't for government subsidy of airports, we'd still be using flying boats for trans-oceanic flights.
I don't know about you, but I didn't know how to go to college when I started. I needed somebody to explain to me how the system worked. I would have liked that person (let's call him an "advisor") to suggest to me that perhaps taking three lab courses in one semester, along with fifteen credits of engineering courses, is probably not conducive to either sanity or academic success.
Anybody can be a critic. The question is not whether he's allowed to be a critic...the question is whether his opinions have merit based on his credentials.
I say "no". I disagree with his criticism, and I don't think he's qualified to make these Broad Overarching General Statements.
He's free to use whatever desktop gives him a good feeling in his tummy. His opinions on what I should do are unpersuasive.
If you don't understand the critical differences between programming skill and UI design skill, I think you're missing the key point of this discussion. One does very little to inform the other.
Frankly, UI design skill is a much, much rarer beast. Code monsters are readily available, but great UI designers pretty much don't exist.
Yeah, you were courteous about it, so you got the point. I don't see Aslan's trial as nearly so onerous as crucifixion, and Aslan out and out volunteered. Christ was clearly looking for alternatives. That doesn't make Christ's sacrifice less meaningful, but it does make the two tales different. At least in my mind.
None of those themes are uniquely or specifically Christian (with the exception of the sons of Adam and daughter of Eve language...but many belief structures have a Progenitor myth). Sorry...it's just not true.
I've done a little more reading, and I stand corrected. Thanks for straightening me out on that topic. You get, like, a point.
As far as Christ...I don't know. He seemed pretty bent out of shape in Gethsemane, but you draw an interesting parallel.
I still do not buy the angle that the Narnia tales are uniquely or specifically Christian, other than by virtue of the fact that they were written by a Christian.
"Is your problem that you don't believe the film, or the book, is a religious allegory? "
I do not believe that, no. The author has explicitly stated that it's not an allegory, so, therefore, it is not an allegory. Disney can market their film any way they wish, and it has no impact on me or my predilections. I liked the books, I liked the movie, and I think those who read them as allegories are ill-informed.
That's a lead pipe cinch. Writing an allegory is an affirmative action...you have to intend to do it, or else it's not an allegory. Since the author says "This is not an allegory", everybody who says it's an allegory is mistaken.
Zero of the themes you identify is uniquely and specifically Christian. You can read them as Christian values, yes, but that's not the same thing at all.
"Christian apologist" implies that Christians have something to apologize for. I am a Christian, and I have no need to apologize for anything relating to my faith.
The virtue of self-sacrifice is hardly unique to Christianity. Particularly since Aslan knew for certain that he would not in fact die, and he was playing the Queen for a fool, I'd call that a pretty thin Messiah allegory.
I have an excellent knowledge of the Bible, and I see little if any allegorical significance.
I am a Christian, and that certainly might inform anything I might write. However, that does not mean that every fictional story I might must be a Biblical allegory.
"loved them. I reread them later, understood, and felt betrayed."
How can you be betrayed by a static text? The book didn't change...only your interpretation. Why did you give your trust to a piece of paper in the first place?
"If Aslan isn't God, and the White Witch is just some woman who wants to rule this place, the story becomes a cheesy special-effects battle movie"
Says you. You might be stunned to note that Christianity does not have a global monopoly on moral behavior.
You're projecting your beliefs onto the movie. That's fine, but don't try to tell me that I have to do the same thing in order to enjoy the story.
For the record, I am a practicing Christian. You say you're not, so I'm confused as to why you're espousing these beliefs.
"I never saw The Passion, and I don't think it's a great idea for a movie, and so forth. But think how much more pointless a film it would be if the guy who was being tortured and suffering wasn't Jesus."
Mel Gibson did that one too. It was called Braveheart. Maybe it's your assertion that anybody who has bad stuff happen to them in a movie must be a stand-in for Christ.
Wow. Good thing the Slate author didn't go into the story with an axe to grind or anything.
I read the books, and I watched the movie. The Christian allegory angle is a pretty silly one if you ask me. Unless you want to assert that Christianity is the only belief structure with a Death-and-Rebirth cycle, and advocating personal sacrifice for one's intended goals, I think there's nothing to hang an allegory on.
Which, strangely enough, is exactly what the Slate author comes around to say. So where's the argument?
"I wonder if we can chalk this down, to a certain extent, to the religious nature. I'm not a great fan of the whole "We need to appeal to the Christian Right for this movie" thing"
I don't think you watched the same movie I did. What are you talking about?
Slashdot Mirror
I'd wondered where my wallet had gone.
Mass drivers have recoil. That's because they're mass drivers.
Altitude is easy. Velocity is hard. Launching from a balloon gives you lots of altitude, and very little velocity.
No, you're right. Those "international jetways" were made possible by military investments in building long runways to launch bombers. Militaries are funded by governments.
If it weren't for government subsidy of airports, we'd still be using flying boats for trans-oceanic flights.
"Serifs make large quantities of text more readable." to you. Thanks for playing.
I don't know about you, but I didn't know how to go to college when I started. I needed somebody to explain to me how the system worked. I would have liked that person (let's call him an "advisor") to suggest to me that perhaps taking three lab courses in one semester, along with fifteen credits of engineering courses, is probably not conducive to either sanity or academic success.
Anybody can be a critic. The question is not whether he's allowed to be a critic...the question is whether his opinions have merit based on his credentials.
I say "no". I disagree with his criticism, and I don't think he's qualified to make these Broad Overarching General Statements.
He's free to use whatever desktop gives him a good feeling in his tummy. His opinions on what I should do are unpersuasive.
If you don't understand the critical differences between programming skill and UI design skill, I think you're missing the key point of this discussion. One does very little to inform the other.
Frankly, UI design skill is a much, much rarer beast. Code monsters are readily available, but great UI designers pretty much don't exist.
Yeah, you were courteous about it, so you got the point. I don't see Aslan's trial as nearly so onerous as crucifixion, and Aslan out and out volunteered. Christ was clearly looking for alternatives. That doesn't make Christ's sacrifice less meaningful, but it does make the two tales different. At least in my mind.
None of those themes are uniquely or specifically Christian (with the exception of the sons of Adam and daughter of Eve language...but many belief structures have a Progenitor myth). Sorry...it's just not true.
I've done a little more reading, and I stand corrected. Thanks for straightening me out on that topic. You get, like, a point.
As far as Christ...I don't know. He seemed pretty bent out of shape in Gethsemane, but you draw an interesting parallel.
I still do not buy the angle that the Narnia tales are uniquely or specifically Christian, other than by virtue of the fact that they were written by a Christian.
At least my cock's big enough to beat you to death with, coward.
When you hear it only in the context of "Nazi apologists", then conflating Nazis with Christians is clearly perjorative.
So, at any rate, that's the way it read.
"Is your problem that you don't believe the film, or the book, is a religious allegory? "
I do not believe that, no. The author has explicitly stated that it's not an allegory, so, therefore, it is not an allegory. Disney can market their film any way they wish, and it has no impact on me or my predilections. I liked the books, I liked the movie, and I think those who read them as allegories are ill-informed.
"This is not allegory at all."
That's a lead pipe cinch. Writing an allegory is an affirmative action...you have to intend to do it, or else it's not an allegory. Since the author says "This is not an allegory", everybody who says it's an allegory is mistaken.
Zero of the themes you identify is uniquely and specifically Christian. You can read them as Christian values, yes, but that's not the same thing at all.
"Christian apologist" implies that Christians have something to apologize for. I am a Christian, and I have no need to apologize for anything relating to my faith.
The virtue of self-sacrifice is hardly unique to Christianity. Particularly since Aslan knew for certain that he would not in fact die, and he was playing the Queen for a fool, I'd call that a pretty thin Messiah allegory.
I have an excellent knowledge of the Bible, and I see little if any allegorical significance.
I am a Christian, and that certainly might inform anything I might write. However, that does not mean that every fictional story I might must be a Biblical allegory.
What does the marketing campaign have to do with the content of the film? Oh, that's right. Nothing.
"loved them. I reread them later, understood, and felt betrayed."
How can you be betrayed by a static text? The book didn't change...only your interpretation. Why did you give your trust to a piece of paper in the first place?
"If Aslan isn't God, and the White Witch is just some woman who wants to rule this place, the story becomes a cheesy special-effects battle movie"
Says you. You might be stunned to note that Christianity does not have a global monopoly on moral behavior.
You're projecting your beliefs onto the movie. That's fine, but don't try to tell me that I have to do the same thing in order to enjoy the story.
For the record, I am a practicing Christian. You say you're not, so I'm confused as to why you're espousing these beliefs.
"I never saw The Passion, and I don't think it's a great idea for a movie, and so forth. But think how much more pointless a film it would be if the guy who was being tortured and suffering wasn't Jesus."
Mel Gibson did that one too. It was called Braveheart. Maybe it's your assertion that anybody who has bad stuff happen to them in a movie must be a stand-in for Christ.
Yeah, who'd want those hacks over at BBC to get their hands on it?
Oh wait...
"devout Christian apologist "
Wow. Good thing the Slate author didn't go into the story with an axe to grind or anything.
I read the books, and I watched the movie. The Christian allegory angle is a pretty silly one if you ask me. Unless you want to assert that Christianity is the only belief structure with a Death-and-Rebirth cycle, and advocating personal sacrifice for one's intended goals, I think there's nothing to hang an allegory on.
Which, strangely enough, is exactly what the Slate author comes around to say. So where's the argument?
"I wonder if we can chalk this down, to a certain extent, to the religious nature. I'm not a great fan of the whole "We need to appeal to the Christian Right for this movie" thing"
I don't think you watched the same movie I did. What are you talking about?
And you argue that every one of those themes is distinctly and uniquely Christian?
I stopped trusting Consumer Reports when they dinged some really nice mountain bikes for having front brakes that are "too powerful".
If you can't lock up both wheels on dry pavement, your brakes are set up wrong. It's wise to not do that, but on a bicycle you are the ABS.
Yeah, that's a pretty important part of the sentence...
Way to get my point exactly backwards. Reading comprehension is your friend.
I do not believe that good science requires atheism. I think people who do believe so are bad scientists.
*draws Venn diagram*