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{"id":1726,"date":"2009-11-02T06:42:22","date_gmt":"2009-11-02T10:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tmatt.net\/?p=1726"},"modified":"2009-11-02T06:42:22","modified_gmt":"2009-11-02T10:42:22","slug":"lying-about-god-onscreen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2009\/11\/lying-about-god-onscreen\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Lying’ about God onscreen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

When it comes to comedian Ricky Gervais, journalist Paul Asay openly confesses that he is a fan.<\/p>\n

This may seem strange since Asay works for Plugged In, a media Web site sponsored by Focus on the Family \u2014 a powerful brand name in evangelical media. Yes, he knows the hip writer, actor and director is a proud, articulate atheist. However, he also thinks that Gervais is \u201cactually quite talented and a very funny guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thus, Asay had mixed feelings when he reviewed<\/a>, \u201c The Invention of Lying<\/a>,\u201d the comedian\u2019s new comedy. After all, Gervais had publicly pledged that it would be both a \u201csweet Hollywood\u201d romantic comedy and the \u201cfirst ever completely atheistic movie with no concessions.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Asay, watching the movie became a \u201cfrustrating, disturbing, deeply saddening experience. And it was funny. Which makes it, in some ways, that much worse.\u201d While the movie displayed Gervais\u2019 talents, it also revealed that he has \u201cvery little knowledge of what he seeks to skewer. He takes an infantile interpretation of spirituality \u2014 one that most of us leave behind for deeper truths by the age of 3 or 4 and deconstructs it to the point of imbecility,\u201d wrote Asay.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the plot twist. While \u201cThe Invention of Lying\u201d has received bad reviews from most religious critics, it has not provoked headline-friendly calls to arms by the usual suspects on the religious right.<\/p>\n

This has not, in other words, been \u201cThe DaVinci Code,\u201d \u201cThe Golden Compass\u201d or even the anti-faith \u201cReligulous\u201d sermon from provocateur Bill Maher. So far, the Gervais opus is drawing small crowds into theaters and zero protesters onto sidewalks. As it began its third week, it had grossed only $16,956,375 while sliding to 16th place at the box office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole movie industry today is such a one week and you\u2019re done affair,\u201d noted Asay. \u201cIf you don\u2019t make waves right away, you\u2019re kind of over. \u2026 In retrospect, Gervais and his people may have wanted to pump up that atheism angle in the marketing to get a bigger splash in the press. They needed to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Invention of Lying\u201d takes place in a parallel world in which people cannot lie. Thus, advertisements are rather blunt. The Pepsi slogan is, \u201cWhen they don\u2019t have Coke,\u201d and a nursing home is called, \u201cA Sad Place for Hopeless Old People.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then along comes Mark Bellison, a pudgy loser who, in a moment of desperation, intentionally overdraws his bank account and gets away with it. This discovery changes his life, but he also learns that lying cannot solve all his problems. In the movie\u2019s pivotal scene, the liar played by Gervais comforts his dying mother by telling her she soon will be reunited with her loved ones in a land of peace, love and happiness, where there is no pain.<\/p>\n

Hospital workers overhear this proclamation and the loser quickly becomes a pseudo-messiah, offering stunning revelations about a great \u201cman in the sky\u201d who controls people\u2019s lives and decides whether they spend eternity in a good place (lots of ice cream) or a bad place.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the prophet knows he is a fake. While visiting his mother\u2019s grave he confesses, in a fit of guilt: \u201cI know you\u2019re not up there in a mansion. You\u2019re right here in the ground and I\u2019m the only one who knows that.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was impossible to watch that scene, and others in \u201cThe Invention of Lying,\u201d without feeling some kind of compassion, said Thaisha Geiger<\/a>, a language arts teacher who reviews movies for the ChristianAnswers.net Web site.<\/p>\n

Since she was not familiar with Gervais, she did some online research to learn more about his beliefs. She was struck by the fact that Gervais lost his faith as a young child. However, he also told ShortList.com, \u201cI always knew that if my mum asked me when she was dying if there was a heaven, I\u2019d say yes. \u2026 I think that\u2019s how religion started \u2014 as a good lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

That painful conflict made it onto the screen, said Geiger.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe movie really is about his beliefs \u2026 so he was probably expecting Christians to yell and scream after they saw this movie,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t feel anger when I saw it. I really walked away feeling sad. \u2026 I thought, \u2018He\u2019s an atheist. We should pray for him.\u2019 Maybe he\u2019s disappointed that more people aren\u2019t mad.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"