Taking a nod and a wink from the 70's and 80's vignette style movies The Ten follows a story that surrounds each of the Ten Commandments, all stories are interlinked by the breakdown of a relationship between Jeff (Paul Rudd) and Gretchen (Famke Janssen). While trying to garner a Woody Allenesque feel, the movie actually comes off more like a terrible car crash, where the only civil resolution would be that all those involved were to perish.

I appreciate that my open statement might seem rather harsh; however try making an adult movie with lots of swearing, nudity, sex, and touchy subject matter; then try aiming it at an audience with the intellect of a five year old and you might just begin to understand where I am coming from. The terrible vignette stories include an uptight woman who has sex with Jesus, two men who feud over who has the best and most Cat Scan machines, a drug addict Rhino who tries to warn the community about an incoming bunch of AIDS infected wiener dogs who want to have sex with the locals so they die; and possibly the most bizarre a man who jumps out of a plane without a parachute only to become surgically attached with the earth, while he ponders how to get out of the ground without his internal organs falling out, his girlfriend has sex with the local news anchor before leaving him to have an illicit affair with a ventriloquist doll. And if you think things have got as bad as they can, there is a story about male rape, given a hysterical spin; of course I'm joking when I use the word Hysterical.

The humour is far from funny in this movie, it's in fact possibly the most puerile and worthless humour offering since the likes of Date and Epic movie. Worse still, the trailer makes the movie look half way worth watching, so imagine seeing the trailer, getting all psyched up for what appears to be a worthwhile comedy then having to endure something so terribly abysmal. Things go from bad to worse sadly with this movie, because as well as all the terrible humour (I use the word humour lightly) there is a terrible song and dance number where all the actors sing about themselves (not the characters they play).

"Sometimes I wonder what it might be like if I were the one ass raping you every night! I can't look at you without fantasising about shoving you up against the wall in the laundry room, and punching you in the mouth, and then raping you... Without your consent of course... That's what makes it rape!"

What I do find fascinating about the movie is exactly who stars in it, they have a fairly reasonable calibre of cast including Winona Ryder, Adam Brody (The OC), Ron Silver (Blue Steel), Gretchen Moll (3.10 To Yuma), Justin Theroux (Mulholland Drive), Liev Schreiber (Scream), Jessica Alba, Oliver Platt (Flatliners), and Janeane Garofalo (24, Mystery Men). And if that were not enough there are handfuls of actors from some of the most successful TV shows of recent years. Somehow in my mind the actors and the story just do not add up, this is not a big budget movie, although it is certainly Hollywood. How on earth did so many reasonably sized actors get involved in such a terrible movie? Were they doing someone a favour? Were they repaying a debt perhaps with the devil himself?

What I find most annoying about the movie is the intercut pieces that divide the stories, set on a giant soundstage it's like one of those artsy fartsy theatrical pieces where the actors interact with nothing, trying to make you use your imagination as to what you see. On this giant blacked out soundstage are the two tablets of stone (giant size) containing the Ten Commandments. Both Rudd and Janssen are so so actors either performing well or incredibly badly and this backdrop does neither any favours.

The Ten is due in UK cinemas later in the year, if you're going to take my advice on one thing this year, take my advice on this, because this really is abysmal.

 

Onboard an overseas flight to London, journalist Buck Williams (Kirk Cameron) and pilot Rayford Steele (Brad Johnson) are caught in the middle of the Rapture when dozens of passengers suddenly disappear including all of the children. Panic ensues as distraught parents and passengers desperately search for love ones.

The whole world has changed in the twinkle of an eye as every single government, company, household and person has lost someone that they knew. The world's economies are tittering on the edge of complete collapse and nervous world leaders are preparing for all out war with the powers that they believe are behind the disappearances.

The disappearances actually marks the beginning “Days of Dire Tribulations” on the Earth as the prophesied Antichrist makes his appearance on the world's stage promising peace, security and solutions to the serious problems that the world now must face. For those that are left behind this is music to their ears and blindly follow this new leader's every word.

For Buck Williams this is the news story of a lifetime and as he begins to investigate the disappearances he is confronted with dangers beyond his own understanding and more importantly he discovers the truth, which profoundly changes young Buck's life.

Pilot Rayford Steele must try to calm his passengers and land the plane without crashing it into the ground in the mist of the chaos both on the ground and in the air. With the assistance of Buck, Rayford returns to the airport and prepares to return to his home to only discover both his wife and young son have both vanished. Fearing that his only daughter has probably vanished too, Rayford sinks into depression as he mourns his loss.

Buck Williams returns back to New York where he works, so to make some sense of the historic events. Ever step of the way danger lurks and his friends begin to be murdered by an unknown shadow government agency. Just when Buck thinks things cannot get any worse, he finds himself being personally invited to the UN by the Antichrist, so to record the closed-door announcement of world leaders as a journalist.

The events that take place after all the world's most powerful leaders has been seated are terrifying in many ways, but probably the most disturbing thing is how no one except for Buck really sees the truth.

Viewers can expect to hear no cursing or no gory violence and no sexual content in this movie. I personally would not recommend this movie to anyone under the age of 13, because the prophesied set of future events that are taught in the Book of Revelation can be scary to children if they are not put into proper context, which requires studying the Word of God to understand.

Left Behind receives a deserving yes, to rent or to buy.

There are many second and third generation Muslims living in Britain today, and they face the dilemma of trying to maintain their religious tradition and please their elders, or immerse themselves in a modern liberal British society. Muslim youth may appreciate issues the film raised as it highlights the difficulty of being a modern, young Muslim in an ever changing world, where they are expected to be traditional Muslims, and follow their faith. Also, they experience difficulties fitting in with modern white cultures, and other people that aren't Asian. Muslim elders could be told about the annoyances and trouble Muslim youths run into when being force to practise religion.

I think the treatment of religious people was fair as modern Muslims may have another wife and leave her in Pakistan to come to England, then remarry. However some people may disagree, George was portrayed as ruling through fear and power, not as a good Muslim father should - Teaching their children good manner through the word of Allah. Ella was also portrayed as a weak mother and not as a faithful Christian by sticking to her Christian commitments to honour and obey her husband by letting her children disobey Islamic rules. The leader of the Mosque was portrayed fairly though, as he told George that unless his children were fully members of a Muslim community they would always be a worry to him, which is sound advice from a Muslim cleric.

In my opinion seeing an equal balance in the film would be good, e.g. Making Ghandi have an arranged marriage, because he would go through with it to follow his faith, and also make Ghandi less of an outcast, and more accepted by his family would be fun to see, as his family disrespect him for following the Muslim faith strictly.

In spite of their differences, some still debate which franchise is best. Some pose the question "If you could only have one, would you choose Star Trek or Star Wars?". I personally would not want to live in a world where I am forced to make that choice. Monogamy in a relationship is fine, but in entertainment it's rather stupid. However, if I did have to make that choice there would be a clear winner without hesitation on my part. In looking at why these two science fiction franchises should not be compared in a "which is better" contest I will also attempt to rationalize my bias toward one of them.

Star Wars: From Old Religions and Spaghetti Westerns, A New Spirituality Emerges

George Lucas's Star Wars, although it attempts to portray its' universe in shades of gray, remains strongly black and white. At its' core it is a "good vs evil" morality play, which places it in the category of most films, protagonists and antagonists interacting for our entertainment and moral enhancement. Films in the Star Wars franchise have excellent visuals, effective plots, and good dialog. Still these films are basic fantasy.

What some may feel makes Star Wars films special, is the underlaying complex spiritual themes throughout the series. These spiritual themes are pretty much taken from various Eastern belief systems of the past, but, are run through the good vs evil filter of Judeo-Christian sensibilities. Similar to many Spaghetti Westerns, there were clear "good guys" and "bad guys" and within each was a tiny bit of opportunity for the other. "The Force" could be used for good or evil. There were clear "sides". However, just like many Spaghetti Westerns, this strong definition, to me, feels labored, and unrealistic. Although some people may find comfort in thinking the real world is cut and dry, that people are either good or evil, I do not believe it is that simple.

Star Wars is purely an archetypal tale that has been told over and over again in various mediums. These tales have their place and fulfill some intrinsic need in humans to be sure. For me, Star Wars is nothing more than entertainment, as I personally don't feel the need to adopt a spirituality of Taoism filtered through Judeo-Christian sensibilities. I hope most people only view Star Wars as entertainment as the world needs far less myopia in spirituality and the message of "The Force" to me seems like a breeding machine for spiritual myopia.

Star Trek: A Vision of A Possible Future. Beam Me Up Scottie!

If we look purely at individual story lines in Star Trek we will often find some archetypal references just like we do in Star Wars or any other work of fiction. However, Star Trek has offered us far more than the archetypal tales of most fiction. Gene Roddenberry, in creating Star Trek gave the world an evolving blueprint for a possible future. Roddenberry's vision in Star Trek was so pure that even those writers who have attempted to stray from it have not been able to do so effectively. Star Trek points to what Humanity can evolve into and what type of universe we can create. Star Trek is a vision of hope, a vision of self determination. The addition of "The Prime Directive" within the series, cements Star Trek as a force that promotes tolerance and diversity as long as people continue to be entertained and enlightened by its' visionary tales. Just imagine how great our world would be now if some explorers in the past would have had The Prime Directive to follow. Those that did follow that type of thinking on their own helped humanity advance and the ones who did not follow that type of thinking hindered us greatly.

Over the years Star Trek has communicated very complex concepts to a mass audience in entertaining ways. These concepts have ranged from social issues to quantum physics. Star Trek has inspired Scientists and Inventors the world over. Many new theories and products have came about as a direct result of their creator watching Star Trek when they were young. Star Trek has had a tremendous impact on the entire planet and the evolution of Humanity. Star Trek has most likely had more impact on the world than any other entertainment franchise. This impact on the world has been a positive one.

So, Which is Better?

The Star Trek Universe is one that I would love to live in. The Star Wars Universe when I really exam its' core spiritual themes leaves me more depressed than I feel after reading a Philip K. Dick novel. The question of which of these two franchises as entertainment is better is down to a matter of personal taste. The question of which of these two franchises has had more of a positive impact on the world is clear. Star Trek is the overall winner in my opinion because it has offered the world more than just entertainment or a morality lesson.

The only other entertainment franchises that have even come close to offering the world what Star Trek has would be The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. Star Wars vs Star Trek aside, I would even go so far as the say that Star Trek is the best entertainment franchise of all time because of the positive impact it has made on the world, a statement I make based on my personal values. I could live in a world where The Star Wars films were not made. I would not want to live in a world where the Star Trek vision did not exist.
You may be thinking that Star Trek is my all time favorite show, but that title goes to The Beverly Hillbillies and Prospero's Books, is my favorite movie. In the end it's all just a matter of how ones' personal tastes and values balance.

The first sequence is initiated by the great psychohistorian, Hari Seldon, who, using almost mystical forms of mathematics, is able to accurately predict the downfall of the gargantuan human intergalactic Empire that spanned the universe and the millennia of barbarism that would follow. This future cannot be changed. However, the years of savagery could be shortened by the establishment of the Foundation, a propagation of science and arts that would maintain its civilizing force in the Periphery and gradually restore humankind to its former power.

Seldon, even after his death, is able to sustain his binding presence during the development of the Foundation, by appearing as a hologram every time that it faced a major crisis. According to his calculations, these crises have a very high probability of occurring, and with each successive crisis, the Foundation will be faced with fewer and fewer choices until it is left with a single choice. This choice, once made will irrevocably determine the future of humanity.

Successive characters led the Foundation through short spans of turbulent times, making changes that heavily influenced its future. Salvor Hardin, the young mayor of Terminus, the planet to which the Foundation had been exiled by the already crumbling Empire a hundred years before, was able to wrest the ultimate rule of authority from the Board of Encyclopedists. From this time onward, the government of Terminus held the highest power over its domestic and foreign policies; the latter under Hardin concentrated on the cultivation of peace, appeasement and trade with the four neighbouring Kingdoms. The Board, composed of brilliant scientists but poor administrators, retreated to perform its original task of compiling the Encyclopedia Galactica.

He led the Foundation through two major crises - each involving a clash of sovereignty between Terminus and one of the Four Kingdoms. As the Foundation was the only State that was still able to produce hi-tech goods and atomic power, it traded these goods to the Kingdoms with a price - that of control through the power of religion. A priesthood, directly ordered by the Foundation, was established. By imbuing these scientific goods with mystical qualities and the priests being in command of these qualities meant that they could wield enormous power over the masses of the Kingdoms, thereby subjecting even their rulers under the Foundation's indirect control.

This form of religious embodiment of science and technology served effectively to ensure Foundation's rule in the Periphery for the next hundred years or so. With the Foundation's economic power came vast riches. By that time, there arose a new rank of Traders who began to build their own commercial empires. Also by that time, hosts of provinces and nations had separated from the Four Kingdoms, their number swelled by splinter States that had broken away from other sovereignties further inward from the Periphery. Many of these were not so easily cowed by the relatively more advanced Foundation, they themselves being on the verge of becoming atomic powers. In this tense atmosphere of unstable political alignments and mutual distrust, was spawned the third crisis.

Threatened by hostile forces on all sides soon being able to acquire atomics and tip the balance of power against the Foundation, it took all the quick cunning of the first Merchant Prince, Hober Mallow, to secure a contract with an influential Commodore. Through this dealing, the Commodore inadvertently placed control of his system's energy sources into Mallow's hands which proved humiliatingly catastrophic when he later declared war on the Foundation. Mallow also had to work strategically in a Terminus government full of political enemies to finally gain the prize of mayorship.

The book ends with him intending to establish a plutocracy of Traders and Merchant Princes, as he said - “Power through money” would be the new controlling influence over the Periphery, as religion had become a dead force. The conclusion promises many more crises to come with similarly insightful and inspired leaders who would heroically defeat all odds to secure success for the Foundation.

Similarities Between Foundation, Star Wars and Dune

Whew, now that summary was quite long! The first thing I'd like to comment on are the similarities between this story and several others in the scifi genre, such as Star Wars, the movie trilogy and Dune. Many similar elements run throughout all of these, so much so that they represent futuristic archetypes, modeled to fit into the scifi tradition. In such a way, a person may think about a galactic fantasy, and immediately, archetypal images, contextual associations and words spring to mind.

The Empire Entity

One of these, to start off with a major element, is the Empire entity, or at least some kind of vast administrative form of government that forms the nucleus of power co-ordinating all the human worlds in the galaxies. Such a central concentration of control and authority stems from the modern-day perception that strong government always exists in highly sophisticated societies and of course, such a perception is translated into the possible future realm as the Empire. The Empire, being a representative of the pinnacle of human civilization across the universe, is conveyed to be "good" in Foundation. However, the fact that once reaching the peak, it had begun to crumble due to successive political struggles and a stagnating bureaucracy, shows that a "good" thing can become "bad" as the process moves in a cycle.

To correct this movement towards an era of darkness (in our historical memories, we hark back to the European Dark Ages), the Foundation, another representation of civilization and sophistication is established. Asimov does not comment on whether if such a cycle is ceaseless, that it will continue to throw in eras of progress and enlightenment, followed by periods of chaos, then back to an age of knowledge. Certainly, if one looks at history that way, it does show some trend towards this but we can never be sure.

The Star Wars trilogy incorporates this Empire entity although it is regarded as evil. Star Wars plays with the age-old struggle of good and evil, more fantasy elements, than did Foundation. The fact that the Empire is led by a power-hungry, oppressive and sorcerous Emperor, brands his form of government evil, as opposed to the Rebel Alliance in which the heroes star. However, before these dark times (note again, the dark age), there was the sparkling long era of the Republic, the utopic form of government. Cynics here can argue that utopia is only relative. In the Western mind at least, democracy, individual rights and personal freedom come very close to utopia. The Republic epitomizes all these features.

But like the Empire in Foundation, it too goes through a phase of gradual disintegration, whereby ambitious, opportunistic figures ravenous for power leap from the sidelines to finish the kill. All these elements again reflect the history of the Western sphere and how steeped in history much of our fiction is, and in scifi, all the more ironically so. The downfall of a great civilizing force, be it an Empire or a Republic, very much characterizes the fall of the Roman Empire and its division into two spheres, both later to succumb to barbaric hordes.

The rise of feudalism barely managed to maintain civilization in the Middle Ages (like the constant bickering between the Four Kingdoms in Foundation). After several centuries, the great European empires, such as the British, French, Russian and German empires attained their peak of power in the 1800s, when, under the banner of imperialism, they reached out to colonize the world. However, these great empires collapsed in the 20th century after the two World Wars. If seen in scifi (and overly simplistic) terms, then the United States can be equated with the Foundation, for it was able to maintain that high level of civilization after the empires were left broken and devastated. From then to the present day, we have seen the birthing and flourishing of republics that guarantee every human being democratic rights and recognition. This then is our era of republics. What will be the trend for the future?

But enough digression along those lines. In Dune too, we see the Empire entity. Published about a decade after Foundation, it too has similar elements although the underlying themes (appear to me), perhaps more complex, much more intricate. Frank Herbert's messages delve much deeper into political, ecological, philosophical and religious issues. What is fascinating about his work is the complicated interconnections between these four major issues. First to the political field - in Dune, we have an intergalactic Empire ruled by the Padishah Emperor, with different sectors or clusters being governed by dukes, barons and other feudal lords. The narration enters at the point in time when the Padishah dynasty is extremely weak, highly susceptible to being overthrown by the other strong, great Houses.

The Emperor's move to quell the ambitions of its greatest rival, House Atreides, led him to make a huge miscalculation. By exiling Duke Leto and his family to the remote, desert planet, Arrakis, he had literally handed the House with absolute power of the Empire. For, unknown to anyone else, Dune housed the great sandworms that were able to mass-produce spice, an item on which the entire structure of the Empire is based. Control of the spice meant control of power. Here, the power interplay is very similar to that of both Foundation and Star Wars, although with these latter two, one form of government is replaced with another on the diametrically opposed end of the political spectrum. In Dune, we see the continuation of the Empire but only the change of dynasties.

Other major power-brokers that enliven the story are the Bene Gesserit, an organization of women who are able to use telepathic powers to control events; the Trading Guild which has a monopoly on all trade, travel and communication throughout the galaxies (note: similar to the Trade Federation in Phantom Menace); and the Tleilaxu (not too sure if this is the correct name), a body that dealt in mystical technologies and science. The interests of these various factions, additionally with that of the Fremen, often conflict and these clashes of interests add greater complexity to the plot. Foundation also incorporates conflicting agendas, but not to the same extent.

Religious Iconography

All three of these stories contain religion as a greatly influential force in the power structure. The use of religion is a deliberate and calculated move in Hardin's foreign policy to secure the Foundation's power over the other States. However, religious control comprises only a small part of the saga, as it is quickly replaced by economic control. The Jedi Council is a quasi-religious organization featured in Star Wars; in which the Jedi Knights wear the traditional attire of monks. However, contradicting the non-violent doctrine of monks, the Jedi Knights are armed with light sabres, combining religion with the chivalry code. This conveys a Medieval feel in a futuristic setting. The Force (of the Light) and the Dark Path fit into the universal religious ideology that consists of the constant struggle between good and evil. This struggle, conveyed by the use of religion, delivers the action and entertainment that are demanded of film.

However, although religion can be considered a secondary constituent in these two, it is the chief element that foregrounds the story of Dune. Paul Atreides, who later becomes the Prophet, was the resulting product of centuries of noble breeding manipulated by the Bene Gesserit. They had aimed to produce the Kwisatz Haderach, “One who can be many places at once”. He is a human with extraordinary mental powers that would permit him to understand and use higher order dimensions. Before being sent to Arrakis, Paul was already adept in the Bene Gesserit arts, such as the use of the Voice, a form of verbal-mental compulsion. Inhalation of the spice-laden air on Dune triggered his ability to see infinite futures, as well as what positive steps to take to make a particular future happen. It was the spice that would finally take him beyond the thresh-hold of all known power.

The demonstration of his hard persistence and ability to lead won him great respect from the fiercely independent Fremen, who had despised the rule of House Harkonnen. They were a desert people, made harsh by the formidable and often hostile environment. Hence, they were quick to despise non-natives, considering them "soft and weak" unless and until they proved otherwise. However, never had they seen a foreigner like Paul. His unique mental and physical abilities, and his character that held such profound depth and dimension (belying his youth) impressed them so much that they soon regarded him as a near-divinity. He was the Prophet, Muad'Dib, all his words and actions were decreed by heaven. And if he urged them to fight the hated Harkonnens, (who had killed his father), then it was declared jihad, a holy war. In the novel, Paul does not seem to have actively promoted or even encouraged his status of holiness (unlike the ulterior objectives of Hardin's priesthood). Yet, he also did not stop this eventuality, knowing it to be a path leading to a future where he could avenge his father, purge the Harkonnens from existence, seize the sovereignty of Dune and hence the Empire, and also gift the Fremen (whom he soon regarded as his own people) with freedom.

There are some parallels between Paul as the Prophet with the founders of two major religions in today's world. Christianity and Islam can be construed as religions that arose from a desert environment, containing many symbols and icons of the fierce and nomadic desert peoples. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is the saviour who came to free mankind. His coming was portended by many prophets who spoke as voices from the desert, John the Baptist being the most prominent. This is similar to Paul who was prophesized by the Fremen to come and relieve them from the Harkonnens' yoke. Paul being called the Prophet also reflects the title given to Mohammad. The Fremen themselves could be likened to the Arabs, with the tendency to be easily caught up in mass religious fervour and to declare the holy jihad on all unbelievers. These traits allowed them to forge an Arabic empire spanning from Spain to Arabian Peninsula in the Middle Ages.

The Role of Women

Because both Dune and Foundation were written from the 1950's to the 1960's, the prevalent, strong patriarchal ideology in the context of those decades can be evidenced by how Herbert and Assimov have characterized the women. Foundation was a world dominated by men in all levels of society. Men were the ones who held positions of power - they fought actively and aggressively for power - action and aggression being the masculine stereotypes. The complete marginalization of women is demonstrated by the fact that only two come briefly into the story. One is a servant girl on whom Mallow advertises a new trades good, some sort of ornamental hologram (if I remember correctly). Her reaction of surprise and desire for the good to please her vanity can be deemed today as empty-headed and insubstantial emotions - society's definition of femininity at that time. Women were considered as ornaments and hence were required only to think about beautifying themselves.

The other woman mentioned was the Commdor's wife, a woman in a position of power and perhaps partially dominant in the relationship with her husband. However, this is only because of her high-ranking birth and that their marriage was needed to maintain the Commdor's political alliance with her father. Therefore, it would seem that her status is defined by both her father and her husband, another indictment of a man's world.

Dune contains many more female characters relative to Foundation. However, the Empire still runs in a patriarchal vein where the Emperor, Duke and Baron are the elite men involved in the great game of power. Men are also influential in the other major organizations, such as the feared Sardaukar and the mysterious mentats. Women have some power, as represented by the Bene Gesserit, even though they only have a marginal role to play in the story. The Lady Jessica herself was once a Bene Gesserit and she is in a position to control events as concubine to the Duke, mother of Paul and Reverend Mother of the Fremen tribe. Despite these few exceptions, generally, men are the masters in most realms of the Empire. Cultural factors certainly portray this, such as the ability of a man to take both a wife and concubine, just as Paul does, taking the Princess Irulan as his wife to lend legitimacy to his ascension to the imperial throne and Chani as his concubine, the love of his heart.

The gender roles in Star Wars are more romantically based, being a film produced in the 1970s to 80s. The trilogy stars two heroes, Luke and Han, who rival each other for a princess's hand. Here, there is again the interplay of masculine aggression and feminine passivity. The males are the ones fighting for a woman and the woman waits to be won, even though Leia does contribute to the romantic tension by kissing Luke in the Empire Strikes Back to spite Han. She is also a damsel in distress to be rescued, from Darth Vader in Star Wars and Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi, whilst the men do the rescuing. Likewise, the power-brokers are again men, such as the sinister Darth Vader and the evil Emperor. Besides the princess, most of the other rebel combatants are men.

Such gender roles apparently becomes blurred in The Phantom Menace, made in the 90's, where the elected child-queen Armidala does not need to be rescued and commandeers a counter-offensive to regain Naboo with the alliance of the Gunguns. Still, she is a rare female specimen, surrounded by her bodyguards, the Jedi Knights, the Supreme Chancellor, Senator Pulpatine and her Trade Federation aggressors, all of whom are male. Hence, it can be said that the female characters in the movies have only been created for some love diversion, detracting the serious power struggle played by the males on a higher level.

Conclusion

Well, I'm sure that there are a lot more similarities but these are the most notable ones that I can think of. It can therefore be seen that scifi is based very much on our own history and uses many features of society that prevailed in the writer's context of the times. Detecting and relating these similar elements between the books make them a much more interesting read as well as furthering our contemplation of the issues in our own world.

In the beginning of The Mission the characters are introduced. We see Father Gabriel the leader of the Jesuit order in the new world, Rodrigo Mendoza the famous slave trader and mercenary, Don Cabeza a lobbyist for the dehumanization of Native Peoples and Felipe and Mendoza's girlfriend who are responsible for Mendoza's dramatic change in that if Mendoza's girlfriend wouldn't have cheated on him with his brother Mendoza would've never killed his brother and in turn never had to seek penance for his sudden outburst of anger which left his brother laying lifeless on the city street.

After murdering his brother Felipe, Mendoza goes to a mission to mope and pretty much give up on his life. While Mendoza is sitting in the mission Father Gabriel comes to visit him. Father Gabriel offers him penance for murdering his brother which Mendoza refuses at first but after further convincing by Father Gabriel he agrees to carry a bag full of armor and other such items of war around with him until he thinks he deserves to be set free. The bag of war items symbolizes all the weight killing puts on the shoulders of your conscience with each kill the more weight you put on your on shoulders. In an ironic twist of events Mendoza doesn't set himself free the Guaraní set him free and kick his bag into the river symbolizing the forgiveness of all his past transgressions.

After being set free by the Guaraní Mendoza is never the same. First of all during a presentation of the Guarani's ability to sing and play music in front of the Cardinal Don Cabeza tries to tell the Cardinal that his plantations don't keep slaves but Mendoza having been a slave trader know that he does and not only owns them but also treats them with less respect then a dog or swine Don Cabeza used this as an excuse to try and adulterate the good name of the Jesuit order saying they taught contempt for lawful profit. Mendoza's speech during the Cardinals review of the missions was a major turning point for him. He went from an enemy of the Native Americans to their most outspoken protector and advocate. However to make up brownie points with the Cardinal Mendoza prepared and recited a lengthy speech of apology addressing practically every member in the crowd from Don Cabeza to the little native boy that was singing.

After showing his loyalties lie with the Guaraní he set forth to help Father Gabriel and the other Jesuits build a mission for the Native peoples. The Mission was special to the Guaraní because it was one of the only places left for the Natives to live without slavery and keep their dignity by only having to convert to the Catholic faith in order to live there. People like Don Cabeza were looking to destroy the missions and were greatly set back by Mendoza since Mendoza was a former slave trader and knew all of their deceitful tricks and knew how to inept what they were saying in slave trade talk.

When the Cardinal finally decided the mission was to be closed down the Natives responded in defiance saying that it was their home they built it, if they went back into the jungle the devil would get them, ect, the Portuguese slave traders responded by letting them know that by the end of the week either the Guaraní were going to be dead or slaves.

The Portuguese statement split the Guaraní camp in half. Father Gabriel and half of the Guaraní wanted to resist through love and faith, and Mendoza and the remaining half wanting to fight for the lives of the Guaraní and their right to live without slavery.

Both sides brought up good reasons as to why they thought that they should either fight or just let faith guide them. On the faith side was Father Gabriel his point of view was that if Mendoza went back to his violent ways that all the repenting was a waste; he was hoping that by showing the Portuguese that the Guaraní were civil and Christian through holding an extravagant mass and march up to the river to meet the Portuguese's. This approach had no chance of success.

Robert Mendoza's plan was to resist with everything he had in him. His thinking was that if he could catch the Portuguese off guard in an ambush killing their leader and seizing some of their guns the Portuguese would think that the slaves weren't worth all the lives they would have to pay in order to get them and would leave them alone. This approach had a small chance of success but still more then Father Gabriel's' plan.

Mendoza much like myself thought that a life of slavery is worse than death and that human dignity was worth protecting even if it means using violence. By standing up to the Portuguese he sent a message that the Natives would not just stand idly by and watch themselves be conquered and enslaved.

The production value was superb, and the costumes and sets were an incredible feast to the eyes. The computer graphics added were not over the top and did not distract in any way from the movie; they were appropriately subdued. For a change, not one character, in my opinion, turned in a bad acting performance, and there were several big names signed onto this movie: Tiny Lister, John Rhys-Davies, and Peter O'Toole. Grading the movie on these aspects, I would have to give it a solid “A-”.

In terms of how well the plot followed the biblical story of Queen Esther, I would have to have to give it a “C-“. As a Christian, I knew the story of Queen Esther with its overwhelming theme of, “God rises everyone up for one moment in their lives – be prepared to accept your challenge when God calls you.” I found myself watching the screen during scenes and thinking, “this isn't in the Bible”.

For instance, there is a scene in which a trusted old general is ambushed in a plot and then “conveniently saved” by Haman, the book's villain. Then there's an early scene in the movie when all the young virgins are taken at night and by force to the palace; the Bible doesn't make mention it was done by force or that any young virgin objected. There's also the necklace Esther wears and presents as a gift to the King, and a lot is consistently made of it throughout the movie. The very first scene that made me question the accuracy the film was after the virgins had been taken to the palace; the young men of the village were taken and made into eunuchs. Of course there is plotting between Prince Memucan and Haman that isn't part of the story line, either, along with internal political palace conflits.

There is a possibility any of these things could have taken place, however, they're not in the record. I guess I'm a purist when it comes to Christian films because there's always the chance someone who's buying a ticket may find their lives being impacted as the Holy Spirit works on them. There's always a desire for churches to entertain and sex up the Word of God, but it's sexy on its own if you just read it. There's murder, sex, greed, rape, human sacrifices, slavery, extortion, war, heroism, and love inside its pages and reads like any modern day blockbuster book. Why would you want to alter that?

When Queen Vashti was portrayed as an anti-war person in what should be chapter one of the book, I knew I better be on my guard. I don't like seeing modern day politics injected into biblical plotlines. In all the commentaries I've seen and read, Vashti refused to go to the King because he wanted her to appear naked in front of a drunken court, wearing only her crown, to display her radiant beauty. She refused as an honorable woman would have, and was permanently removed from the King for being disobedient.

If you go hoping for accuracy to be important, throw that hope out the window. There is little that bears resemblance to the Book of Esther, but it remains a solidly entertaining film with convincing acting roles turned in by all players. This should become a mainstream success even for non-Christians who just fancy a good old-fashioned love story from pauper to royalty. It is also a family friendly movie with mild hints of seductive love and almost no violence. Take your little princess and watch her dream.

My advice? Buy a cheaper afternoon ticket and save your money for one of the other big movies at the more expensive evening rates.

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Yesterday after church I decided to go visit my best friend like any normal day after I attend an event at this Catholic Church across from her house. I went and knocked on her door expecting one of our typical short encounters, perhaps some food and a good old best friend catch up. I was extremely exited to see her after a long time, actually just about two weeks, of painfully missing her. This day, however, would be so different than any other visit. The day changed when she asked me if I had seen a movie that, of course, I had not.

Like Any Movie

The movie she had in mind was “A Walk to Remember,” a very famous teen movie from the year 2002 starring stunning Mandy Moore. As she started describing the movie to me and why she thought it was so important that I watched it nothing special came to mind. I imagined it would be another one of those cheesy chick flicks with a emblematic happy ending where we all cry and hug each other. It was getting pretty late so we started watching the movie while eating some pizza and managing to stand the devastating heat with some fresh water.

A simple plot and shallow characters, yet such a deep message. For those who have not seen the movie, you might not want to read on. So as the rest of us know, it is about the preacher’s daughter, who devotes her life to God and service and a popular bully who is about to get his life radically changed. Moreover, the point is not the boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy lives on with her spirit in his soul, but the way this movie made us both feel.

Like Any Reaction… or not?

From the beginning of the movie I felt identified with this girl being that I am not the popular girl who laughs at others, but more of the girl who sits by herself and reads books in lunch. I have infinitely many nicknames and I do only have one sweater, but I do not consider myself half as nice as Jamie Sullivan. When so many people attack a person all the time, all that person can do is smile and move on, but inside it does hurt. In addition, I am also in the process of becoming more involved with the church being that I just got confirmed. Besides all this, there are a couple of focuses for my life and a list of things I have to do before I die hidden somewhere with all my secrets, sorrows and laughs.

After the movie ended, I felt I was not identified enough with this girl. In a time when being mean and feeling superior is “cool” I think it is essential that people all over this country watch this movie and give the lifestyle a try; I am. I just find it amazing that people could just want to be like her, if everybody tried… Of course it is not possible right now, but hey! “I lay my head back down, and I lift my hands up and I pray…”