I’m a movie guy. I love going to the movies. Don’t get there often but I still check out all the trailers online and plot strategy to get out of the house for those movies I really want to see.
So I just saw the trailer to the new movie 2012. When I first clicked on it my first thought was aren’t we all getting tired of big budget disaster porn but then I paid attention to what I was seeing in the preview and something seemed a little…well you decide:
At the 20 second mark we’ve got the arms of the Jesus the Redeemer statue in Rio De Janiero falling off and then the whole thing falling over completely.
34 seconds in you see like fifty thousand people with candles standing in St. Peter’s Square looking up at the Pope who’s looking down at them.
36 seconds in you’ve got a crowd of people all making the sign of the cross.
Then you get about 12 or so seconds of regular old fireballs from the sky type mayhem.
50 seconds there’s an image of St. Peter’s Basilica toppling.
52 seconds cut to Cardinals inside praying only to look up at the art on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to see it breaking apart and presumably crushing them.
54 seconds Those people who were praying with candles outside are now screaming and running. Why? Because the dome of St. Peter’s is crashing down on top of them and then rolling over them crushing a few thousand people as it rolls essentially on top of the camera blacking everything out.
(Holy metaphor alert Batman!)
The rest of the trailer is just regular old mayhem and the White House getting destroyed. And at the end it says, “Find out the Truth.”
And I’m just sitting there thinking “I think somebody’s got a problem with Catholicism.” I mean, that makes Ron Howard looks pretty nice by comparison. But then I thought maybe it’s just because Catholics have the big iconic architecture and imagery. I mean what would Protestant mayhem look like anyway? Rick Warren falling over on top of someone.
I don’t like to jump to conclusions so I Googled Roland Emmerich, the director, who, according to numerous sources is openly gay and an activist liberal. But hey, it’s Hollywood, who isn’t?
I wondered if this guy has some sort of distaste for things Catholic. And darn it but what do I find? I warn you this is kinda weird.
In a closet in his house, Mr. Emmerich has a statue of Pope John Paul II laughing while reading his own obituary. That’s right. Pope John Paul II. In a closet. Laughing while reading his own obituary. You don’t believe me, right? Well, look below.
And then it gets a little weirder. I’m not kidding.
According to the Guardian:
Mao and Lenin fill the length of the 25ft living room wall; an old master-style painting of the Crucifixion shows Jesus sporting a Wham T-shirt; in the guest bathroom is a portrait of Saddam Hussein
I always just thought Roland Emmerich was a mediocre director of bad movies with a ginormous budget. That’s still true. But now he’s a mediocre director of bad movies that I’m not going to see.
November 13, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Hey… it's all gotta go eventually.
Not in the enternal, nihilistic sense, but the physical world ain't gonna last forever.
I get more of a kick out of the idea that the government has it together enough to save everyone. I would bet 10 bucks they would be in committee until 2014 at least.
November 15, 2009 at 9:39 pm
My family and i watched the movie (sister's boyfriend is a pirate), and if one isn't looking for anti-Catholicism, he wouldn't necessarily pick up on it. being on the look out for just that,…
a little bit of a spoiler… so if you don't plan on watching the film, which if you've already seen the day after tomorrow, you've basically seen this movie too…
i did notice that all the individuals who pray during the movie end up dying. this was mostly christians, and having the Vatican seen, mostly Catholics, but there was also a hindu family killed, and a buddhist temple destroyed. The people who survived on the arks either purchased their way on or were chosen for their genetic quality, either way, i would (mis?)construe this as praise for the gods of money and science.
November 15, 2009 at 10:19 pm
It is both anti Catholic and anti American. We (America) are portrayed as the bad guys; the film goes out of its way to mention the preference of the Euro over the Dollar and the Chinese are the ones, in the end, that save the day. This film seemed to me to be more of a metaphor about the enevitable decline (and destruction) of the U.S. and Romon Catholic church than a film about the end of the world.
November 16, 2009 at 2:07 am
In an interview he said that he had considered destroying the Kaaba along with Mecca but has decided for his personal safety to not try it.
November 16, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Kids, follow the money. That is how Holywood keeps score and your future as a director in GHollywood is tied to the gross, not the quality. Why spend more money on advertising when all you have to do is topple a few Christian icons, preferrably on top of a crwod of praying Christians? We'll do the rest for them with loud wailing and gnashing of teeth. Film at 11. Let's sit down, talk quietly amongst ourselves and keep our money in our wallets.
Peace, Love and a Hallmark movie at home with the family,
Jim in Milwaukee
November 17, 2009 at 9:25 pm
I am a firm practicing Catholic. I saw this movie.
THE WHOLE WORLD gets destroyed. California falls into the ocean. Californians might call it an anti-Californian movie. The Washington monument falls over. Is is anti-washington? Or anti-american? Yellowstone national park explodes. Is it anti-national parks?
Come on people – this is Hollywood. This is a popcorn, eye-popper. It's fun. It's exciting. It's not really making any statement whatsoever.
Lighten up a little.
November 17, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Amazingly, though, out of the whole world being destroyed…the focus is on Catholic imagery.
Yeash, this is right up there with folks insisting that the Ft. Hood guy's actions had nothing to do with Islam, nope, nadda, ignore the yelling "god is great" and the lecture on how Muslims should kill non-believers.
It's not like it's some huge big deal that some clown in Hollywood has a thing for screwing with the Church, but that doesn't mean we should cover our eyes, drum our heels on the floor and insist that there's no sign that any bias exists.
November 20, 2009 at 3:36 am
Father Robert Barron has a great video review of the movie on his website "wordonfire.org"!
December 1, 2009 at 11:48 pm
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=115011
"The whole Vatican kind of tips and kind of rolls over the people. It said something, because in the story, some people … believe in praying and prayer, and they pray in front of the church, and it's probably the wrong thing, what they would do in that situation," Emmerich told SciFi.
He also took out the famous statue of Jesus overlooking Rio.
"Because I'm against organized religion," he said.
"But there is one place even he couldn't bring himself to obliterate," the report said, the Kaaba, the focus of the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage.
—
There's a word for that. Cowardice.
December 2, 2009 at 5:32 am
My thoughts:
I might kind of like the statue of His Holiness JP the Great (i.e. laughing at his own obit) if it were in another context. It could be taken as His Holiness amused at the idea of some people believing "death" has any sting, or as evidence of His Holiness' humility. At least the artist made a nice likeness. Doubt if Emmerich has any clue what he's stuck in his closet, literally or figuratively.
Love Fr. Barron's description of the St. Peter's dome crushing all those praying folks as "one of the great moments in cinematic anti-Catholicism."
B movie. It shall pass. The Church shall endure. In the meantime, however, I am most ticked off at the bad physics in the film. If St. Peter's collapsed due to seismic shifts, it would collapse on itself, i.e. the base of the dome would give out. It wouldn't roll on anyone, praying or otherwise. And, God forbid, were the Christ of the Andies to collapse, it would give way first at the base. The movie version looks like the arms are being pulled off using invisible puppet strings. I thought the atheists were supposed to be all about the science?
December 2, 2009 at 5:37 am
It's right up there with the frost physics of the day after tomorrow.
As usual, appearance > all.
December 19, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Roland Emmerich — sad little man. And what's sadder still is that in his heart of hearts he knows it. This is why he can't leave the whole anti catholic anti chrisitian theme alone. It torments him like a hot poker. maybe there is a God roland. poke. maybe there is a God roland. poke. maybe He will judge your ass roland. poke. maybe all those saints who died for the faith are right. poke. maybe I'm just angry at an institution and faith that says all my darkest hates are wrong after all and not to be indulged. poke. maybe.. maybe.. Until he just can't stand it and it drives him on to create more trash, to decorate his own house with his shouting against God. My prediction: one day roland will die either in an orgy of drug induced mania clawing at the bedcovers as demons welcome him to their tender mercies or as one in peace thanking Jesus for saving him.
December 19, 2009 at 5:58 pm
PS Im not catholic Im eastern orthodox but we are all brothers in christ and when I saw the anti vatican scenes in the clips it enraged me but then I laughed. For it is written: God laughs at the fool who doesn't believe He exists. God bless you folks.