A daring comedy that explores the blurry line between religion and ridiculous
By Jeffrey Yu
For anyone who had seen “BORAT” and loved it, you might recall why the movie appealed to you. The director Larry Charles pushed the boundaries of what is socially acceptable by challenging racial stereotypes and the norms with what could be considered “rude” jokes. This time, Larry Charles is back and he has help from a Bill Maher, a comedian, to create a movie documentary that pushes the boundaries even further.
Charles and Maher travel around the world interviewing people from all walks of life to present a side of religion that is so ridiculous that no words can describe the absurdity other than “Religulous”.
“Religulous” appears to follow the format of Ben Stein’s movie “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” where Stein travels the world to talk to proponents of evolution to discuss the conflict between Creationism and Evolution. Bill Maher, in the same way, travels to various religious sites and houses of worship to discuss the faith of believers while making humorous comments that are in spirit of the director’s previous movie “BORAT”.
One such instance is when Maher comments on the concept of a resurrected deity as a “zombie” which in context certainly fits the description. During his interviews, Maher would ask a series of questions which are intended to show inconsistency in the targeted system of faith. Some of the interviewees find themselves revealing their true nature in light of the questions. One such person was Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas. During that segment on Evolution, Maher stated that he does not trust anyone running the government who “believes in a talking snake” to which Pryor responds, “you don’t need to pass an IQ test to be in the Senate though … ”
However, like “Expelled,” “Religulous” has received criticism regarding the accuracy of the information provided and the methods used during the interviews. During one segment of the movie, Maher compared the story of Jesus with that of other classical deities with similar birth stories like Mithra of Zoroastrianism, Horus of Egypt, and Krishna of Hinduism. Some critics claim that the comparisons are faulty such as how Horus’s birth from a Virgin is still questionable.
Other objections were made because the people interviewed feared that some of the blunders they made in the movie would have grave implications on their careers; this is especially true with those who are leaders of worship centers. But one must remember that this film isn’t about just one religion, it is about every religion so it is almost important to be mindful of the situation. It is important to learn not only laughing at others, but also being able to laugh at yourself.
For more information, please check out
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religulous or www.religulousmovie.net
