Catholic Church criticizes ‘Avatar’
Comments
by Courtney Bellio on January 28, 2010 at 12:01 am under Opinion
I wish the Catholic Church would just shut up. It seems as if every week, the pope or some other supposedly important Catholic figure is grabbing international headlines as he or she dishes out criticism. Church officials have something to say about everything, even if that something has nothing to do with religion. Frankly, I’m fed up with their whining. Is there anything that doesn’t offend the Catholic Church?
The church’s most recent target is James Cameron’s movie, Avatar. Many Vatican officials have criticized the film for, as the New York Times puts it, “flirting with the idea that worship of nature can replace religion.” When I hear criticism like this, I just want to punch the pope in the face.
I think most Avatar-goers would agree with me when I say I didn’t have an overwhelming desire to confess my sins at the base of a mighty oak tree after walking out of the theater. Nature worship isn’t the message you take away from the movie. But even if that was the message, who are the church officials to tell people what or who they can worship?
Catholicism is not the only form of worship, and the Catholics need to get over themselves and recognize that. The pope doesn’t reign supreme over humans, free to critique and question as he pleases until the world meets his standards. Contrary to what he might believe, his religion isn’t the center of the universe.
This behavior makes it clear how out-of-touch with the world the Catholic Church is becoming.
The pope is so starved for attention that he has weaseled his way into pop culture and is determined to find subliminal messages in every expression of thought. He should really stick to talking about Catholicism. Commenting on something that does not pertain to his realm of authority whatsoever doesn’t make him more powerful or make more people want to obey his every command. It just shows the world what an egocentric idiot he is.
Furthermore, the church has absolutely no room to go around criticizing the rest of society when it has multiple scandals of its own with which to concern itself. Do allegations involving Catholic priests molesting little kids ring any bells? I think rape trumps nature worship.
The Catholic Church is struggling, and I am loving every minute of it. It serves them right for sticking their noses where they don’t belong and for upsetting people who did absolutely nothing to them. If James Cameron had flat-out said his movie was a direct attack on Catholicism, then it would be appropriate for the pope to comment. But all he did was make a movie for the sake of entertainment. No wonder Catholics have such a bad reputation.
22 Comments
Well, the Vatican does seem to have some PR problems, but the church also includes the People of God, i.e. all of us Catholics. And all of us Catholics have different opinions on culture (though most seem to look for meaning rather than just seeing something as simply entertainment). For instance, here’s a take on Avatar from U.S. Catholic magazine: http://www.uscatholic.org/culture/art-and-reviews/movie-reviews/2010/01/fighting-blue-sad-tale-avatar. Patrick McCormick takes it as a morality tale reflecting on our times, with no mention of nature worship.
You are right–the Catholic Church doesnt have a right to speak to everyone, as if the Pope were king of the world. He does however have the right–and should–speak to his people, the Catholics of the world. It is up to them whether to listen or not. Re Avatar, he didnt say it absolutely could be taken this way–it just “flirts.” That could be challenging for people who are confused about where to find God. Why dont you just let Catholics be Catholics and not worry about it. Or are you wondering deep in your heart what the Catholic Faith is all about and are concerned you may be missing out on something that is most important to your life? Not saying this is so, but it could be. Good luck to you. I hope you mature and realize that most people leave rebellion behind shortly after adolescence. I think wearing it as a badge of honor when you are older looks pretty silly to serious adults.
Megan,
You are right on! Courtney, you have a serious issue here. Assuming that you are not Catholic or believe in Catholicism, why all the anger? If you do not like what you hear, turn off the t.v./radio or put down the newspaper. The Catholic Church has every “right” in the world to voice, just as you have every “right” to desent, but it can be done without all of the anger and bitterness.
I find some of the terminology and tone in this article to be down right offensive not to mention disrespectful. To the Catholics, the Pope is God’s representative on earth and part of his job is to guide Catholics in their every day lives. To say things like “I just want to punch the pope in the face. ” shows a level of bigotry that rivals that of the church itself. You and your editors should be ashamed that this is how you make your point. I respect the opinion expressed in this article but the way in which it was stated is rude, unprofessional and certainly not befitting the ideal journalists should hold themselves to.
As the Catholic priest for the NAU campus, I affirm Courtney’s right and freedom to share her thoughts and critiques publicly. The sharing of opinions and critique of ideas in the public square is what makes our nation great and aids in the pursuit of truth.
Next, I wouldn’t be surprised if the pope had not even seen Avatar. The Vatican newspaper and radio are the ones who offered comments regarding the film. Most media outlets offer reviews of culture and the arts (including the Lumberjack). The Vatican media outlets have done this in the past and chose to do it in this case because of the popularity of the film and because they saw something pertaining to faith and morals present. Interestingly, rather than being anti-environment, one of the current pope’s nicknames is “the green pope” because of his frequent comments regarding the protection of the environment. While their reviews of the film contained critiques (as so many reviews of Avatar have), they also included positive comments about the film‘s “extraordinary visual impact.”
In regards to the ad hominem attacks of the article, those are hurtful, and never acceptable or helpful in professional media coverage or public debate.
In summary, the very thing that Courtney holds as most important: being able to express her opinion, is the very thing she criticizes another for doing. If suddenly one person’s opinion is not valid anymore, who gets to decide which opinion is dismissed?
This commentary on what the Pope has to say is one of the most narrow minded pieces of garbage I have read in my life. The pope is speaking to the Catholic people, not to say the movie is crap, but to remind them of the life they are to lead and not to get lost in a fantastical world. If you don’t like what the pope is saying maybe you shouldn’t pay attention to him! The fact that you bring up priests molesting children is of course a low blow. People make mistakes, and screw up all the time. A physician doesn’t go around helping healthy people, they cure the sick. As does, not only the Catholic Religion, but other religions around the world and they aid in the irradiation of evil and aid in giving people hope to live a good life. Its hard to say that the Catholic Church is out-of-toch with the world when it has been around for over 2000 years. I recommend doing some research before making a broad ethnocentric statement. I pray that you may come to understand what I do someday. Sometimes you need to take a different perspective, not only your own.
I’d also like to add that over 1/3 of the population of the world is Catholic, so for them to be out of touch with the world is quite contradictory.
1/3 of the population CLAIMS to be Catholic, but in actuality most do not practice it. Also, dont use the fact that they have bee around for 2000 years as a way of saying they arent out of touch, because they could still think like they did 2000 years ago. They are simply out of touch with the rest of the world. While most of the civilized world is moving towards gay marraige they are still claiming in to be a sin. While most people are having sex before marraige this is still forbidden within the catholic church. They are out of touch no matter how you look at it. All you catholics are so pissed off because she said some stuff that is true.
Just because the rest of the world is moving towards gay marriage doesn’t mean the Church should. The pope is the leader of the Church and I trust his direction better than what is considered “the rest of the world”. I am finished with this argument, and pray that someday the writer of this article and you will realize what the Catholic Church truly is. God Bless
Thank you, Atheist, you made the Christian point for us! Christians will ALWAYS be “out of touch with the rest of the world”. You may not know this, but you just quoted Jesus Christ Himself! You are exactly right on another point, in that there are many Catholics who do not practice their faith. They say they are Catholic because they were baptized Catholic…point being….Nancy Pelosi. It is not acceptable to “say” that you are Catholic if you do not follow the Doctrines of the Catholic Church
Ms Courtney Bellio,
I appreciate your opinion on the Catholic Church. I also love your name Simply Rebellious (I see myself as a Southern Rebel myself), however, you are more defiant of the facts of the Catholic Church, then the Church itself.
Your writings on The New York Times’ comment about The Pope’s (spelled with an upper case P, like The President) recent comment that they took out of context, about the movie Avatar is flabbergasting. And was never actually said by the Pope.
Your feelings are understood, but one small fact you and NYT have over looked is the Church’s view that Individualism and the individuals conscious are of higher importance than the teachings of the Church. The Church never claims to have power over people’s actions. Therefore, the Church never tries to legislate through the State, such as other Christians (Protestants) have through American’s history to force people from doing as they freely wish.
With that said, in order for followers of the Catholic Church to understand, The Pope or a Priest or the Catholic Church’s media has to bring subjects up so those that follow the Catholic Religion understand the stance of the Catholic Church when it comes to morals and faith.
Now, looking in the context I have provided for you, you can understand why the Vatican media commented on Avatar they were not trying to control people, they were merely responding to thoughts on the movie, and particularly to those people that care how the Catholic Church finds it is moral to live.
Who cares if the Catholic church is out of touch with non-catholics? The church has every right and responsibility to maintain their stances on gay marriage and premarital sex. No one is forced to be a Catholic, or feel as the Catholics do. And I think it has already been well pointed out that the issue here is not the side taken in this article but the way in which it was voiced.
As for the Church “claiming” gay marriage to be a sin and continuing to forbid premarital sex, it is no the job of the Church to bend its morals to fit that of the masses. Religion is not a popularity contest, the Vatican and its decrees are meant to instruct Catholics how to live their lives and should a Catholic disagree, well, they are free to do so and live however they want to. But in the eyes of Catholics it is the Vaticans job to dictate the laws and morals of the Church. How can anyone criticize them for doing just that?
I will say once again though, that the controversy about this article does not at all come from the fact that the author disagrees with what the Pope has to say, rather it comes from the disrespectful ways she chose to say that.
i found your article to be written out of extreme anger and haste and turned out to be anything but quality. I am not catholic but i have faith and was very offended by your outrageous and faulty statements. Being a writer means you have to look at all aspects when you write a story, especially if you want to write in a society full of people with diverse lifestyles. And even more importantly journalism 101 get your facts right.
Having read this article, after being told about it by my atheist friend from next door, we had come to agree with much criticism that has preceded mine. I am not Catholic, but I am of another denomination of Christian faith, and when I read this I, as well as my neighbor, was offended by the lack of Journalistic Virtue.
Courtney, I think you do have a talent for writing but you must heavily consider the mistakes you made when choosing to contradict yourself with your opinion of the Catholic opinion, which is obviously not universal. I hope you maintain your ability to avoid this from here on out. While I enjoyed reading this article out of disagreement, I’d like to see an article where I could respect your opinion.
Good Luck to you Courtney.
I am a bit offended by this article and the assault therein upon the Catholic church and its members (over one billion). Your paper is overflowing with bias which as a journalist you MUST do your utmost to avoid. It is well within the rights of the church to comment on whatever it pleases, as it is yours. Whether or not you agree with this point is completely up to you; however, you should not resort to petty insults when composing a journalistic piece. Not only do you insult the pope, you also insult the members of the church by suggesting that catholics have a bad name. While admitedly there are controversies surrounding the church, it is also one of the largest charitable organisations in the world.
Best of luck with your future writing.
Are you a moron? Because you contradict yourself like 5 times. Do you want the pope to shut up or do you not? Also do you not believe the Pope or the Vatican are entitled to the same rights that allowed you to write this very poorly written Op/Ed piece?
Just curious as to why you want to dethrone the pope, but build yourself up on a mighty pedestal.
Hey Courtney,
I have to agree with Fr. Matt above. However, I’d like to add that as a journalist, it’s your responsibility to be well informed about your chosen topic. So, if you’re ever serious about learning more about the Catholic faith, come on down to the Newman Center. I feel I speak for everyone when I say we’d love to show you what we’re all about. Maybe then you’ll think twice before spouting about aspects of our religion you know little about.
God bless.
Yeah, i agree with you Courtney Bellio, The pope is really thinking too highly of himself and is criticizing everything even though, his own catholic priests are raping little children.
The pope should really start thinking about real things.. not critizing the Movie industry.
Just like any organized religion or commercial entity, they (the Catholic church) are concerned about losing clients, present and future. Avatar has resurfaced (do I dare say resurrected?) a powerful and sobering message that people are waking up to, again. If your money and attention are rerouted somewhere else like planting trees, conserving, and picking up beach garbage, well your are not filling the “passing plate” on Sunday are you? You may even find that there are social advantages to joining such a passionate cause and clicking with like minded people without the help of a church. Avatar has reached people on a global scale, not many avenues can command that. As far as NATURE vs. Vatican, NATURE being the bad guy, what is the Vatican doing being involved in state of the art astronomical observatories (owning very expensive ones around the world) and peering into space? What possible interest could they have sinking gazillions of dollars into that NATURAL pass time? As with all people, it’s circumstantial ethics, eh? They clam right up anytime they are asked about the many observatories they own.
Avatar is a great movie, one filled with many truly powerful messages. However, I think we need to remind ourselves that Pandora does not actually exist, that Jake Sully is not right now swinging through vines on a distant planet, and that this movie at its very best expresses the creative power, expression, and views of another human being on our very own planet. Powerful ideas effect people. Unfortunately not all of James Camerons ideas are in perfect accordance with the teachings of the Church, and therefore the Church must attend to its body of believers; a mass of over one billion spread across the planet.
I apologize if the Church may have up set your day, but theres a lot of us Catholics out there, and we depend upon the teachings of Christ more than the air we breath. Our faith, and the preservation of it is worth more than a movie, and the Church seeks to encourage the faithful to remain faithful to our beliefs.
the catholic church can have any view it want. the church is just saying how catholic should live their life. if you don’t believe in god or the church you don’t have to listen. no one is forcing you to listen.just because you don’t want to believe in anything and die and do nothing dosen’t mean you have to bash the church
I think the Catholic Church should focus on REAL issues like injustice, hunger, war and destruction of the environment around the world rather then focusing on irrelevant fictional shows like Avatar or Harry Potter.