The Story of God
National Geographic Series
Morgan Freeman, narrator
Three DVDs
Several reasons moved me to get this set from the library. One was that I've always been fascinated by the subject of comparative religion. I think it's an excellent demonstration of humanity's creativity and imagination. The second reason was that I was curious about National Geographics' handling of the subject. I was hoping that they would go beyond the major religions and look at some of the lesser-known ones, and I wasn't disappointed. The third was that Morgan Freeman is one of my favorite actors, and I was looking forward to him as the narrator, and I wasn't disappointed there either.
The format is very straightforward: each segment is devoted to a specific issue or topic, ones that are common to most religions, and then four or five examples of the ways in which this topic is treated by various religious or cultural groups.
THE TOPICS:
The Afterlife
The Apocalypse (the end of days)
The Ways Several Religions View their God(s).
The Problem of Evil
Miracles
Creation
The Chosen One
Heaven and Hell
Proof for God's existence.
Along with the five largest religions--Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism--other religions are covered, to a lesser extent of course: Navajo, Australian Aborigine, Taoism, Maya, Zoroastrianism, Yoruba, Cherokee, and the Sikh. Scientific evidence is also introduced where appropriate.
This is not an extensive or in-depth study of the issues or topics. What are presented are the significant elements for each topic as perceived by four or five religious groups. In my view, it is an excellent overview of the topic and the various religious expressions or perceptions of that topic. It also provides information about the lesser known religions and is an starting point for further research if you find a particular topic or religion interesting.
I had been aware of the Zoroastrian religion for some time, but I knew knew little about them. I
thought they had disappeared, but according to the film, there are still groups in existence in Iran, India, and a small group in Southern California. So, on my Futures List, is a note to do some looking around for Zoroastrianism.
What I find fascinating in this subject is the distinction between the questions and the answers. The questions--where did the universe come from? where did I come from and where am I going? why am I here? is there a plan or a purpose to all of this or is it chance?--are what Aldous Huxley calls the perennial questions. They've been around for thousands of years and are common to all humanity, not just the property of one or two groups. It's almost as if they are hardwired into the human brain.
On the other hand, the answers vary widely and wildly from group to group--a marvelous example of human creativity and imagination--the diversity of human perspective. One simple example: the Creation stories range from one god creating the universe out of nothing to the existence of blind, unknowing chaos out of which the gods emerge who then create the universe and its inhabitants. And not to be ignored is science's big bang theory. The universe is a marvelous place, however it got here.
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Showing posts with label National Geographic film. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National Geographic film. Show all posts
Friday, December 22, 2017
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Three Films
KWAIDAN:
Kwaidan is a Japanese film with subtitles directed by Masaki Kobayashi. The title comes from a collection of short Japanese tales translated by Lafcadio Hearn . The film includes four stories from the book. The photography is beautiful and the colors vibrant, and it is hard to believe the film came out in 1965. It must have been reworked to bring back the original colors.
The four tales include the following:
A woodcutter's life is spared by the Snow Woman who killed his comrade on condition that he never speak of what happened to anyone at any time. However, humans being human . . .
Hoichi is a young, blind Buddhist monk who is also talented musician and singer. One night a man comes to guiide him to the court of a noble who wishes him to sing about the last great battle his clan lost to the Genji. Since he is blind, he doesn't know who comprises his audience. His attempt at freedom, aided by his fellow monks, costs him dearly.
A samurai leaves his wife to marry a rich woman in order to escape their poverty and his insignificance. Over the years, he learns that this was a bad decision. Finally he leaves his rich wife and his comfortable position with her father and returns to his former wife. Unfortunately he learns that not only one can't go back, but that it is far better that one never even tries.
A samurai upon pouring himself a bowl of tea discovers a strange face inside the bowl staring out at him. Each time he empties the bowl without drinking it, the face becomes clearer and more ominous. Finally he drinks the tea in spite of the face--a very poor decision. Unfortunately, the reader never finds out what eventually happens to the samurai because every time a writer attempts to finish the story, he or she disappears, leaving it unfinished. What would happen if someone tried to adapt this tale for film?
If there's a moral to the stories, it is that it doesn't pay to get involved with spirits and demons.
POLAR EXPLORATIONS
The film is a collaboration, a fruitful one, between the Teaching Company and the National Geographic Society was first shown in 2015. The lecturers are obviously knowledgeable, which is what I would expect of a Teaching Company production, and the photography is stunning, again something I would expect from National Geographic.
It is a boxed set, which I got from the local library, consisting of 4 DVDs, each DVD with six 30 minute lectures. The first set of lectures focuses on the various expeditions to the North and South Poles, the men who went on them and the many who did not return. Subsequent lectures then centured on the geology, the geography, the climate, and the inhabitants of both regions, along with commentary on the present situation at the Poles, which has been declared off-limits to resource development and territorial claims by countries.
The last set detailed the changes now taking place at the Poles. In 2014, aerial photography disclosed a large crack in the Larson C ice shelf. The lecturer discussed the possibility that the shelf might actually break from from the continent. Several weeks after I viewed the DVDs, I read that the Larson C ice shelf had broken away from Antarctica.
A WALK IN THE WOODS:
A Walk in the Woods is based on the book by Bill Bryson about his walk with a friend along the Appalachian Trail, a marked trail that stretches through the Appalachian Mountains some 2200 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine.
It is really a buddy film as Bryson is joined by Stepen Katz, a longtime friend he hasn't seen or talked to in many years. The film is not a travelogue, and those viewing it for the scenery will be disappointed. While there are some shots of scenery, the real focus is on the reconnecting between the two friends, Bil Bryson played by Robert Redford and Nick Nolte as Stephen Katz. Actually that was my reason for watching the film; I wanted to see Redford and Nolte for I just couldn't picture them together in a film. It turned out to be a great pairing.
Kwaidan is a Japanese film with subtitles directed by Masaki Kobayashi. The title comes from a collection of short Japanese tales translated by Lafcadio Hearn . The film includes four stories from the book. The photography is beautiful and the colors vibrant, and it is hard to believe the film came out in 1965. It must have been reworked to bring back the original colors.
The four tales include the following:
A woodcutter's life is spared by the Snow Woman who killed his comrade on condition that he never speak of what happened to anyone at any time. However, humans being human . . .
Hoichi is a young, blind Buddhist monk who is also talented musician and singer. One night a man comes to guiide him to the court of a noble who wishes him to sing about the last great battle his clan lost to the Genji. Since he is blind, he doesn't know who comprises his audience. His attempt at freedom, aided by his fellow monks, costs him dearly.
A samurai leaves his wife to marry a rich woman in order to escape their poverty and his insignificance. Over the years, he learns that this was a bad decision. Finally he leaves his rich wife and his comfortable position with her father and returns to his former wife. Unfortunately he learns that not only one can't go back, but that it is far better that one never even tries.
A samurai upon pouring himself a bowl of tea discovers a strange face inside the bowl staring out at him. Each time he empties the bowl without drinking it, the face becomes clearer and more ominous. Finally he drinks the tea in spite of the face--a very poor decision. Unfortunately, the reader never finds out what eventually happens to the samurai because every time a writer attempts to finish the story, he or she disappears, leaving it unfinished. What would happen if someone tried to adapt this tale for film?
If there's a moral to the stories, it is that it doesn't pay to get involved with spirits and demons.
POLAR EXPLORATIONS
The film is a collaboration, a fruitful one, between the Teaching Company and the National Geographic Society was first shown in 2015. The lecturers are obviously knowledgeable, which is what I would expect of a Teaching Company production, and the photography is stunning, again something I would expect from National Geographic.
It is a boxed set, which I got from the local library, consisting of 4 DVDs, each DVD with six 30 minute lectures. The first set of lectures focuses on the various expeditions to the North and South Poles, the men who went on them and the many who did not return. Subsequent lectures then centured on the geology, the geography, the climate, and the inhabitants of both regions, along with commentary on the present situation at the Poles, which has been declared off-limits to resource development and territorial claims by countries.
The last set detailed the changes now taking place at the Poles. In 2014, aerial photography disclosed a large crack in the Larson C ice shelf. The lecturer discussed the possibility that the shelf might actually break from from the continent. Several weeks after I viewed the DVDs, I read that the Larson C ice shelf had broken away from Antarctica.
A WALK IN THE WOODS:
A Walk in the Woods is based on the book by Bill Bryson about his walk with a friend along the Appalachian Trail, a marked trail that stretches through the Appalachian Mountains some 2200 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine.
It is really a buddy film as Bryson is joined by Stepen Katz, a longtime friend he hasn't seen or talked to in many years. The film is not a travelogue, and those viewing it for the scenery will be disappointed. While there are some shots of scenery, the real focus is on the reconnecting between the two friends, Bil Bryson played by Robert Redford and Nick Nolte as Stephen Katz. Actually that was my reason for watching the film; I wanted to see Redford and Nolte for I just couldn't picture them together in a film. It turned out to be a great pairing.
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