Religion and Film 2020

The Decalogue series does a good job using film to show Midrash. This can be shown in subtle characters such as the hooded person in the beginning of the first film. He shows up only around death scenes and in a way represents god. He helps bring out the biblical meaning in ways that couldn’t be seen without visual examples. He is zoomed in on when the dad is checking the ice for sure. The dad believed the computer to be the highest source of power, going against the 1st commandant, and when he checked the ice to show he didn’t trust his “god”. It zooms in to show who he should trust and then later the ice breaks. Lastly I feel the film did a good job of staying modern and reflecting modern life. While the computer in the first movie was out dated it still showed the amazing capabilities of technology that some might believe in today. Also the second film brought forth the old concept of “an eye for an eye”. When the defendant asked why it had to be that way the old judge explained tha...

How does the film work as Midrash? The film works as Midrash, because it shows the idea of the Commandments in a way that we have been familiar with. The chapters the class saw included the following Commandments from the Christian Bible, “Though shalt not worship false idols” and “though shalt not kill.” These practices of midrash allows for the audience to take in the thoughts of the Commandments and experience the visual idea from the movies purpose of the though shalt not kill concept or idea . Do any of the visuals of the film work as symbols that bridge the gap of understanding? How? The use of the computer as a false idol was a great example for the directors    to elaborate what a false idol could possibly due do people. The computer enabled the characters in the film experiencing truth as they    were receiving a number. God is the one central forthcoming and God’s forthcoming is so grand that we could never comprehend it. The little boy character f...

How does the film work as Midrash? The film works as Midrash, because it allows for us to interpret the concept of these Commandments in a style that we already have experience with. The episodes we viewed included the Commandments; Though shalt not worship false idols and though shalt not kill. This use of midrash allows for the viewer to experience the concepts of the Commandments and learn what the images mean on their own. In the case of the episode dealing with the though shalt not kill, I was left feeling sorry for a young man who was a murderer, because I felt he was killed in an unjust way. Do any of the visuals of the film work as symbols that bridge the gap of understanding? How? The use of the computer as a false idol was an excellent way for the filmmakers to explain what a false idol would do. This computer made the characters feel that they were receiving "truth" because they were receiving a number. God is the only "truth" and His "truth...

Decalgoue is a Polish TV series that allows for deep reflection and analysis after each episode. In the first episode, a father puts all of his belief and knowledge into a computer system. His young son wishes to play on the frozen pond and the father performs a calculation to see if the ice will be able to hold his son's weight. After doing the calculation he comes to the conclusion that the ice will in fact be able to withstand the weight. Unfortunately and to his son's detriment, the ice does give out and the boy falls through and drowns. The father can't understand where he went wrong because the calculation was accurate. However, his problem is just that. He is only concerned with the numbers he plugged in and why it failed to prove true. Even before his son asked him what it meant to die. The father responded emotionless and bluntly that it was when your heart stopped beating and life left your body. The father lived in the prfoane and very rarely lets any elements of...

      In the first episode of Decalgoue the father puts all of his eggs into one basket which in this case is a computer. His son, probably around the age of 10-years-old, asks the dad to play on a frozen over pond. The dad then does this whole mathematical equation to figure out if his son would fall through. He finishes his calculation and tells his son he will be able to play on the pond. These “calculations” ended up being very wrong, the boy falls through and drowns in the pond. The father seems to be way to caught up in the numbers side of things that he doesn’t really use his common knowledge and common sense in general. The father lived in the profane and very rarely lets any elements of biblical text or Gods enter his life. It was interesting how the father thought of death as this very bland tasteless thing, he told his son death was simply when your heart stops and life leaves your body. While this is true it is just a very scientific way and heartless wa...

              Midrash is defined as an “underlying significance” or “a method of interpretation”.   It originates from Jewish text, as the text leaves many things up to interpretation of the reader.   The series “the Dekalogue” is ten-part series, where each episode investigates each of the commandments.   The first episode follows the story of a father, who is breaking the first commandment:             “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me .” The father is breaking this commandment as he is putting his faith entirely in technology.   His computer, his measurement methods of the ice… he has full faith that technological certainty can outweigh any sort of external variable.   In short, he believes that things are not out of our control, th...

Decalogue is a ten episode Polish series about the ten commandments and is done in a way that it is not immediately recognized as having religious context. The first episode primarily follows a young boy named Pavel and his father, and relates the first commandment which is "thou shall have no other god before me". In the beginning of the episode, Pavel asks both his father and aunt about death and the meaning of life after seeing a dead dog. His father tells him that there is no soul; people live on in memories, whereas the aunt believes there is a soul. Pavel and his father both have a shared interest in computers and mathematical formulas, and this can be interpreted as the father's god. He put his faith into the computer when calculating the strength of the ice on the lake, for example. When he is told that the ice broke, he does not believe that it is possible. There is Midrash that evokes feeling in the viewer as we see the emotional reactions to Pavel's death ...