A Good Idea

A Good Idea

I have lost my faith. At times I even call myself an atheist. I do not believe in god and have not since just recently. My mother was a kind, strong willed, caring individual. She also had cancer. My mother became a symbol of fighting this disease because she fought off six reoccurrences in eight years. God decided she should die. If there was a “God” then why would he let someone who was an inspiration to so many, leave us? I just do not understand.

This movie however was able to reach that little part of me that still wonders if there is a being out there that watches us all. Writer/director Kevin Smith accomplishes this by doing away with all the religious jargon and approaches it in a whole new way in his latest comedy Dogma. This work of comedic genius follows Bethany, a Planned Parenthood employee who has lost all faith in god, on her holy crusade to save the world from being blinked out of existence in of all places, New Jersey. Smith takes a new approach to an old subject with Dogma. His ability to transform ideas into scripts and plotlines makes him one of the most brilliant and artistic writer/directors of his generation.

Smith takes the religion of Christianity and explains it in ways that seem to bring it to life. Jesus is no longer just a character in a bible story; he appears to us as man who suddenly carries the weight of the world on his back. The holy icon is given friends, personality, and even a sense of humor. Smith is able to accomplish all of this without actually presenting Jesus as a character. The main idea of this movie is presented in a scene that unfolds in a strip joint of all places. Serendipity, a muse, explains to Bethany the explicit argument of the movie:

I have issues with anyone that treats God like a burden instead of a blessing like some Catholics. You people don’t celebrate your faith, your morn it. It's not about who's right or wrong. No denomination's nailed it yet, because they're all too self-righteous to realize that it doesn't matter what you faith in, just that you have faith. Your hearts are in the right place, but your brains gotta wake up.

This statement encompasses everything Smith wanted to say. I happen to agree with him.

Smith has written three other movies, all aimed at teens and the graduates of “Generation X.” This movie however, he aimed at anyone who ever had a second thought about religion. He clearly states that this movie is not just