Inadvertant comedic truth
The latest film to fall foul of exaggerated religious sensitivities is Mike Myers’ latest comedy, The Love Guru which has become the target of a petition, even othough none of the people objecting to it have actually seen it.
Even though both Myers’ and Paramount Pictures, who produced the film, have pointed out that religion portrayed in the film is purely fictional.
Mike Myers himself has described the religion he lampoons as a “mythical creation - it’s like the Force in Star Wars”.
I can’t help but wonder whether Myers has accidentally identified the real sensitivity behind this premature outcry: that deep down the religious know as well as the rest of us that all religions are as fictional as the Force in Star Wars.
According to Bhavna Shinde of the Sanatan Society in the US: “They should draw a line when it comes to people’s faith.”
They shouldn’t, of course, especially when the faith in question is more made up than most. Or should we expect to see Christians complaining about being lampooned in Cthulhu?
Wednesday 18 Jun 2008 | Paul | Censorship and Freedom of Speech, New and Upcoming Films, Religion
