[lbo-talk] Dogville: God Doesn't Bless America

Yoshie Furuhashi furuhashi.1 at osu.edu
Fri Jun 25 10:07:36 PDT 2004



>But as a critique of Christianity and his meek sacrifice on the
>cross, it's brilliant and thought-provoking, especially in a time of
>the Last Passion of the Christ.
>
>I was stunned at how few reviewers discussed the clear allegory of
>the Kidman character as Christ, how at first she goes along
>passively with all the abuse she gets, including HAVING TO DRAG A
>LARGE OBJECT AROUND, and then is ready to forgive them all when her
>"Father" shows up to rescue her, but instead reconsiders it and
>takes revenge.
>
>Which considering the whole Rapture and destruction of unbelievers
>sentiment in much of modern fundamentalism, it's an interesting
>chord to hit.
>
>Nathan

This being a presidential election year, I'm happy to find something on which I agree with Nathan: Lars von Trier is not a realist but an allegorist.

The message of Dogville (Dir. Lars von Trier, 2003) is simple and stark: God Doesn't Bless America.

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matt. 25:31-46)

Lars von Trier has been occasionally criticized as misogynist, given his predilection for the spectacle of female suffering: the Emily Watson character in Breaking the Waves, the Björk character in Dancer in the Dark. Nicole Kidman, being a bigger star than Watson and Björk, manages to appear untouched by the degradations inflicted upon her character, which is in keeping with her character's allegorical role.

<http://montages.blogspot.com/2004/06/message-of-dogville-dir.html> -- Yoshie

* Critical Montages: <http://montages.blogspot.com/> * Bring Them Home Now! <http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/> * Calendars of Events in Columbus: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/calendar.html>, <http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php>, & <http://www.cpanews.org/> * Student International Forum: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/> * Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio> * Solidarity: <http://www.solidarity-us.org/>



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