#its like reign fashion choices but just for the one indian main character

[dustjacketmusings]

Simone Ashley continues to be one of the most stunning women on the planet but what the fuck are they dressing her in

[qupritsuvwix]

An atheistic perspective on the entertainment value of religion.

Pokemon, Dragon Ball, the Marvel Universe, the DC universe, the Potterverse, Disney Fairy Tales, the Supernatural, Wynona Earp and various witch programs, from Charmed and the Buffyverse to Bewitched and I Dream of Genie, as well as Nanny and the Professor, Preacher, Sabrina, and the X Files, all have aspects of their plot and world view that are based on actual religious hopes and fears that guide people’s behavior around the globe. Some of these shows are so eclectic in their purview that they come close to desecrating every legend and nightmare that they possibly can, while others stick to one basic theme and beat it to death.

As an atheist, I find it slightly irritating that the main objectors to this reign of superstitious silliness has usually been the fringe elements of the major religions, bemoaning the spiritually dumbing down and corruption of our youth. There have been academics and philosophers who have wondered what the benefits are of providing white-washed and cartoonish versions of indigenous and “foreign” cultures that really and truly are just racist scaremongering left over from the yellow peril and immigrant discrimination years. My main objection to fiction and fantasy that involves magic and faith and myth and the struggle between good and evil is that you cannot watch it for long without actually thinking that there might be something to it. Flip a coin or consult the I Ching or the Urrum and the Thummin, the element of Luck and the duality of existence are never very far from your thoughts. Maybe we do have the President God wants us to. Maybe your soul mate really is waiting for you!

You can watch westerns and learn that there were some Good Indians. This is just like the Yeshuistas doctrine about the Good Samaritan. In order for you to be happy about a Good one, you have to be convinced that the usual pack is full of Bad ones! The concept of False Idols strongly suggests that there are Real ones. You can watch cop shows and learn that there are straight cops, bent ones and crooked ones. Police procedurals and detective shows suggest that the truly competent investigator knows something that the comparatively incompetent investigator doesn��t, making them slightly messianic, which brings us to superheroes like Buffy and Superman, and Wonder Woman, and Thor and and and. I don’t include Batman because he is not supernatural, he’s just too stupid to quit.

Superheroes are needlessly messianic because despite their marvelous powers, they are not bringing about a better world, a world without sin. They are too busy punching things and fighting aliens and each other. But the idea that you can have power without consequences influences the Watchmen and Sin City and the various Spiderman story lines as well as the Marvel escapades with Doc Strange, Thor again and Tony and his tin can. The whole X Men story line involves god-like creatures with the mental maturity of Teenagers. Deadpool and the Hulk are stuck in pre-pubescence! Doc Savage, The Phantom, Tarzan, Conan, and Batman are all products of superior breeding, the very pinnacle of viril white perfection and thus immediately superior mentally, spiritually and physically to all other racial stereotypes.

Anime and Manga are particularly problematic because they come from a religious culture that not that long ago supported an attempt at totalitarian domination of one quarter of the globe! There are religious aspects to martial arts programs and movies. You can’t chase vampires without waving a cross at them. You can’t fight zombies without wondering what went wrong with the whole go toward the light scenario. The same thing with the Ghost Whisperer or Touched By An Angel or Highway to Heaven. All of these shows are filled with cultural expectations, disappointments, second chances, punishments, betrayals and piles of good old fashioned healing.

Healing is a real problem. It’s always a miracle brought about by personal sacrifice, a completed quest, a magic spell, an amulet, prayer, special pleading or just overwhelming good luck! The miracle of television and the cinema bring you the special effect of healing. People and animals come back from the dead, grow new limbs, gain new bodies, become better than new, with the exception of daredevil, whose magic and messianic friends decided he was better off blind... Energy is neither created nor destroyed and these wonderful powerful characters are always sucking energy from somewhere and plopping it down somewhere else with no apparent drain on themselves or the environment. Never mind the fact the fact that the gymnastic or orgiastic exertions of some of these clowns could solve the world’s energy problems if they were wired up properly...

Religion in all its forms is a burden on the human psyche. If you let your children watch “children’s programs” or childish fantasies without watching them critically yourself, then you do your family and community a great disservice. Be careful about the books they read, too. There is a whole pile of Young Adult fare out there that is actually cultural propaganda. Always be willing to answer questions and do a little research. Remember that the Mormons and the Scientologists as well as the evangelicals have invested heavily in fiction published with their particular fantasies as the foundation for adventures. And never forget The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Gulliver’s Travels and Pilgrim’s Progress.

Remember that we probably wouldn’t have had Gilligan’s Island, Battlestar Galatica and Space 1999 without the biblical exodus myth, that there is no Hulk, Swamp Thing or evil mummies without the Jewish Golem. Supernatural is so Greek they should be wearing togas (yeah, I know, but it sounds good). X Files is Sherlock Holmes just like Law and Order: Criminal Intent, which brings us back to the Messiah, who knew who was naughty and who was nice and didn’t have to check anything twice.

All this noise has been made to point out the obvious. We don’t mistrust just one form of religion or superstition or cultural myth, we critically reject all of them as being harmful to thought, reason, personal freedom and creativity. So think about everything you watch or read, even be wary of what you listen to. Superstition permeates everything from burger ads to fashion choices. None of it is completely harmless, not even Veggie Tales.