Humour is generally accepted as an open platform to
criticise serious topics through lighter mediums. Most people will accept
humour as a tongue-in-cheek method of portraying a point of view or ignore it
as a baseless statement made for the pure benefit of harmless fun. However when
humour tends to touch upon a nerve that may be above reproach of criticism, it
may be a problem if it isn’t dealt with in a respectful manner. Kevin Smith’s 1999
release titled Dogma is a humourous portrayal of the Christian faith and the
Catholic Church which probably sits in the league of sensitive comedies since
it may upset quite a few sensibilities.
Bethany is an abortion clinic worker who is having a crisis
of faith after issues with her infertility led to her divorce. She is looking
for a way to rekindle her joy in religion which she once felt when she was a
young girl. Elsewhere Bartleby and Loki, two fallen angels who were banished
from heaven by God, have found a loophole in Catholic dogma which will allow
them to re-enter Heaven if they pass through the gates of a church in New
Jersey which will absolve them of all their sins. Unknown to Bartleby and Loki,
they may accidentally cause the destruction of existence by entering the gates
of the church and disobeying the word of God. An angel appears to Bethany and
tasks her on a mission to find and stop Bartleby and Loki from fulfilling their
goal. The angel informs Bethany that she will be assisted by two self-proclaimed
prophets on her journey. Refusing at first, Bethany changes her stance when she
is attacked by three demons and rescued by Jay and Silent Bob, the same prophets
she was informed about previously. Embarking on the mission together, Bethany,
Jay and Silent Bob face hardships and foes along the way while meeting other
folk who help them with their journey.
Written and directed by Kevin Smith, this film takes on the
religious doctrines put forward by the most popular religion in the world, and
particularly its most widely accepted sect. The title of the film is Dogma
which itself speaks of the most popular subject the film deals with. Like most of
Smith’s other works, this film is also primarily a comedy. Smith has a
particular style with his comedy films which borders on blue humour i.e. comedy
involving topics such as sexism, racism, religion etc. This film dissects his
views on the dogmas of religion and the Catholic Church with humourous twists
and turns in the plot. Smith is also known to adopt character based comedy
which carries on in this film as well with the recurrence of his funniest characters
titled Jay and Silent Bob.
The film isn’t a laugh riot from start to finish but it is
amusing to watch Smith take on the Catholic Church and put forward his own
views through the medium of his film. Quite a few scenes provide a laugh out
loud experience. The portrayal of God as a female flower child doing handstands
is hilarious while the ease with which Silent Bob deals with the disgusting
excremental demon also calls for a chuckle. The gullibility of Jay asking for
sex in every other scene is also amusing as are the few words muttered by
Silent Bob which are anticipated throughout the course of the film. Other funny
moments in the film include the insinuation that Jesus was Black and racism
prevailed over religious text, the idea that God loves playing skee ball and occasionally
takes human form to participate in the activity and the hilarity of a cardinal
who does away with the traditional crucifix to introduce the new ‘Buddy Christ’
in the hope of bringing the new generation closer to the Church.
The film does not slander the religion it focuses on neither
does it rank any religion above or below others. It is just a funny outlook on
the state of religion at the moment and what it was initially intended to be.
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