Article by Marc Aupiais
Slumdog Millionaire, undoubtedly is famous, based on Q&A, a book written either by the "RSA" (South African) ambassador to India, or more likely by their Ambassador to us, if I remember correctly. Danny Boyle, a British Director of films, made this film, and it has created a storm globally.
Ignored is the derogatory term of the title, and the glorification of poverty, ignored, also: is a history, which Danny Boyle has in film. Especially ignoring this: "L'Osservatore Romano", the Vatican's semi-official, though somewhat independent paper. Also ignoring it: H20News, with this headline:
"Vatican applause for Slumdog Millionaire Oscar"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3k_YScVTEc
As though Vatican referred to independent Journalists based there:
And this article:
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h2onews
February 27, 2009
(less info)
L'Osservatore Romano has commended the granting of an Oscar award to Slumdog Millionaire for best motion picture of the year. The film is interesting and exemplary, artistic and productive, wrote journalist Luca Pellegrini in the Vaticans daily newspaper.The night of the Academy Awards gave prominence to Mumbai, highlighting the Indian city's coexistent and contradictory signs of hope and despair.According to Pellegrini, the plot embodies feelings and truth with which everyone can easily identify. The multi-award winning mp4ie tells the story of a Mumbai teenager who participates in a television game show that could make him a millionaire--a game where the questions recall situations from his own personal history.The director, Danny Boyle, was a student of a Salesian school in Bolton, England. A theatre enthusiast in his youth, Boyle also pondered the possibility of becoming a priest.
Category: News & Politics
Tags: Cinema Oscar Awards Slumdog Millionaire "
(H20News (catholic; Independent; Global; Article has much to be desired) 27 / 02 / 2009)
Anything been ignored:
What mainstream Catholic media review has turned a blind eye to: is that Danny Boyle's nearly becoming a priest, is sidelined by the fact, that the Boston Globe: says he has abandoned the Catholic faith: and that... wait for this, as I have seen this movie: his movie: "Millions" about a boy who thinks he talks with saints: calls Jesus' miracle of the loaves of bread: a miracle in a social context, whereby everyone secretly had bread and shared it; rather than eating Jesus' bread: the movie ignores the twelve baskets left over, and seems to have fun with boys looking at underwear models online, and to promote dangerous behaviors for children.
Millions also seems to promote smoking and other behaviors, with at least one "saint" puffing away!
So, what does mainstream catholic reviews say about "Millions", it has saints, let's sing its praises?
Simply because someone once considered the church, does not make the "ours", whatever that could mean. I also know of plenty of priests, who are worse than many laymen, and non-catholics, when it comes to important Catholic morality and beliefs. I daily encounter these in the news, and have personally verified that such reports are often accurate.
As is my integrity, I must remind Catholic Journalists, that the facts are more important. Let us wait for someone who really supports the church, before calling them ours, and for the papacy to jump at a movie, before getting readers hopes up. L'Osservatore Romano, also criticized a catholic choice, likely an official choice, by some section of the church: to criticize the Beatles, that does not mean that the Vatican has revoked anything. Truly, some journalists, might need to find a day job.
This joy experienced by H20News, and L'Osservatore Romano's "Luca Pellegrini", is only outnumbered by other media mistakes, within our circles of Catholic media: from the lifting of the excommunication of a holocaust denier, without thinking of noting that that does not make him a Catholic bishop, or reading swiss news, to Vatican Radio: quoting the Southern Cross, a paper antagonistic to the Vatican: to tell the world about the South African Situation: when they seemingly baseless-ly, or at least against the choices of some other services: attack Vatican moves in their editorials.
Truly, the importance of Independent media is highlighted so strongly here, but semi-official media, no names mentioned, need to be kept accountable to the people.
So, what do the US Bishops think of "Slumdog Millionaire", or at least their media review:
"Slumdog Millionaire
Vibrant drama in which a Mumbai, India, slum dweller (Dev Patel), suspected of cheating on a television quiz show, explains to a police inspector (Irrfan Khan) how his life experiences growing up with his brother (Madhur Mittal) and his loving pursuit of a childhood friend (Freida Pinto) enabled him to answer the acerbic program host's (Anil Kapoor) questions. Director Danny Boyle's sweeping panorama of Third-World life, adapted from Vikas Swarup's novel "Q & A," though harrowing at times, is ultimately hopeful, stressing the dignity of the underprivileged and the primacy of spiritual over material values. Beating and torture, fleeting rear nudity, crime and prostitution themes, underage drinking, brief scatological humor, and occasional rough and crude language. A-III -- adults. (R) 2008"
(USCCB Movie Review (American; Catholic; Hierarchical: media review arm of the Bishops' Conference in America) __/__/__ )
In either case, I doubt that it represents the "Catholic View", or that Pope Benedict is particularially interested in its: "Beating and torture, fleeting rear nudity, crime and prostitution themes, underage drinking, brief scatological humor, and occasional rough and crude language." (USCCB Movie Review (American; Catholic; Hierarchical: media review arm of the Bishops' Conference in America) __/__/__ ): anyone else want to do reviews, or make comments of movies they are fans of!? Please find another job!
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