Author Topic: Humanist Entertainment  (Read 1014 times)

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Offline R. U. Sirius

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Humanist Entertainment
« on: May 27, 2013, 01:26:23 pm »
What are some of your favorite media that convey humanistic (not necessarily atheistic) messages? Here are some of mine:

Discworld book series by Sir Terry Pratchett: Sir Pratchett hilariously deconstructs common tropes of both fantasy and real life in almost every single book. The first book, "The Color of Magic", ends on a downer note and isn't as funny as the rest, making it feel like it was only intended to be a one-shot thing. He finds his stride with the second book, though, and they just keep getting better. Most of the books are centered somehow around the city of Ankh-Morpork, the Discworld's largest, most corrupt metropolis. Regular recurring characters include Death (starts off uncaring and cruel, but evolves into a pretty nice guy), Commander Sam Vimes of the Watch (a goodish cop in a straight-up bad world), Granny Weatherwax and her coven (witches with attitude) and Ankh-Morpork's ruler, Lord Patrician Vetinari (a strong proponent of One Man, One Vote: He is the Man, he gets the Vote). Books starring Death are the most obviously philosophical, exploring themes like what it means to be human, the meaning of justice and fairness and (often) the human need for fantasy, up to and including religion. If you have Netflix or can find them elsewhere, I also highly recommend the live-action adaptations that have been made of several of the series.

Into the Woods: This musical by Stephen Sondheim exists solely to deconstruct fairy tales and the tropes common to them. Many of its lessons are also applicable to religion, including the fact that being the "hero" of the story is no excuse for hurting people, nobody is pure evil, and if you want to live "happily ever after" you need to be willing to work for it.

The Last Temptation of Christ: I haven't read the book yet, but I highly recommend the movie adaptation. It may seem an odd choice for inclusion in the ranks of "humanist" entertainment, but I find that it presents a more compelling and relatable picture of Jesus than you find in the Bible and most adaptations. Watching Willem Dafoe's Jesus sob out his fear and anxiety in Gethsemane is a genuine tear-jerker. The only thing I didn't like about the movie was the fact that they didn't even attempt to disguise Dafoe's blond-and-blueness, which is particularly jarring since every other Jewish character in the movie actually looks Jewish. I enjoy Jesus Christ Superstar for similar reasons, as it gives Judas a motivation to betray Jesus beyond greed.

Anyone else?
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Re: Humanist Entertainment
« Reply #1 on: May 28, 2013, 06:15:36 am »
Picked up the first couple seasons of Star Trek NG and I have to say they really do lean in this direction, even if they don't outright say it very often.

Offline doomcup

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Re: Humanist Entertainment
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2013, 07:58:43 pm »
The first two seasons of Next Gen? Oh dear.

Try to tough them out if you really must, but do know that the show gets better starting at Season 3.