Originally Posted by kctheshooter
Well, there's always room for some artistic license in movies based on true stories, so long as the script adheres to the real story and the 'ad-lib' pieces are feasible.
Hi KCtheshooter, Welcome to MoFo
This is assuming the bible is true and accurate, which some don't believe it to be. I prefer to look at the bible as an important work with important lessons/messages contained within it's stories, but I believe they are just that, stories based around metaphor. I do consider these fictional stories to be important and relevant material however. To me this means that they can take pretty much whatever artisitic license they want, as they aren't presenting the material as fact/documentary/truth. I believe this film is just someone's interpretation of the materials. I mean, I believe it is possible that many of the events in the bible took place, to some extent, but I can't accept much of the mystical aspects as truth, e.g. Christ rising from the dead. I do feel that I understand the symbolism of this event, however.
Another event in the bible I have been fascinated with recently is the Tower of Babel. I am interested in the idea of a neuro-linguistic virus. At this point in time, language was much more primitive, and the possibility that a deep structure language, or subconsciously perceived language, based more on instinct than higher thought functions, could have been manipulated in such a way, degenerated if you will, to cause a neurological breakdown of the deep core language centers (subconscious centers) causing the babel effect. I find this concept fascinating! I once read somewhere about how the Torah could have been the protective element, or anti-virus, created to preserve higher language functions.
Language tends to break down, just look at any language through time. In pretty much any example you find, you will see that the language has disolved or degraded somewhat. Language doesn't improve, on it's won, as it requires minds both to evolve and to be used at all. So, in ancient time, when language was much more primitive, there could have been a snap or break in the subconscious of man, possibly around the time our language functions were about to evolve to a somewhat higher form. OR, the babel effect could have been a malicious attack, set upon certain peoples by some malefactor with an uber-brain who understood the way these liguistic substructures worked. Before the Torah, most history and language was not recorded, with only the egyptians carving stone at the time, but even they seemed to only write war stories or what ever the current leaders wanted written. Not much, if any, history was recorded on to a material that would last. Many of the other races, if they were writing at all, were recording on materials that degraded relatively quickly, and were lost soon after.
I mean that is so thought provoking! The Jewish people, who up until that point, had been extremely secretive about history and language, suddenly found these concepts, which were the core of their people, under some threat of degredation. They had to come up with a way to preserve the integrity of their past, and all the knowledge and lessons they had, so they created the torah. Keeping in mind that at the time, language wasn't anywhere near as literal is it is today, the metaphor concept really starts make sense to me. Hence my leaning towards the belief that these concepts are extremely important, ancient, and relevant, but should not be taken completely literally.
It is also entirely possible (although highly unplausible in my mind) that a diety caused the bable effect, as the bible states.
Yikes! I am way off topic and for that I apologize, but this stuff is so interesting and I enjoy getting the views of religious folk, to gain a different angle on stuff like this.
_S