Movies - Dogma

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Dogma is a 1999 comedy film, written and directed by Kevin Smith, who stars in the film along with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, George Carlin, Janeane Garofalo, and Alanis Morissette.

Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson, the stars of Smith's debut film Clerks.
, have cameo roles, as do Smith regulars Walt Flanagan and Brian Johnson.

The comic portrayal of the Catholic Church throughout the film caused organized protests and much controversy in many countries, which resulted in long delays in releasing it and also a death threat against Smith (who is himself a practicing Catholic).

Aside from some scenes filmed on the New Jersey coast, most of the film was filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The film was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay as well as a Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America honor for Best Screenplay.

This film was rated R by the MPAA "for strong language including sex-related dialogue, violence, crude humor and some drug content".

Plot synopsis

Two fallen angels – Bartleby (Affleck), who is a Grigori, and Loki (Damon), who was the Angel of Death – were banished by God to spend all eternity in Wisconsin as punishment after getting drunk, refusing to continue as the Angel of Death, and insulting God. Azrael (Lee), a demon (and fallen muse) with a hidden agenda, secretly sends the duo a newspaper article about a church in New Jersey, where a Cardinal (Carlin) has declared a blanket amnesty (in the form of a plenary indulgence) and initiated a contemporary Catholic image campaign in celebration of the centennial anniversary of his church. This would allow them to return to heaven, but since amnesty for these fallen angels would necessarily constitute overruling the word of God (Morissette, in a cameo role), the result would be not just the end of the world, but the annihilation of all creation.

The angel Metatron (Rickman), the Voice of God, appears to abortion clinic worker Bethany (Fiorentino) and tells her she is the Last Scion, the only living descendant of Mary and Joseph thus the only living relative of Jesus Christ, and gives her the job of stopping them. She is aided by Rufus (Rock), the thirteenth apostle who was left out of the Bible because he was black; Serendipity (Hayek), a muse; and the "prophets" Jay and Silent Bob (Mewes and Smith).

The major theme of the film is about modern people regaining their faith in God, and the danger in faith (an idea) being confused with dogma (a belief). The film also is critical of the usage of faith to justify greed, war, racism, and homophobia. It also states that heaven is for everyone, not just one religion, and that as long as you are a good person, race, religion, sexuality, and upbringing will not condemn a person to eternal damnation.

Controversy

Although there was no opposition to the film while the actual filming and pre-production was taking place, the following months of post-production and publicity were plagued with controversy over a perceived anti-Christian message read into the film. Over time, the filmmakers received over 300,000 un-Christian pieces of hatemail (including several death threats) and were the target of a campaign from the Catholic League. The Catholic League (U.S.) in particular attacked Disney and Miramax, the original distributors, for being anti-Catholic. The film's distribution rights, however, were eventually sold to Lion's Gate.

When the film actually came out, Kevin Smith and Bryan Johnson participated in a protest at the Sony Multiplex in Eatontown, New Jersey, carrying a sign which read "Dogma is Dogshit." A news crew captured the incident and broadcast an interview with a disguised Smith on the evening Channel 12 news.

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Movies - Dogma

Plot synopsis

Controversy

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