The book of eli is kind of like watching the book of mormon filmed and rewritten as a. Continuing toward the west coast, eli explains his mission. The book of eli is christian propaganda, please dont spend any money on it as it would only spread religious ignorance. The book of eli is a 2010 american postapocalyptic neowestern action film. The book of eli should shoot to the top of your netflix queue. He became high priest kohen godol after the death of pinehas, the son of elazar, ithamars older brother. In the old days, propaganda just meant what modernday pr means. The book of eli bar fight scene with biblical scriptures. We are not told why eli succeeded to the high priesthood, instead of pinehass son. The book of eli provokes thoughtful debate about the religious themes in the film, but the oldminus. The visuals along with a really good pacing covered up the lack of reasoning and futility of the main story. Jan 14, 2010 eli is hebrew for my god, and the bibles eli was the teacher of samuel, a great prophet.
Russian government established control over the press with. When samuel heard god speaking to him, he at first mistook god for eli. I am forbidden by the critics little rule book from naming the volume, but if youve made a guess after seeing numerous billboards stating religion is power, you may have guessed right. Book of eli plays coy with its religious motives by attempting to cloak them in a gritty, miraclefree reality, but is so clumsy about it that its not going to fool anyone.
Deliberateness and a relatively heavy emphasis on manipulation distinguish propaganda from casual conversation or the free and easy exchange of ideas. This story of hannah, with which the books of samuel begin, involves eli. It fantasizes a world in which everything has been. State control of mass media and propaganda lenin viewed the press and media as central to advancing in the revolution and ensuring the communists kept control of power. The latest movie from albert and allen hughes is about a dystopian future where dust settles on everything like fine ash, where people are illiterate and books are worth almost as much as water, where women are chattel to be raped and traded, where religion is dead and chaos reigns. He is on his own, but well able to take care of himself which he demonstrates by slaughtering. It really came across as sneaky christian propaganda. If you havent heard of it yet are interested then continue if you dont mind the plot being told though i. Eli was the high priest kohen gadol of shiloh, the secondtolast israelite judge succeeded only by samuel before the rule of the kings of israel and judah.
Cross i am legend with the ten commandments and youve got the book of eli, a genuinely religious parable that inherently rebukes pointless endofthe. The world in book of eli while barren and hot, is also filled with brutal killers and savages, but there always appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Mixed in with the violence and sepiatones is one giant religious symbol that we just had to quiz the. But the young mans actions and his criticism of the religious establishment earn him enemies as ruthless as they are powerful. Oh yeah and remember eli is invincible so he coulda stopped a gang rape but, eli really needs his tunes. Its also suggested that eli is virtually invincible because hes gods chosen messenger, thereby implying said deitys existence. The movie tells you that christianity was used by man to control them. Propaganda, an influential book written by edward l. Christianity and the book of eli believe it or not. He jokes about razzing one of the films directors, an atheist whos making a movie with religious themes. The book of eli excellent propaganda now you may consider propaganda to be a bad thing, and generally i am no fan of it myself, however i always respect skill wherever it is displayed and the recent film the book of eli certainly merits comment.
Eli came out in 2010, just a year after the road starring vigo mortensen. It begins with a brief overview of western propaganda, including ancient greek theories of rhetoric, and traces propaganda s development through the christian era, the rise of the nationstate, world war i, nazism, communism, and the present day. The book of eli teaches you that christianity is the only. Ive learned to be a little wary of every denzel movie i see, because im always so afraid theyll turn out to be stealth christian propaganda. First, it assumes religion is one homogeneous thing that is easily defined.
The hughes brothers book of eli isnt all postapocalyptic samurai sword action and ipods. The book of eli continues hollywoods obsession with postapocalyptic tales, and in many ways feels like it belongs in the same world as the road. Its no secret that the book of eli is overbearing in its religious sentiment and ironically reliant on capitalist ideology denzel washington and gary oldmans love of the book rather than the religion, tom waitss pawn shop bartering. I felt as if denzel had lured me into a propaganda film funded by the ultraright american religious lobby to persuade me that its ok to bear arms. Yes, the most printed book of all timethe bible, has only one copy left in existence. The event that, in the movie, caused a hole to be torn in the sky signifies an act of nature that could destroy the ozone layer exposing the earths surface to uvb and other radiation, an extinction level event. The book of eli is set in a postapocalyptic future which resulted from a nuclear war of some vague nature.
The book of eli 2010 directed by albert hughes, allen. That background might render the book of eli controversial for some religious literalists. In this dystopian future, all bibles have been burned, or destroyed. Only a christian flick to dogmatic believers, says the films codirector allen hughes. In book of eli, you better believe christianity is all over the place, but because were taken to a world thats so bare, so spent, and so hopeless, youll start believing in the power of spirituality and the written word. He says that he was led to the book by a voice in his head, directing him to travel westward to a place it would be safe, and assuring that he would be protected and guided on his journey. Instead, i would argue that regardless of your personal religious affiliation or lack thereof, the book of eli is not a preachy movie. Albert and allen hughes, more popularly known as the hughes brothers, havent made a movie since from hell in 2001. The film metamorphises into a pofaced religious tract, interspersing elaborate action scenes with longwinded sermons.
The book of eli apocalypse christianity religion ask metafilter. Its brutal content is not for all tastes, but this thoughtful action movie finds denzel washington protecting the last copy of a very. The secular faith of book of eli film school rejects. Propaganda is often associated with material prepared by governments, but activist groups, companies, religious organizations, the media, and individuals can also produce propaganda. The visual effects and the action sequences were phenomenal and denzel was a right choice for the role of eli, but the story is plain old religious propaganda.
Specifically, that the kjv of the bible contains he words to control people with. The bible has been distorted as propaganda for wars, monetary gain, and even genocide. Jan 27, 2010 eli and solara stumble upon these two in their travels, and both actors play their characters with energy and humor. In the 20th century, the term propaganda had often been associated with a manipulative approach, but propaganda historically is a neutral descriptive term. Worldview elements of film implications questions biblical parallels the priest eli solara as samuel catholic parallels modern day parallels westward movement american dream what is the place of religion in the life of the common person. As far as the road is concerned, it is filled with spiritual themes.
The characters are very well acted, the action is fluid and well choreographed, and the setting seeps into your skin, immersing the viewer in a world devoid of faith but in desperate need of salvation. The film presents some religious subthemes, which might find differing interpretations by different viewers. Prior to the revolution, lenin had announced to close down bourgeois newspapers but undid this to retain control. The text, an essay on the history of soviet anti religious propaganda by roland elliott brown, runs through the lefthand pages of the book in order to aid reader navigation, while horizontal captions differentiate them from the rest of the text. Dear ratheism, i just watched the book of eli without knowing anything but the imdb rating about it. I actually thought the movie would be offensive to christians. Christianity are unlikely to be satisfied by the book of eli, says josh tyler at cinemablend. The book of eli is screenwriter, gary whittas, take on a western samurai film. The book of eli was intense, and the plot was awesome. How hollywood begat yet another insult to christianity. Carnegie needs eli because eli has maybe the last remaining copy of a book that eli believes will allow him to expand and rule many more towns. Eli and solara stumble upon these two in their travels, and both actors play their characters with energy and humor.
Propaganda and the ethics of persuasion second edition. He is taking the book to a place where it will be safe where its message can be finally be shared with the world. The book of eli wants you to know that it is a very, very serious movie. At the end of the movie the book ended up on a shelf with other books of different religions, and it looked as if the bible was the only book left to complete the collection. This movie was striaght up mind control christian propaganda. These soviet union posters are a lesson in promoting.
Elkanah also had another wife who bore him children. What the book of eli tells us about religion youtube. Do you think the book of eli was a christian propaganda. To have a good story sometimes you need a little magic to. The first teaser trailer for the book of eli starring denzel washington and gary oldman. Eli was a descendant of ithamar, the fourth and youngest son of aaron the high priest. But carnegie gary oldman, the powerhungry dictator of a decrepit survivors colony, is also interested in elis book for very different reasons.
An intense and thoughtprovoking novel, eli strips away religious tradition to present jesus fresh and unvarnished. Meredith woerner interviewed the hughes brothers about the film and christianity. Eli denzel washington is travelling west through a postapocalyptic landscape. Information, usually from a book, that is used to promote a particular cause or point of view. Whatever you bring to it, thats what youre going to come out of it with. The book of eli continues hollywoods obsession with postapocalyptic tales, and in many ways feels like it belongs in the same world as the road with its ashladen wastelands and crazed cannibals. The book of eli published 7 july, 2010 cinema 1 comment. As a book of interpretation, this book, also called the book of eli, seeks to. It really makes me sad and a bit angry that religious propaganda comes in eveningfilling hollywood movies that target a younger audience and is somewhat sneaky about its contents. The book of eli is a great religious film for religious people. Along his path, he encounters a number of lawless murderers, rapists, and bandits, all of which have clearly fallen from the christian path. Bahaism is miles removed from scientology, islam is the polar opposi. The film presents some religious sub themes, which might find differing interpretations by different viewers. Yes, there were a half of a dozen redeemable kernels in the bag, but that did not make us feel any better about being mislead and rippedoff because wed like our money back.
The book of eli is definitely not for children and deserves its r rating for some brutal violence including implied cannibalism and language. Eli, on the other hand, saw the book as the key to the restoration of society. Bernays invented pr, but in this book it is called by a more honest name. Without specifically giving away the provocatively loaded final twenty minutesblessedly hidden in the promotional campaign, it deserves to be notedone could almost read it as the antithesis of a gungho proreligion doctrine. Christian propaganda io9 has done an excellent job at exposing book of eli as an idiotic film to promote christianity. I loved the part when gary said he needed the words of the book to rule over the other towns. The book of eli is kind of like watching the book of mormon filmed and rewritten as a futuristic action movie, except with fewer hot bitches. The top 7 books on propaganda roar digital marketing agency. This book develops a sophisticated account of propaganda and its intriguing history. If you havent heard of it yet are interested then continue if you dont mind the plot being told though i recommend you see it first, good movie.
The movie was surprisingly good for an apocalyptic tale. Edward bernays book propaganda is about public relations pr. The book of eli teaches you that christianity is the only religion i dont think that entirely true. The final plot twist is creative, unexpected, and poetically just. In his backpack is the last copy of a book that could become the wellspring of a revived. Ive seen several people assert that the book of eli is a christian film, including fox. Review film the book of eli granted, i went into viewing the book of eli fully aware that it was a scifi action with a religious theme, but even then i didnt expect the film to be such a blatant christian propaganda film. He heads west along the highway of death on a mission he doesnt fully understand but knows he must complete. In the postapocalyptic biblical thriller the book of eli, denzel. With gripping immediacy, bill myers weaves a story whose truth will refresh your faith.
He restores my soul he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his names sake, though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil for thou art with me. It looks great, and washington is a terrific presence, but after the. Eli, who didnt hear god calling samuel, eventually realized the truth, and instructed samuel on how to respond. But now theyre back again, some nine years later, with a gritty postapocalyptic action movie called the book of eli. Jesus and the book of eli part 1 worldviews, worship. Denzel also served as one of the films producers and made sure the book of eli didnt shy away from its religious ties. It was one of a spat of post apocalyptic dramas with washed out color and characters who care more about surviving to the end of the day than dental hygiene. Brave new world aldous huxley, people are controlled by inflicting pleasure. Early word has labeled the book of eli as unsubtle christian propaganda. The book of eli is a stylish film that is reminiscent of i am legend and other postapocalyptic stories, though it carves out a niche for itself due to its strong characters and its central theme.
The book of eli has an incredible biblical message, which tells the. Your thoughts on the movie if you have not yet seen the movie and dont want it to be spoilt for you then wait until you have seen it before you read any further. Eli, the christian warriorprophet, is on a pilgrimage west, across the wasteland that is america. Mar 19, 2011 propaganda debunking black fatherless myth duration. This book aims to lay down the foundations for a new religion, associated with a.
Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. The book of eli denzel washington, gary oldman grading. Christian themes abound in book of eli the tufts daily. So i just watched this flick expecting something along the lines of a betterthanaverage action drama, and sat through what is possibly the longest christian advertisement in recent history. True spirit filled christians will leave the theater filling empty and disappointed. Bernays in 1928, incorporated the literature from social science and psychological manipulation into an examination of the techniques of public communication. Discussion about the book of eli teaches you that christianity is the only religion page 2 at the godlikeproductions conspiracy forum. Neither eli, nor screenwriter gary whitta, nor the films directors the hughes brothers, seem to notice.
So there you go my top 7 books on propaganda my final neily bonus is a great video all about early propaganda called the century of the self. Subscribe a postapocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across america in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind. Feb 22, 2014 jesus and the book of eli part 1 remember the book of eli. The villain wanted to harness the inherent power of the book for his own gain. Many have taken explicity prochristian themes from the film, but. Mar 20, 2020 propaganda, dissemination of informationfacts, arguments, rumors, halftruths, or liesto influence public opinion.