Catholic guilt and `Pelham 123′
At the controls.
I wasn’t expecting any theology when I went to see the new version of The Taking of Pelham 123. But in a very deliberate way, the film early on sets up the bad guy, played by John Travolta, as a Catholic. For much of the film, it’s one of the few things we know about him. The film seems to take it as a given that being Catholic qualifies the subway hijacker as an expert on guilt – others’ guilt, not his own. “A good Catholic knows that nobody is innocent,” the bad guy opines. This allows him to zero in on the moral weaknesses of the people trying to stop his ride of terror on the New York City subway – in particular, of transit dispatcher Walter Garber, played by Denzel Washington. It allows the director to raise broader themes about guilt vs. innocence, sin, sacrifice and redemption.
It’s not subtle, but I thought this Catholic motif added a lot to the movie. And it’s authentically New York, since Catholicism is such a part of the city’s culture.
I am a Catholic and I believe that all life is innocent through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Paul
Catholic or Augustinian?
I’m sure a dose of Scientology would clear up his problems with guilt. But I doubt we’ll see Travolta dealing with issues like those raised in the St. Petersburg Times’ powerful three-part series on the Church of Scientology. Great old-fashioned journalism.
According to a book written by L. Ron Hubbard’s son, Scientology is a stripped-down and de-mystified reworking of Aleister Crowley’s “Magick” (yes, that’s the way Crowley spelled it) teachings. Where the gnostic aspects of Scientology came from I don’t know.
Where gnosticism comes from, no one knows–though a good guess is Roundhead England.
I believe John Travolta was raised as a Catholic, so the guilt aspects of the movie wouldn’t require too much of an acting stretch for him. ;)
David G.– I agree that the St. Petersburg Times’ series on Scientology is powerful. I hope that Paul Moses won’t mind the link I’ve provided below. In addition to Travolta, the current head of the CoS, David Miscavige, was also raised as a Catholic, as was the CoS’s other widely-known celebrity adherent, Tom Cruise. (Thank goodness that 3 is not a statistically valid sample.)
http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2009/reports/project/
“Where gnosticism comes from, no one knows–though a good guess is Roundhead England.”
This is a dark saying, an enigma.
You do have a neat play on words gnosticism–no one knows, since gno- and kno- are kin!
(Thank goodness that 3 is not a statistically valid sample.)
Maybe not, but as Fr. Komonchak has just reminded us, some people think groups of 3 have their own significance…
Having just read that Scienctology expose’ I’m giving up RC Church criticism for one whole week!!!
Guilt is a form of control. People in business deem it an advantage when the other party feels guilty in the negotiation. Gives one the edge so to speak. Curious that Paul is highlighting something other than sex to generate guilt. What heresy! After all we have a new generation of priests who think it is important to preach against masturbation. To get rid of guilt the uninitated, guilt ridden Catholic needs to study the Concordat of Bologna in 1516. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordat_of_Bologna
Then s/he will realize that you could settle a lot of these things by Concordat. Guilt free becomes a natural after that. Did Joyce know of this Concordat?
Oh dear!
Do I HAVE to feel guilty about not understanding the Concordat?
Bill M., what Catholics need to study to fight the heresy of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the Creative Love of God from the beginning, is Pope John Paul II’s, “Theology of the Body”. God Bless the Travolta Family.
I understand the Concordat very well, but not Bill’s point.
In any case, as a remedy for guilt there is always the remedial principle of indiosyncratic exceptionalism, i.e., I am not guilty but everyone else is. If everyone uses this handy method, all will end up guiltfree.
“Oh dear!”
I did not mean to tax anyone’s history acument. I understand the deficiencies.
This concordat saved France from the Reformation. My point is that the pope had not Guilt about doing this kind of thing. That is up to uncritical Catholics. Worship Rome and the bishops and your life is a slavery of guilt.
Thanks for pointing out the St. Pete’s Scientology series – a little off the track here, but worth the detour.
There is actually a nonmorbid feeling of guilt that arises from the sense that one is all too complicit with what John calls “this world” and has not gone far enough in following Christ.
There is a generically similar feeling that is sometimes called liberal guilt that arises from the sense that one has not done all one can to oppose and repudiate the injustice endemic in social and political institutions. Democracy is still the worst of systems except for all the others,