Home | Characters | INTERACT | Press | MAKING OF | About | Contact | SEASON TWO
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
The Book of Jer3miah is proudly powered by WordPress and theme originally designed by Lavinya
Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS). 48 queries. 0.317 seconds.
April 10th, 2009 at 10:56 PM
This really brought home to me how difficult it would be to have to kill someone if told to by God. The actor portrayed those feelings very well.
April 10th, 2009 at 11:13 PM
As for how the episode makes me feel, it disturbs me. Anyone else?
April 11th, 2009 at 3:30 PM
I agree with delirious. When you read it in the scriptures it seems a little more simple– if God tells you to do it then just do it, end of game.
Also, I want to give Watcher’s blog a shout out. It looks like he started a blog to continue the conversation about some of the issues this show brings where he invites open discussion. I hope it doesn’t turn ugly but I think that it is a great initiative to help continue a discussion I feel is important about storytelling and religion.
Check out the discussion going on at http://theoriginalwatcher.wordpress.com/
April 11th, 2009 at 4:13 PM
We can still talk about those kinds of things here too, right?
April 11th, 2009 at 8:15 PM
Holy cow! I had to turn the volume up to hear what Jeremiah and Ammon were saying and that gunshot scared me to death! That’s the first time I’ve “jumped” while watching these episodes. Its the best yet for sure!
I agree w/ Taylor and delirious. That is definitely one of the hardest decisions to make: something you feel prompted to do, but that conflicts with what we believe. Great job whoever plays Jeremiah!
April 13th, 2009 at 1:28 PM
Art – great job. i was verily verily impressed with it. As for this episode’s content, it probably makes me more nervous than all the rest of the episodes combined. Maybe the goal with this mirroring of the ordeal with Nephi and Laban was to also have us think back to the scripture in 1Nephi that states, “It is better that one man perish than a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.” And i did in fact think back on that scripture when i watched and thought to myself, “well maybe this bad guy would have caused the destruction of whatever is supposed to happen in the show.” That being said, taking a script out of ancient scripture that for some is already a hard pill to swallow and takes faith to accept (i’m not speaking for everyone, fyi) and then reinacting it almost identically in modern day is tough for me to swallow. I just can’t imagine, in my craziest of notions, God commanding someone to do that in today’s society. But again, this show doesn’t represent reality or every mormons belief. Obviously because i am mormon and believe in the stories where this show grabs its content it’s hard for me to seperate.
April 13th, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Wow.. what an awesome job at keeping the suspense high (I jumped at the gun too) and also quickly bringing in the spiritual and emotional conflict that Jeremiah was facing. I LOVED that song!
I thought it was an awesome rendition of a modern-day Nephi experience. I don’t think we should ever put it past the Lord to call us to do the same at any time in any type of experience. Sure it is hard to say whether you would or not, none of us have every been in that situation. But I believe that we could be put into that situation, and I think it’s the lack of knowing our own conviction in a similar moment that brings the doubt in believing or accepting such an adaptation as this. I don’t like to deal in absolutes, but I don’t think anybody can say the Lord wouldn’t command this type of thing in the modern day. We cannot limit the Lord like that, even when we have evidence that He has already commanded it once before.
I remember a japanese guy I taught that had trouble swallowing the story of Nephi and Laban. Maybe a modern day example (albeit maybe not one surrounded in suspense, and mystery) would have helped him open his mind to the idea of believing it.
April 13th, 2009 at 9:42 PM
Im not trying to be argumentative here, but I think these videos deal with subject matter much deeper than is necessarily intended by the writers / creators. I don’t know, maybe they do but… I am speaking specifically about the line, “Just remember. Whatever the Lord requires, is right.” It’s this kind of talk that makes me very uncomfortable because it’s this same kind of logic that drove the planes into the twin towers and drives self proclaimed “Christians” to protest the funerals of our soldiers or the Matthew Shepherd murder. In other words, I am afraid that too many times in history, that phrase has been used as an excuse to do wrong, and I think, as a culture, Mormons may have a bit of a problem thinking that we have a monopoly on what God wants. If we think we already know, we may not be open to learn. I feel like this whole series is playing with the spirit with a recklessness that may reflect a greater misunderstanding. Is it really that easy to be sure what God wants? Can we really afford to be so bold? I realize this is a work of fiction, but it is still saying something. It is creating ideas. It is raising questions. It has a responsibility to itself. I am anxious to read other opinions.
April 13th, 2009 at 11:21 PM
sure, other people have claimed ‘the will of God’ in their actions, whether good or evil… but that doesn’t mean they have a monopoly on it either. i can’t say that, if put in jeremiah’s position, i would or wouldn’t do the same. and i can’t definitely say that i would or wouldn’t obey such a strong prompting of the spirit if put in that situation. one thing we don’t know is the contents of the box. if it is so powerful/arc-of-the-covenant-esque, there is no way that God would allow its power could be used for evil. (anyone seen Raiders of the Lost Arc?
)
i agree that the show portrayed the difficulty of such a scenario very well. i don’t think they just threw these events out there aimlessly, but it seems that the way the entire episode played out was very deliberate, and showed exactly what the creators wanted… and likely started the conversations they wanted as well. bravo.
April 13th, 2009 at 11:25 PM
Sean and I must think alike.
Nephi had established a pretty clear way of communicating with God before he killed Laban. He clearly understood promptings and had some experience with the results of following the promptings too. Nephi was proactive- very volitional. He is almost annoyingly good. But even with how good he is, we still have to look at the Laban-killing incident and analyze it and discuss it and wonder whether or not it is okay.
As church members, we have learned the reasoning for why Nephi did the right thing in this situation. But for people who don’t know, it is difficult to understand. I had the same investigator as college adam (hi dyal 長老 トーマス姉妹です！！！） and this is one of the reasons why he wouldn’t get baptized. I know other Asia-serving missionaries had similar stories. I think showing this to those kind of investigators would probably be very confusing for them.
For me, the “spirit” in jer3miah sounds whispery and evil. When jer3miah is instructed to kill the guy, it seems as though he is being inducted into some evil mystic rite or order.
Mixing religion and fantasy is potentially very dangerous. I was stunned when I watched this episode.
April 14th, 2009 at 9:28 AM
I have to acknowledge the filmmakers here . . . . I doubt I would have had the guts to tackle something this heavy ( / incendiary). So good for them for not shying away from a difficult subject. (and good for the LDS Church as of late, for doing the same and not shying away from addressing some of our more uncomfortable past – polygamy, mountain meadows, etc). I’m glad as a Church we’re starting to own up for our past, even if it makes the world (or the members) uncomfortable. We can’t be ashamed of ourselves anymore. The transparency is a good thing.
But yes, like others here, this episode made me a bit uncomfortable. I too, at first, wasn’t sure from whom the promptings were coming (are these good voices or evil voices, or Jeremiah’s schizophrenic voices?). I was conflicted and intrigued.
So I wanted to self-analyze a bit to figure out just WHY it made me feel so conflicted. Is it because there are parts of my religion that I can’t totally reconcile? Is it because there are parts of my religion for which I feel apologetic? Am I embarrassed of things? Do I not have the scope to see the “big picture” in the way that the Lord does? It could be a combination of these things.
But then again, if everything in my religion made perfect, logical sense, then what of faith?
So then, per aaron’s comment, I see what you mean. But where I see things a bit differently is that frankly, “logic” doesn’t really have much to do with it. Is it epistemologically sound for a human being to kill another human being? Is it logical to hear ANY voice (from any source) and then be subservient to it? Rational minds would say no. Modern science would say no. But the thing is, faith is not exactly grounded in human logic. (Which is something I’ve struggled with because I’ve run myself in never-ending philosophical circles trying to reconcile the two.)
So I came to see this as a test of faith in Jeremiah’s case, and in the case of Al Qaeda, of people being deceived by a cheap imitation of a heavenly prompting. Satan is a tricky imitator. I can’t be sure, but I’m guessing what happened to Jer3miah was the real deal (but who am I, in my limited human knowledge able to say for sure? Who are any of us to say for sure? We can’t scientifically “know” and maybe that is OUR test of faith).
April 14th, 2009 at 11:14 AM
Interesting. I really appreciate everyones insight. I agree with Rebecca when she say’s that, as church members, we will understand what is going on in this episode, and I realize that this is mainly for Mormon audiences, but I think anyone outside of our culture would watch this episode and think that Jeremiah had finally snapped under the stress and now he was going to be listening to “the voices”. Also toward Aea who truly brought up some valid points, I agree that some of my uneasiness probably stems from my own uneasiness with the Church and my own developing testimony. And while I agree that “logic” isn’t everything and that faith comes in… well, based on a belief system, sometimes crazy actions can seem logical. For instance, based on the Mormon belief system, Jeremiah killing that man when he hears voices seems logical. It takes faith to do it, but he has an understanding. What makes me uncomfortable is, that I feel like in our culture, and in my own life, we have a tendency to assume that we understand all things and all truth. One thing about having the Holy Ghost is that, I think we assume that God always agrees with us as long as we feel good about something. Im not saying we are wrong a lot of the time. It’s just that, that thought process opens up the possibility for us to be REALLY wrong, part of the time.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:49 AM
“based on the Mormon belief system” in no way does Jeremiah’s killing of the man seem logical. I am uncomfortable with this episode and it does not stem from any uncomfortably toward the church. I have none. I do feel uncomfortable, however, when someone’s interpretation of the church to which I belong twists it into something that it’s not. It’s an irresponsible misrepresentation. You’re all well aware of my feelings on the issue and I would urge anyone to seriously consider the perspective that this sort of media is damaging.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:06 PM
Since when does a FICTIONAL series have any sort of affect on my beliefs? Honestly, I think this has been taken a bit too far. I agree with the comments on how this series can bring up questions that affect our perspective and media and the world we live in etc. etc. etc. but really? My faith is not going to be shaken by a story about some boy named Jeremiah. I am in NO ways saying my faith is perfect and can with stand anything because it CAN’T. I am just saying I don’t think this kind of a thing is suppose to be taken that seriously.
And just as a side note- I’d love to agree with seanslobodan in that the artistic elements, in this episode particularly, are fantastic. I LOVED the contrast of the song with Jeremiah’s turmoil, the aesthetic value of the box, and especially the tree carved into the stone.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:43 PM
Molly,
I don’t think anyone is claiming to having their “faith shaken about some boy named Jeremiah.” Seems like the discussion (especially aaron’s reasoning about some of his qualms with the show) is rational and honest.
I must be honest with you. I don’t understand how you think the show isn’t trying to be serious. To me, it is clearly a serious endeavor for the creators.
Obviously we understand that it is, as you declare, “FICTIONAL.”
Some people think the Book of Mormon is fiction. I don’t. I believe in it and love it. The show is fictionalizing elements of a book that lots of people claim to be false in the first place. Then the show adds elements of our religion that are difficult to portray (e.g. the “spirit” may be interpreted as a voice of good or evil depending on the viewer) in a way that is confusing.
The “good” elements are obviously meant to be good (i.e. the spirit, killing the evil dude). But when the good can also be seen as bad, for some people, like myself, alarms go off. I think it’s great that it doesn’t bother you, and I wish it didn’t bother me either.
I’m not saying it is wrong to not be bothered by the show. I am saying, however, that most people it has bothered have responded in a thoughtful way. Your response seems a little pointed for me to take seriously.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:56 PM
Once again, none of us are mentioning that our faith is being shaken by the show. We are expressing our displeasure toward the subject matter and presentation.
April 14th, 2009 at 3:10 PM
@ RebeccaThomas. I see what you mean. It can definitely be confusing – both to members and non members. I fall in the latter category of partial confusion. And I agree with you that there is a danger in undertaking to add fictional elements to “the most true and correct book on earth,” or whatever the quote is. It’s a gamble, no doubt. I guess intent becomes a consideration.
@ [everyone]. So what’s the answer? Should we not endeavor to fictionalize faith? Is it too risky?
Under those terms, the only thing that’s presumably safe is to not create anything (music, film, art) about religion. Fictionalization is implicit in ANY artistic interpretation (even if we, the creator, believe we are translating it perfectly, in its ultimate similitude.) As creators, we’re still taking something intangible and translating it to a more tangible medium. There’s always fictionalization in that, on some level (content, aesthetic, whatever). It’s a representation. A fabrication in a sense, whether or not certain creators intentionally push that boundary toward more extreme levels.
This is why we [I] then cringe when we see Joseph Smith being extra nice, like patronizingly nice, to the black people in the newish Joseph Smith movie (was this or was this not a directorial choice? Do we have it on record if he was actually condescending?)
Or when we see the perfect looking blue-eyed glowy Christ and think “c’mon, he was NOT that pretty, nor was he a Dane.”
Or when we [maybe only I] see a depiction of Christ, um, “knowing” Mary in The Last Temptation of Christ and think, whoa. (This caused its own imbroglio within the Catholic Church, but I for one, think its intent is in the right place and it proves its point, even if it is a gross fabrication. The greater message gets across).
We run the risk, every time we create faith-based art, of creating these confusions or misrepresentations. Do we not? Especially when we’re creating art about something so personal, so passionate.
The ever-parabolic Jesus Christ ran this risk. And we all know he was misinterpreted at times. (I STILL don’t totally get that new wine into old bottles one.) Same with a certain story-obsessed prophet I know. Story isn’t perfect. It’s a vehicle, hopefully a vehicle for telling the truth.
So in conclusion, I don’t think adding fictional elements it itself the root of the problem. You could paint me a picture of Christ hanging out in Washington Heights teaching the gospel in sign language and the fictionalization wouldn’t bother me. So what’s the difference? Intent? The “moral?” What’s the answer? How SHOULD we grapple with task of translating scripture or doctrine into art?
April 14th, 2009 at 8:42 PM
Interesting discussion. My husband and I felt somewhat uncomfortable after this episode as well and were trying to figure out why. I think “aea” actually hit on some great points that echoed my own thoughts.
Part of the discomfort is seeing something so sacred being used for, essentially, entertainment. Don’t get me wrong, it was very well-meaning entertainment, but the point of this show is to figure out the crazy mystery-not have a 5-minute spiritual experience every week (though I certainly don’t mind the use of spiritual things in it, because that’s real life too. ) However, to suddenly throw something in that is an incredibly important, painful, and intimate experience from the Book of Mormon seemed really heavy-handed and over the top. If we look at the circumstances it parallels, that box had better be the means of bringing salvation to millions and millions of people in this life and the next, because murder is serious business people.
I think what it boiled down to is that I feel like it’s really presumptuous to say that this fictional circumstance is just as dramatically important as preserving the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the Church-especially since in this episode the writers literally wrote in the voice of God.
***SIDE NOTE: I have to agree that the whole whispering thing was really weird. For a piece that is trying to be bold in expressing difficult spiritual experiences and choices, it tried to smooth the whole thing over with the soothing music and peaceful tone from the voice of the Lord. I don’t think this represent Nephi’s experience at all. It was not a transcendental experience to kill, and the music seemed to imply that it should be. I believe the Lord speaks in a different tone with us dependent on the circumstance. The way God spoke in this episode sounded like a seminary video-except that it was gently telling him to kill someone. It came off as really creepy. Why are we afraid to make God speak firmly to our protagonists?***
Anyway, I’m not totally opposed in general to sacred experiences being paralleled, but I guess I feel like someone’s got to REALLY research it and make sure they aren’t being used as just a plot device or because they seem cool. Otherwise it can turn into the latest Superman movie-lots of Father and Son references, but no substance or even real meaning behind them. That to me was a presumptuous use of the sacred for entertainment ,so someone could feel intelligent for using a scriptural reference(I am NOT accusing the writers of this show of that-I just think some of it wasn’t thought through enough. Brian Singer however, knew what he was doing with that.)
I worry we run the risk of cheapening some of the sacred experiences in the scriptures if we start using them for entertainment-even if it’s not offensive…actually especially if it’s not offensive. However, like “aea” said-does that mean we stop making anything religious because it might cross this line? It’s not fair to expect that everyone will have my same definition of what is using and what is honoring something sacred, but I do think it’s important to at least try and be aware of it as artists. Are we adding a spiritual parallel to shed light on something true and sacred, or are we using it as a plot device, or because it’s entertaining or we feel smart for thinking of it?
April 15th, 2009 at 12:53 AM
I am so impressed with the thoughtful and genuine discussion on this topic. It has helped me a great deal in my own understanding, and has brought me to several new insights. I would like to say two more things. One, I agree totally with Aea. I think a great deal of my uneasiness with the series as a whole is that it seems to be using sacred elements to just manipulate an espionage plot line. And two, I agree with the lovely note Chocolate Pie wrote about how if we are not careful we run the risk of cheapening some of our sacred experiences. I feel like the use of the spirit as almost a “spider sense” cheapens it and is reckless in that it could easily spread misunderstanding of our ideas of the spirit. And like I said in my very first post, in watching these, I don’t feel like the creators chose to tackle this deep of subject matter. I think they didn’t think this far into it. I think the series shows that they didn’t think about the implications they were making. Now this isn’t totally bad. I don’t think Jeremiah is the anti-christ. I actually enjoy watching the series and I think it is a fantastic experience for many people to learn valuable lessons in film. I hope the creators will take to heart some of the fantastic insights that have been shared by all of you. There are definitely some lessons to be learned in there. In the end, it is Aea’s question that has got me thinking, “Should we ever try to recreate sacred events?” I am not sure. I’d like to say yes, but at the same time I must think that if we are going to try, it must be for a reason. A worthy reason. And if it is to be successful I feel like the creators will have a strong message with that reason. So far, I feel like that has been devoid within the subject matter of Jeremiah. I await the future episodes with great anticipation.
April 15th, 2009 at 1:08 AM
And Im so glad that our conversation has been so civil and thought provoking. I just looked at the comments on ten and ugh, what a mess.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:07 AM
Ok. .. I’m going to be more careful with what I say this time:
I think Aea’s question is a great one to consider. I’m going to go with yes on this one and try to elaborate on what Aaron said.
Think about all of those movies that have had significant, and important, influences on your life. .. This is why we love film (well. . that’s why I love it. I can’t speak for everyone). It’s the passion and power it can have in people’s lives. There are countless movies that were made just for that purpose. It’s art. “Doctors help you to live, but the arts give you a reason to live.”
Now think about The Testaments. We can never know the impact it will have on individuals and families that have viewed it and I’m sure future generations. I think this movie was created with “a worthy reason” and that’s why it was so successful. Same with The Passion of the Christ, I personally only know of one family it has impacted, I’m sure there are many others. But this impact and power in peoples lives is what would be at stake if the recreation of spiritual or sacred events was taken away.
I think Aaron is right. If there is “a strong message with a [worthy] reason” than it is deemed successful. (Along with thorough research of course
I hope that was “thoughful” enough.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:59 AM
Im sorry Molly if you thought you were condescended too. I’m sure you were “thoughtful” enough the first time too. And I like what you said this time as well. I agree with you that with the “Testaments” and “Finding Faith In Christ” there seems to be a noble purpose and a clear reason for the use of sacred portrayals. But do you feel like that is present in “Jeremiah” I mean, I think the creators wouldn’t even like to be compared to the other films because thier purpose is so different. How do you feel about the use of these themes inside the Jeremiah project itself?
April 15th, 2009 at 5:08 PM
Wow… I’m loving these conversations. Keep it up you guys!
April 15th, 2009 at 5:28 PM
After reading the posts so far, I’m so glad that the discussion has gone in this direction as opposed to previous episodes, as already mentioned. I’m willing to bet, with the quality of episodes that we have been seeing (meaning, this isn’t just something some kid made at home and uploaded on YouTube for fun), that the writers did not simply sit down in a couple of minutes and say, “Let’s see how many ways we can take sacred experiences and exploit them.” I’m certain, however, that they put a lot of thought into these episodes and knew darn well that this particular episode would be sketchy, but perhaps they were specifically looking for people to have discussions about the topic precisely like this one.
It seems that many of us, myself included, have stepped back and evaluated our own faith and determination to live it and our shyness/boldness of it, based off of these episodes, particularly this one. Do we simply believe what we’re told because someone told it to us? What voices are we choosing to listen to and follow? Do we actually know the Person who is whispering to us and can recognize His voice? And if we did know the Person, and we did recognize what we were instructed to do, would we actually have the faith to do it no matter the level of difficulty? Maybe we wouldn’t be asked to actually kill someone, but maybe we’d be asked to sell everything we own, pack up our family in some small wagons and walk over a thousand of miles to some place we’ve never seen before. Maybe it’s easier for us to listen and say, “Okay, I’m not going to smoke and drink,” but harder for us to say, “You know, it’s just too hard for me to forgive that person.” It’s likely that none of us would be in the particular situation that Jeremiah found himself in, but we certainly can learn from this experience.
I’m also a believer in the “Dante’s Inferno” theory, meaning that we can actually have cathartic experiences and learn from other peoples experiences, whether real life or fiction. In Dante’s Inferno, it was clearly seeing the horrible things that people were doing, literally going to hell and back. Could it be possible that Jer3miah was not created for the sole purpose of entertaining (as many shows these days are), but for us to experience something that we otherwise couldn’t (or wouldn’t) experience? Maybe our experience is a look at how nonmembers must feel when we talk about our “feelings” or our beliefs or some crazy story of a guy that lived a couple hundred years ago who was “inspired” to find some golden Bible and actually translate it into English. I for one am for Jer3miah. I think it’s something unique that doesn’t fit in with “The Testaments” genre or “The Singles Ward” genre, but is trying to do something different that hasn’t been done before, and I think that these discussions we’ve been having are evidence that it’s working to some degree.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:54 AM
Very well put SciKadaei. I honestly think that’s one of my favorite parts of Jer3miah. It’s something new and challenging. It’s challenging the every day mormon media that we are all so used too. It’s bringing up new ideas and concepts and making us all think. I LOVE the Testaments. You leave feeling closer to the spirit and uplifted in a whole new way. But Jer3miah makes you think and wonder about the church in an entirely different way. I liked when you asked the question, “Do we simply believe what we’re told because someone told it to us?” I think that’s one of the reasons I have such a hard time living in Utah. A majority of us have grown up in this gospel. We were told ever since we were little that this is the true church. Do we actually believe that and KNOW it for ourselves to be true OR do we believe it to be true because that’s just what we were taught and we’re being obedient? The discussions that have been brought up by Jer3miah are challenging us. Do you truly believe that “what the Lord requires is right?” Or not? Ah!! I love it!
To answer Aaron:
I guess after what I just said I like the themes that are being presented in Jer3miah. .. I’m not going to say whether I think they are right or wrong because I’m not the one to judge that and everyone has their own opinion. But whether they are wrong or whether they are right I like them. .. . . Is that bad? Did that answer your question?
April 18th, 2009 at 2:45 PM
No. I’m sure its not bad Molly. It’s cool that you like them. I have decided that I don’t. I don’t feel like they are here for a noble reason. I feel like it is a cheap attempt to add deep subject matter to a rather simple and easy plot. But having atated my opinion, I am going to stop commenting now unless anyone asks me a specific question. I don’t want to be a downer, when there is also a lot of good involved in the project and it is such an awesome learning experience for so many.
April 21st, 2009 at 10:38 AM
Aaron-what’s your opinion on touched by an angel? Obviously, its a professional tv show, which BYU students can’t pull off right now, but I mean in the storyline. Do you see it as a similar attempt to bring spiritual deeper things into the plot? What makes this different?
The way I understand it from the students I know is that the intent to involve spiritual things came first and then came the plot. The idea to create a web series that would involve religious content overtly but not fall in the cheesy singles ward category where we simply poke fun at ourselves.
I agree that some of religion is too fantastic to be involved in entertainment. Not many shows depict the Lord speaking to people overtly, but they hint at it or people say God spoke to them, but we don’t usually hear the voices. So maybe if the Jer3miah writers took it in that direction, involving spiritual things, but at a little less obvious level. Maybe if the audience had known from the beginning that this was going to be a story about a boy who is very much in touch with God, we would have accepted that and been prepared to move forward with them. Personally, I think they did themselves a disservice by having the dad in episode one tease Jeremiah about his promptings and throwing in so many “singles ward” like missionary jokes and references. Most of us dont drop silly Mormon references every 20 seconds like that…so immediately it took away our ability to revere Jeremiah for being the spiritually in touch person he is.
I wish more entertainment would involve religion since it is a huge part of our culture and guides our morals. The question is how to properly do that and I think Jeremiah is a great experiment to test the waters.
May 1st, 2009 at 12:22 AM
I agree with much of what you say Interested. I think that the some of the weakest points in the Jeremiah story is when it makes “Mormon references” that automatically limit the audience that can experience the project, and put it in that “cheesy singles ward category”. I admire the film makers to try and go a different direction, but I don’t feel that there use of the spiritual is merited by their story. I can’t figure out why it’s there or what it is supposed to be telling me and it doesn’t seem like a real part of a world, mainly due to dialogue and illogical reactions by the character. You used the example of “Touched by an Angel” and I would say that is an excellent example. The reason that show was so popular and universal is because the focus of that show is the human experience. It is the relationships and the trials that humanity experiences. The spiritual, miraculous aspect is mainly there to accentuate the ever present human drama of the series. Those universal themes are either not accentuated, or not present in Jeremiah. The people don’t react or sound like real people and so there is no deeper drama or current of truth that we can latch on to. We can’t feel with them because they acting weird. And when they are acting weird and things don’t make sense, adding a spiritual touch cannot save the project. There isn’t a easy way to make it meaningful. You can’t just add a few religious references. Most of the spiritual and deeply religious fiction I have seen in my life, barely mentions the aspect that Jeremiah totes around like its trump card.
June 13th, 2009 at 10:39 PM
Hello All,
I’m new to this series having picked up on it from Salon.com a couple of days ago. The problem I have with this episode is that it’s not clear that Jeremiah wasn’t being instructed to kill by demons rather than God. Sweet music doesn’t mean the voice is God’s and since God says ‘Thou Shalt not Kill’ when I’m told that someone has killed a helpless man because a voice told him to I generally assume that the voice is Satanic. Perhaps this point has already been made. I scanned all of the other comments but didn’t read them in detail. Hopefully as I continue on with the other episodes it will become more clear that it was God and not a demon speaking to him as well as how Jeremiah was able to be so sure about the voice that he would break one of God’s commandments to do what the voice said to do.