So I had originally said that I mostly wanted this blog to be about books, however, I did say I might stray...and good thing too because I have to say something about the movie The Invention of Lying. I just watched it and thought it was a little bit odd, yet entertaining at times. The movie is set in a time when no one has ever told a lie and do not actually have the ability to do so. That is except for one, Mark Bellison. So I get that you can't tell a lie but what about turrets? Do they also have turrets? Because people just blurted out whatever they had on their mind. There was absolutely no filter between their brain and their mouth. It's a little unnerving to hear exactly what everyone is thinking but slightly refreshing at the same time. Only refreshing in the fact that you don't have to pretend to be a mind-reader, psychic, or extremely intuitive to figure out what anyone is getting at. And offense really isn't taken because everyone is just right there throwing it in your face. Mark Bellison is the only one who seems to take offense and he is the only one who gains the ability to lie part way through the movie. So one would ask...is there really a MAN who is very much in touch with his inner self and is that the reason why he started to lie? Well, I'm not sure if that's how a lie came about but he was a very sensitive guy for the alternate reality. He also saw things differently than anyone else.
He saw beneath the surface appearance of people, which is how everyone else looks at the world. It was kind of entertaining that the people of this reality chose their partners based on genetics, strength, and status and NOTHING else. It reminded me of Darwin's Theory of Evolution. The strongest survived, the prettiest attracted the best mates, and the higher up in the food chain the better your chances of surviving. A lot like what we do now, except that human emotion plays a part. It's what makes us different from animals. But this reality was kind of showing a regression in mankind.
The next big thing was the lack of religion. It is only when Mark Bellison's mom is dying and afraid of drifting off into nothingness, that Mark realizes that he can alleviate her anxiety by telling her about the afterlife (a completely new concept). Of course, others have heard what he said and want to know what he knows and how he knows it. That is when 'the man in the sky' comes around. Mr. Bellison then makes 10 notions and puts them on pizza boxes...some sort of parody, eh? He informs the masses of how he hears 'the man in the sky' speaking to him and that everyone should follow these notions/rules. There is even a part in the movie where he takes on the actual Moses appearance.
The cherry on top is that this all comes down to a girl and a warm and fuzzy message of 'You should feel good about yourself no matter what your outside package. No one is better than you just because of appearance. Don't judge a book by it's cover. In the end the good guy always wins.' Plus he gets the girl. And still no one else can tell a lie. Until, of course, Mark has offspring. That offspring inherits the ability to lie. One could make the conjecture that the gene for lying was passed on until you get to a society like our own. Again Darwin's Theory of evolution could come into play here.
To think it all started with one.
The thing that bothered me about this movie (although I really thought it was pretty funny overall) was that he still wanted the girl after all the insults and her total inability to figure out that he was the best guy for her. I am honestly surprised she figured it out in the end. It was a good point you made about their choosing partners on genetics alone, but it makes everyone look kind of stupid for not figuring anything like that out before.
ReplyDeleteAlso they never really answered the question if the world is a better or worse place because you can lie... Not that anyone could really say.
But it was pretty funny anyway... love the blantant obviousness!