Eli and solara stumble upon these two in their travels, and both actors play their characters with energy and humor. With denzel washington, mila kunis, ray stevenson, gary oldman. Continuing toward the west coast, eli explains his mission. These night themes will help you discuss the novel intelligently. Books are scarce since apparently many people believed religion was the cause of the desolation, and so all religious books were destroyed. Numerous religions are practiced in society as they are protected under.
Washington, a twotime academy award winner widely known in hollywood for his christian beliefs, portrays a lone warrior making his way across a desolate american landscape defending the worlds last remaining copy of the king. In this film, eli, the actor heads to the western part for reasons that are not known to the viewers until. There is also an oral tradition of eli, which i have on good authority, and which has helped guide me in the writing of this book. Why did the book of eli bad guy want to burn every book. So in the opinion of a secular critic such as myself, its hard not to consider elements of the film to be laughably ridiculous. The hughes brothers book of eli isnt all postapocalyptic samurai sword action and ipods. See the reason why a restrictive culturegovernment will destroy books in its jurisdiction is to keep the population in a state of ignorance, the only sources of knowledge being what you tell them. How hollywood begat yet another insult to christianity. Eli is the man with one name who ambles into a backwater burg in search of water and comes face to face with evil in the form of carnegie gary oldman, who is involved with the blind claudia jennifer beals while he pursues claudias nubile daughter solara mila kunis. What the hell was the theme of the movie book of eli. But denzel washington s latest film, the book of eli unapologetically confronts issues of faith, sacrifice, and, most notably, the bible. 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. Eli in the bible was a jewish priest living in the days of the judges and serving god at the tabernacle in shiloh, a city near the hill country of ephraim 1 samuel 1.
True its very full of christian elements and undertones i. The book of eli is a story about a post nuclear fallout america where anarchy is the norm and survival is hardearned. Book of eli paper the film the book of eli directed by the hughes brothers is a cinematic display of dystopian genius. But, in the midst of the chaos walks a man in possession of a. What the book of eli tells us about religion youtube. I grew up in a predominantly religious family, in that i grew up as part of a sikh family. Greed, selfishness, and overuse are hinted at along with religion s expressly, christianitys ability to teach. As recounted by carnegie and eli, bibles are scarce due to a largescale book burning after the falloutmany irrationally blamed christianity as a cause of the war. The book of eli this essay contains realistic related to the bible. Unable to read the bible in braille, carnegie gary oldman begs claudia jennifer beals to help him. Many dystopian films critique government involvement, privacy issues, and ethical concerns. The book of eli is a film ruled by its religious conviction. The bible that eli carries is hardbound, with a locking brass clasp.
Religion ended the world it was hinted that the war, that probably was nuclear, could be based on religious differences or religion can save the world. The power of the bible to uplift or destroy general theme 3. To avoid spoilers in the title of the question, im calling the period from when eli reached the island until solara left for home the end period of the movie. Washington, a twotime academy award winner widely known in hollywood for his christian beliefs, portrays a lone warrior making his way across a desolate american landscape defending the worlds last remaining copy of. However in the book of eli, the hughes brothers take a jump to a different part of modern society. Originally the load, who also falls for a trap, solara is eventually able to overcome her captors using string as a garrote, takes out another vehicle with a grenade, then drives back to retrieve eli walking the earth. Eli bumps the car door with his bag to gauge exactly where it is. The book of eli is screenwriter, gary whittas, take on a western samurai film.
As a book of interpretation, this book, also called the book of eli. Eli, reproduced in the preceding pages to this introduction, is a book of prophecy, written by the anonymous author eli. Eli wanting to bring the message of the bible to somewhere it can be spread. It also, rather startlingly, has an overt, fairly profound christian theme. I think one week is a hard lower limit for just reciting the book, assuming a normal speaking rate, eight hours a day for doing normal. Yes, to hear some people tell it, the machetewielding, steeltoed, grenadethrowing missionary denzel plays in the book of eli is allegedly a flagbearer for the christian right. It tells the story of a mans faith as he honors the almighty god in his life and follows god s will no matter how challenging the life became. Christian themes abound in book of eli the tufts daily. Whatever you bring to it, thats what youre going to come out of it with. America has suffered a catastrophic destruction and civilization and law have disappeared. Abp the bible plays a starring role in the book of eli, a postapocalyptic action film starring denzel washington that opens in theaters jan. Spoilers every clue in the book of eli that explains the. The film presents some religious sub themes, which might find differing interpretations by different viewers.
The book of eli starts out with 10 minutes of dialoguefree imagery depicting the type of postapocalyptic wasteland made familiar in recent months by the road and terminator salvation. It takes place in the shade under a bridge, and is really well done, with the camera standing still and the choreography forming a sort of. 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. Eli wears dark sunglasses, as blind people often do. The ageold debate of god and religion is something i tend to think about a lot.
So i went out with my bf last friday to watch book of eli. The book of eli is an oldfashioned western dressed up in postapocalyptic rags. One night eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. Christianity and the book of eli believe it or not. This was by far one of the best movies of 2010, and it had a great message, that somehow most people miss. And denzel washington isnt exactly kirk cameron, either. Eli does not notice the car with the skeleton until he hears the sound of rattling metal. Book of eli caps wasteland saga with a twist wired. 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. The action sequences were visually impressive and the desaturated look is a good fit. Strewn with christian themes of protecting gods word from attack and from manipulation at the hands of big brother, the book of eli is set in the postapocalyptic wasteland that was once. After having just caught the ending of the book of eli, which features strong performances from both denzel washington and gary oldman, i got thinking about the concept of god once again, and its influence on people.
But beyond the bloody scenes and foul language, audiences will discover a compelling story filled with more biblical references and christian thought than any other major motion picture in recent years. It was an ordinary run of the mill b action movie except for two major things. It shows the theme of gods supernatural power and divine providence all the much more. The book of eli is a strange mix of postapocalyptic violence, strong spirituality, and some of the best and worst that hollywood has to offer. Eli has to feel the feet to see if there are boots on the skeleton. Eli even states that many believed that its what started the wars. The book of eli provokes thoughtful debate about the religious themes in the film, but the oldminus.
Some of the themes in night by elie wiesel include the struggle to maintain faith through suffering, the evil of humanity, the dangers of silence, and the importance of fatherson relationships. 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. The fight scene between eli and a group of bandits. It was either that or legion ironically both have something to do with religion lol. But there are so many themes in it that just excite me as a christian especially the fact that the story seems impossible.
The book of eli has an incredible biblical message, which tells the story of elis unwavering faith as he honors god with his life and follows gods will no matter how hard the journey may be. The lamp of god had not yet gone out, and samuel was lying down in the house of the lord, where the ark of god was. There are interesting themes at work in the book of eli. Mixed in with the violence and sepiatones is one giant religious symbol that we just had to quiz the brothers about in our exclusive interview. The movies blatant support of christianity and the notsosubtle references to the bible are greatly encouraging and very surprising for a major theatrical release. 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 is very compelling and aweinspiring, with excellent production standards as well as absorbing character portrayals by denzel washington and gary oldman. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. That question and the film illustrates the ambiguity of the concept of christian anything. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of bible. He had obstacles along the way, but he stayed focused on the mission that he had been called to do. I felt the movie was heavyhanded in its religious themes. We see elis faith remain steadfast as he faces many trials and tribulations, including.
Now look, i get that the book of eli is a work of fiction. The lord calls samuel the boy samuel ministered before the lord under eli. Eli is best remembered for his blessing on samuels mother and for. 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. Carnegie, which was someone who tried to antagonize eli for the book stayed true to his worldview which was i believe to be that of a atheistic, because he, nor his men, had no. At first glance, the book of eli appears to be just another violent postapocalyptic film from hollywood. Only a christian flick to dogmatic believers, says the films codirector allen hughes. Eli continued to walk and walk to find a safe haven for the bible. Why is the religious themes of this movie bringing it so.
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