The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
The Forum - On Line Opinion's article discussion area



Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Main Articles General

Sign In      Register

The Forum > General Discussion > 1989 - the Beginning of the End of the Enlightenment?

1989 - the Beginning of the End of the Enlightenment?

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. Page 4
  6. 5
  7. All
I should point out that the enlightenment project is not merely under attack from religion. Chinese films have been withdrawn from the Melbourne International Film Festival because of the decision to screen "The 10 Conditions of Love", a movie about the oppression of Uighurs.

See:

http://www.theage.com.au/national/china-firm-on-film-festival-criminal-20090715-dli1.html

Commendably festival director Richard Moore refused to bow to Chinese Government pressure. "The 10 Conditions of Love" will be screened.

So far so good.

But what now? In coming years will the directors of the MIFF exercise some self-censorship? Will they decide that it is too much hassle to screen certain films?

Withdrawing the "The 10 Conditions of Love" would have been a highly visible act. It would have led to howls of protest within Australia. But suppose in future films of similar character are simply not included in the line up with the excuse of insufficient artistic merit? That sort of self-censorship is hard to prove.

For that matter, how much self-censorship goes on right now? Are there movies that are excluded because they might upset sensitive groups?
Posted by stevenlmeyer, Monday, 27 July 2009 3:35:26 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
"20 years ago an Iranian cleric pronounced a death sentence on a British author."

The Russians were successful in putting down the Muslim insurgents by using the very tactics the Islamists uses.

If any imam or Muslim religious leader passes en edict (or pronounced a death sentence) to have someone killed. What should be done is to kill not only the cleric who gave the order; his mosque should be bombed and all members of his family killed off. This is the only way Islamists understands and respect you.

Communist China is getting soft, like the West, on dealing with the Islamists, they should learn a thing or two from the Russians.
Posted by Philip Tang, Monday, 27 July 2009 4:01:29 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Steven

I was very young when Armstrong took that one small step, so I don't recall the actual event. However, I do remember the sense that humans could achieve anything throughout my childhood, that women stood equal to men, that we would probably colonise other planets and that all the world would never suffer from starvation or other inequities.

I never dreamed that in 2009, the influence of orthodox religion would have even greater influence than it did when I was young, that abortion would still be an issue or even the right to equal pay for equal work would still be discussed. Nor that evolution would even be doubted, that an American president could refer to other countries as an "axis of evil" or we have become so timid as to fear the reactions of any religion for simply holding a difference of opinion. Or that I would be called a feminazi for expressing my opinion while female.

Was 1989 the beginning of the end of enlightenment? For religion it appears to be a darker age; did it start with "The Satanic Verses"? I think the fatwa called on Rushdie was the first obvious symptom of a backlash by extremist religions. I doubt there was a single catalyst but I do believe it began with bigotry and inequity both of which have been used since humans separated from other primates, for domination and power.
Posted by Fractelle, Monday, 27 July 2009 4:06:22 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
'The Enlightenment' or just enlightenment? Many here wouldn't know the difference, thinking that they are enlightened, but the other bloke isn't.

If you are talking about the new Western philosophy of the eighteenth century, then that was knocked in the head well before the 20th century. Now, with post-modernism and relativism, it has been almost forgotten.
Posted by Leigh, Monday, 27 July 2009 4:07:25 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Stevenlmeyer
Christmas Day this year will mark the 95th anniversary of a remarkable event in the front line trenches of World War 1 (the war to end all wars).
On Christmas Day in 1914 along one section of the Western front, Scots, French and German soldiers celebrated Christmas together.
They sang Christmas songs, exchanged gifts, showed each other photos of loved ones and realised that they had more in common with each other than they had differences.
It did not take long to get the killing machines back into operation, some of the soldiers were court marshalled and shot, others were transferred to different parts of the front.
This event should be remembered and discussed more often as it may be the closest we have ever been to eliminating war as a means of solving conflict.
Posted by Peace, Monday, 27 July 2009 4:09:32 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
'Or that I would be called a feminazi for expressing my opinion while female.'

Why do the gender warriors have to infiltrate every bloody thread with their boring arguments!
Posted by Houellebecq, Monday, 27 July 2009 5:11:46 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. Page 4
  6. 5
  7. All

About Us :: Search :: Discuss :: Feedback :: Legals :: Privacy