Comments on: A True Atheist Movie: The Ledge

By: New Point of Inquiry: Matthew Chapman–The Ledge | The Intersection | Discover Magazine

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:50:53 +0000

[...] I blogged about Matthew Chapman’s “The Ledge,” which I called a “true atheist [...]

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 04:43:34 +0000

Just watched this movie, and I have to say that I think it casts the atheist in a terrible light. Hunnam’s character, Gavin, is despicable, even more so than Patrick Wilson’s zealot. Gavin seems to use the same tactics in his philosophical debate that I as a non-theist find sickening when used by Christians – he gets angry, shouts, and implies that the theist is a fool for not thinking the way he does. Further, as Cathy Cooper pointed out, the message that theists will probably take from this film is that the typical atheist is “an adulterous sinner who lures a “a good Christian woman” into sin”. Gavin goes into intricate detail in explaining his insidious plot to ‘liberate’ this Christian woman from her marriage, and overall, he comes across exactly how Christians have thought of atheists for centuries – amoral, selfish, scheming, and lying in wait to facilitate someone else’s fall from grace.

All in all, I don’t think this film could have served the propaganda filled Christian hate machine any better, even if Kent Hovind had been consulted. To say this film will do for atheists what ‘Brokeback Mountain’ did for gays is a false analogy; it would be more apt to say that this film will do for atheists what the Westboro Baptist Church does for gays – further demonize and dehumanize them.

By: Cathy Cooper

Cathy Cooper — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 11:18:57 +0000

As an atheist, I was disappointed as I watched the trailer, and I do not see how portraying an atheist as an adulterous sinner who lures a “a good Christian woman” into sin (in the eyes of Christians that watch this film) does anything positive to promote atheism. Christians already view atheists as heathens with no moral values, and all this film will do is confirm their suspicions. What this film also illustrates, is how insidious Christian dogma is in society, as even those that are not Christian fall into the trap of believing they are “born sinners” who can’t help but to “sin.” In this case, it is the atheist who “can’t help himself” from having an affair with his neighbor’s wife, and she, as a “born sinner” cannot help herself either. The truth is however, that it is all just a matter of choice. The atheist could have chosen not to have an affair–and so could the Christian.

I could think of a thousand plot lines in which an atheist could be the hero without being a “sinner” in the minds of Christians. ( I do not believe in sin, but there is such a thing as right and wrong, and I believe in taking responsibility for my own actions.) How sad—that this was the best they could do.

By: Forrest Leeson

Forrest Leeson — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 04:08:20 +0000

That trailer looks like PHONE BOOTH 2: ON A LEDGE.

@19: Albert Camus, “The Myth Of Sisyphus”.

By: Hugo Schmidt

Hugo Schmidt — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 18:15:04 +0000

Ian, We are the purpose. We and the mind and the consciousness in this pitiless Universe of blind matter. In this waste of blind law and empty order, we and we alone, are able to look out and understand. Isn't that a grand thing?

By: Nullius in Verba

Nullius in Verba — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:22:03 +0000

#19,

People have purposes. A purpose is part of the machinery of survival, like thirst or sleepiness. The universe is not a person and doesn’t need one.

By: Cory

Cory — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:28:05 +0000

Because watching movies and making movies are enjoyable things to do.
What a bizarre question, Ian!

By: Ian

Ian — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:43:54 +0000

The atheist Richard Dawkins once said, “The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference”. If this is true then why should I watch this movie? Why would an atheist make a movie? Indeed, why would an atheist do anything at all?

By: Hugo Schmidt

Hugo Schmidt — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 06:21:29 +0000

Chris, Matthew, it is a fair request; I was simply saying why I was wary. I could have also cited “The Golden Compass”, a pro-atheist film that is so stupid and condescending that it makes me want to make a beeline for the nearest Jesuit recruiting centre.

By: Dave Burns

Dave Burns — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 01:31:01 +0000

I watched the film at the American Atheists Conference and thought it was great. I encourage everyone to watch the film and hope that it does well on a national level. The film should do a good job of spurring discussion of atheism and fundamentalism with those who haven’t really thought much about it. I hope it paves the way for more films to address the same topic and reach different audiences.