I, Pastafari has been on my "must watch" list since it was announced. Pastafarianism, relatively unknown by most people, has always been ridiculed by those who are aware of its presence as a giant, elaborate practical joke, and to the untrained eye, it might as well be. Throughout its marketing campaign, this movie appeared to be the one dedicated to shedding light on the evolution of Pastafarianism and the message behind its noodly nobility.
The fact of the matter is that it also takes the time to attack its attackers rather than defending itself through detailed explanation.
This movie can be shown in Europe and North America to the people familiar with Pastafarianism at least in name if not in awareness of concept. However, this is not by any means as much an educational film as it is one of counterattack. FSM groups on social media continue to emphasize that they are not atheist groups, that they encourage critical thinking and, satire may it be, has followers from all religions following in its philosophy. It loses its argument immediately when it is obvious that it targets Abrahamic religions, and *only* Abrahamic monotheistic religions in such a way that blatantly promotes subjective critical thinking.
First, all subjects of focus are European and mainly from the Netherlands, where the followers seem to be from or made to look more than other nations. The Netherlands are no strangers to controversy when it comes to many cultural policies, from being a pioneer in the legalization of Cannabis and prostitution and now, it seems, the acceptance of many citizens of Bobby Henderson's call of enlightenment to the world. Where are other followers such as those in North America or the United Kingdom?
The fact that the focus leans towards looking left of the globe is also questionable and subjective. What about those in Africa? The Middle East? East Asia? The latter, minorities as they may be (and what Pastafarian isn't anyway) may have provided a much better insight to what the actual cross-spectrum views and beliefs of Pastafarians are outside of Western culture and their abilities to integrate their philosophies into regular life. I for one, am an ordained minister living in West Asia, and I know of at least one Pastafarian living in Egypt. Did someone think of researching us? Highly unlikely. I'm sure it didn't cross the filmmakers' mind to research the geographical exception to the rules of the philosophical exception to the rule. An easy way out, if you ask me.
Which leads to the religious pothole. Christianity and Islam seem to be the main focus of the film's crosshairs, perhaps the former more than the latter because many people have given up on the idea that a Muslim can have an open enough mind to pursue anything but a chest-long beard and 72 virgins. Arguments of a different perspective on the acceptance and equal treatment of the FSM vs. Christianity summarize themselves in Pedro Irigonegaray's hypothesis of "what would Americans feel like if Islam suddenly becomes the dominant religion and they were subjected to billboards with verses of the Quran everywhere," which may inflame further unnecessary tensions between groups of faith.
So when it comes to argument against religion, whether in philosophy or persecution, where did the Hindus go? Taoists? Buddhists? A scholar at the beginning of the film describes the evolution of religion from polytheism to monotheism over the years, but the movie is far too focused on the monotheistic religions to recognize that polytheistic religions still exist and may in fact have a problem with something as eccentric as Pastafarianism in their societies.
The movie is by no means bad. It's fun to watch and clearly opens doors of perception to a wider view of the world's thought process, and yet it fails to practice what it preaches...and that's its main setback. I highly recommend watching it but, as it indeed preaches, I recommend watching it with the eyes of someone whose view of the world is much more neutral than the subjects of its focus or their own subjects of criticism. A person who may socially be classified as a third culture kid.
Sadly, as delicious a film as it is for the open-minded thinker, it digs its fork no deeper than the sauce of the subject, failing to go all the way down to the noodles. That would have to be your task. Wear a handkerchief.
The fact of the matter is that it also takes the time to attack its attackers rather than defending itself through detailed explanation.
This movie can be shown in Europe and North America to the people familiar with Pastafarianism at least in name if not in awareness of concept. However, this is not by any means as much an educational film as it is one of counterattack. FSM groups on social media continue to emphasize that they are not atheist groups, that they encourage critical thinking and, satire may it be, has followers from all religions following in its philosophy. It loses its argument immediately when it is obvious that it targets Abrahamic religions, and *only* Abrahamic monotheistic religions in such a way that blatantly promotes subjective critical thinking.
First, all subjects of focus are European and mainly from the Netherlands, where the followers seem to be from or made to look more than other nations. The Netherlands are no strangers to controversy when it comes to many cultural policies, from being a pioneer in the legalization of Cannabis and prostitution and now, it seems, the acceptance of many citizens of Bobby Henderson's call of enlightenment to the world. Where are other followers such as those in North America or the United Kingdom?
The fact that the focus leans towards looking left of the globe is also questionable and subjective. What about those in Africa? The Middle East? East Asia? The latter, minorities as they may be (and what Pastafarian isn't anyway) may have provided a much better insight to what the actual cross-spectrum views and beliefs of Pastafarians are outside of Western culture and their abilities to integrate their philosophies into regular life. I for one, am an ordained minister living in West Asia, and I know of at least one Pastafarian living in Egypt. Did someone think of researching us? Highly unlikely. I'm sure it didn't cross the filmmakers' mind to research the geographical exception to the rules of the philosophical exception to the rule. An easy way out, if you ask me.
Which leads to the religious pothole. Christianity and Islam seem to be the main focus of the film's crosshairs, perhaps the former more than the latter because many people have given up on the idea that a Muslim can have an open enough mind to pursue anything but a chest-long beard and 72 virgins. Arguments of a different perspective on the acceptance and equal treatment of the FSM vs. Christianity summarize themselves in Pedro Irigonegaray's hypothesis of "what would Americans feel like if Islam suddenly becomes the dominant religion and they were subjected to billboards with verses of the Quran everywhere," which may inflame further unnecessary tensions between groups of faith.
So when it comes to argument against religion, whether in philosophy or persecution, where did the Hindus go? Taoists? Buddhists? A scholar at the beginning of the film describes the evolution of religion from polytheism to monotheism over the years, but the movie is far too focused on the monotheistic religions to recognize that polytheistic religions still exist and may in fact have a problem with something as eccentric as Pastafarianism in their societies.
The movie is by no means bad. It's fun to watch and clearly opens doors of perception to a wider view of the world's thought process, and yet it fails to practice what it preaches...and that's its main setback. I highly recommend watching it but, as it indeed preaches, I recommend watching it with the eyes of someone whose view of the world is much more neutral than the subjects of its focus or their own subjects of criticism. A person who may socially be classified as a third culture kid.
Sadly, as delicious a film as it is for the open-minded thinker, it digs its fork no deeper than the sauce of the subject, failing to go all the way down to the noodles. That would have to be your task. Wear a handkerchief.