The Atheist -- short movie made in Hawaii

Existentialist

Existentialist

Well-known member
I'm sorry to say I didn't like it.

It just feels like rampant sermonizing to me. You didn't even bother to setup a story. It seemed like the whole reason for the movie is the scene with the angel where your atheist sees the light. I thought the scene was pretty ridiculous because your "atheist" is such a simple and hackneyed strawman. You aren't really playing fair here. This tactic might win over your Christian viewers who already agree with you but if you expect this to win over any non-believers you're fooling yourself.

I know this isn't what you intend but your story seems to be saying that - if you're an atheist and you experience a personal miracle, if God or one of his angels comes to you, then you should accept Jesus. Why do you completely neglect the idea of faith? It takes a miracle to win this atheist over. How many people get to experience personal miracles? How do you convert an atheist without a miracle being involved? This is fertile soil and you took the easy way out.
 
Thanks for your comment.
Many people didn't like this movie for the exact same reasons you exposed, and I'm ok with that because well, you just won't please everyone with religious views such as the ones I put out. But thanks for your input.
 
I have to agree with Messenger. The very fact that this character is portrayed as an Atheist because of a personal tragedy cheapens the much more intellectual arguements for being so. Giving a more solid basis and less used concept for your characters non-belief would give, I feel, more depth to the character.
Despite my views on the content of your film I did like your choice of music.
You might want to reconsider the lens flares; perhaps an effect which has been used to death.
I really appreciate you sharing your work regardless of how it's received.
Cheers.
 
SonicStates said:
I have to agree with Messenger. The very fact that this character is portrayed as an Atheist because of a personal tragedy cheapens the much more intellectual arguements for being so. Giving a more solid basis and less used concept for your characters non-belief would give, I feel, more depth to the character.
Despite my views on the content of your film I did like your choice of music.
You might want to reconsider the lens flares; perhaps an effect which has been used to death.
I really appreciate you sharing your work regardless of how it's received.
Cheers.
Click to expand...


That's some fantastic constructive criticism! Thank you! Much needed indeed...
 
Loney Childress said:
I thought it was great. And don't worry that some athiests don't like it. They hate everything that sounds remotely religious. Just look at YouTube. They have a community of over 2000 YouTube Athiests that just search for videos to call people 'stupid' or 'ignorant'. That's what they do. They claim not to care about the subject but are more zelous in their denial of God than most Christians are in their testimony.

Great job and I hope you do well at your film festival.
Click to expand...
rampant ignorance and prejudice is not exclusive to one group. and neither is trolling apparently.
 
Last edited:
"you guys"?

i don't know what kind of warped or limited worldview you have, but I believe most people in this beautiful country of ours consider hatefulness to be unacceptable behavior for any intelligent human being.
 
Last edited:
Loney Childress said:
I know, you guys always do. I'm used to it. But don't worry, it's P.C. to hate Christians.

Why don't you look at the kind of comments left on his movie alone on YouTube, and then comeback and apologize.
Click to expand...
Why should he have to apologize for someone else's views?


I thought it came off as preachy.

Just my 2 cents.
 
watched the short. I know people are rallying against your character because they are saying he isn't an honest depiction of a conventional atheist. but i think what they are missing is that your main character is in fact, not an atheist. he is a Christian man struggling with his faith to an extreme degree, and who for five years was desperately searching for answers because he lost his wife in a terrible tragedy. he wanted to give her death meaning. and he directed his anger at God and expressed it by rejecting him. that carried with it condescending attitudes toward people "foolish" enough to believe in him. he projected onto religion an understanding of "false hope" because he himself was so desperately hopeless but still haunted by the idea that there *must* be something bigger than himself... there must be meaning to the suffering inflicted upon him.

the only real flaw i see in this character is that when he is visited by an angel, he holds fervently to his atheistic guns. considering that the angel himself is the proof of a higher power that he's been looking for evidence of either for or against, i don't see why he would need to press the angel to convince him. i think your character behaves in an unrealistic manner, being emotionally contrived to serve the unfolding plotline.
 
Last edited:
Loney Childress said:
I thought it was great. And don't worry that some athiests don't like it. They hate everything that sounds remotely religious. Just look at YouTube. They have a community of over 2000 YouTube Athiests that just search for videos to call people 'stupid' or 'ignorant'. That's what they do. They claim not to care about the subject but are more zelous in their denial of God than most Christians are in their testimony.
Click to expand...
I'm not confused. It was your post above that I have the biggest problem with.
Also, don't assume that it is just Atheists who don't like it.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Loney Childress said:
The reason you're confused about what I wrote is because Zak editted his post to make me look like I was being unreasonable, a typical tactic. Originally he said he was very offended by my original post and I was a hater. Now he's changed it to make me look like I lashed out over nothing.

Now with that in context I said I wrote what I wrote because of the tremdous trashing he has taken by YouTube Athiests.

Not sure why I'm defending, it'll just be editted again to remove his comment that I have a "warped or limited worldview".
Click to expand...

actually, i said "insulted", not "offended". and i never called you a hater. i've never called anyone a "hater". in fact, that particular brand of slang isn't even in my vocabulary.

i edited my post because you we're obviously upset. and i didn't want to further antagonize you by saying how offended i was by your generalization of atheists. which unintentionally motivated you to continue, i see, in that you feel my "tactic" of editing a post was "typical". editing posts is typical for atheists? really?

look, as a member of this community, I only want to protect this place from the ignorance and "us vs. them" mentality like you indicated on youtube. there's no place for that sh*t here. we have filmmaking in common and that unites us.
 
Loney Childress said:
Once again, I was talking about the YouTube response to his movie. I guess I might not have been clear enough on that, and if that is case, I apologize. But he's received a major assault on YouTube. And this typical of anything remotely religious.

Once again, wasn't referring to the people on this site.
But, just for defending his movie, I don't need to be told I have a "warped or limited worldview". Alot of people don't know this, but Christians or any other group should be allowed to make movies if they wish and be judged on their movie and not on whether European and Hollywood athiests approve or not.

Even on this site, he was immediate jumped on for not doing an athiest character justice. Like anyone worries about accurately portraying a Christian character in a movie. Maybe he shouldn't have named it "The Athiest" but something different like "The Skeptic", maybe that would've made a difference.
Click to expand...
Nope. You were all too clear.

Have fun guys.

Mike
 
this is what i'm talking... you talk about "Hollywood atheists" and that someone is out there claiming Christians shouldn't be filmmaking. it's dishonest. all filmmakers, and i'm talking about real blood sweat and tears filmmakers "worry" about the authenticity of any character they create. whether they be Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Catholic, Agnostic, Atheist or even "undeclared".


Loney Childress said:
Once again, I was talking about the YouTube response to his movie. I guess I might not have been clear enough on that, and if that is case, I apologize. But he's received a major assault on YouTube. And this typical of anything remotely religious.

Once again, wasn't referring to the people on this site.
But, just for defending his movie, I don't need to be told I have a "warped or limited worldview". Alot of people don't know this, but Christians or any other group should be allowed to make movies if they wish and be judged on their movie and not on whether European and Hollywood athiests approve or not.

Even on this site, he was immediate jumped on for not doing an athiest character justice. Like anyone worries about accurately portraying a Christian character in a movie. Maybe he shouldn't have named it "The Athiest" but something different like "The Skeptic", maybe that would've made a difference.
Click to expand...
 
You know what, cram this site. Obviously only some of us are allowed to have an opinion. I've received nothing but negativity. Have fun.
 
Loney Childress said:
You know what, cram this site. Obviously only some of us are allowed to have an opinion. I've received nothing but negativity. Have fun.
Click to expand...

amazing. that is exactly the OPPOSITE of what i've been trying to communicate to you -- this is a place for open minds, not generalizations and unfounded labels and straw man arguments. not here, man. :angry:

lumping all atheists together as Christian hating, post editing, foul-mouths is not "having an opinion".
 
Loney Childress said:
Once again, I was talking about the YouTube response to his movie. I guess I might not have been clear enough on that, and if that is case, I apologize. But he's received a major assault on YouTube. And this typical of anything remotely religious.

Once again, wasn't referring to the people on this site.
But, just for defending his movie, I don't need to be told I have a "warped or limited worldview". Alot of people don't know this, but Christians or any other group should be allowed to make movies if they wish and be judged on their movie and not on whether European and Hollywood athiests approve or not.

Even on this site, he was immediate jumped on for not doing an athiest character justice. Like anyone worries about accurately portraying a Christian character in a movie. Maybe he shouldn't have named it "The Athiest" but something different like "The Skeptic", maybe that would've made a difference.
Click to expand...

People jump all over this kind of 'film' and i use that term very loosely here... because it is not good.

I've written like ten different responses to this.. sigh.. I have many insightful things to say on the topic of religion.. but instead I will boil it down to a simple equation cause I can't contain my resentment for the quoted poster and his obvious troll tactics.

Religion = Bunk.

Faith = Not Bunk.

As for this so called film...there really wasn't anything I liked about it.. the horrid makeup work made turn it off at first.. and only because I wanted to come back and dispute the idiocy of Loney Childress did I end up watching more.

The acting is terrible. The Dialogue is bleh. The editing has that lets cut because I 'filmed lots of angles'. And the entire thing comes off as preachy which I suppose isn't a stretch considering the source.

my random intuition tells me; that someone not an atheist.. and not a christian... and solely acting as a 'filmmaker' would have made a much more compelling film. This is a talking head.. telling us the story... instead of showing us in an interesting way.

Basically I disliked this a great deal as a film. Loney Childress brought out the spiteful side of me. Though.. my name is Loki.

But the greatest irony of all.. is your forum name... Existentialist.... simply stunning..

don't worry I am leaving. I'll let the door hit me on the way out.

/vent
 
Loney Childress said:
So, let me summarize. You hate me, so you're going to be spiteful and trash this guy's film.
Click to expand...
loney... sincerely... no one hates you... :love4::love4::love4:

but you're not going to find much sympathy here when you equate anyone who is critical of this short film's authenticity to being intentionally hateful and deceitful -- characteristics you ignorantly attribute to all atheists across the board.

the above post is the very definition of setting up a straw man argument. it was pretty transparent as such. and i don't know what it was meant to communicate other than to try and position yourself as a victim. ???


zak
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top