Quote from: PRJ_since1990 on Jan 03, 2017, 01:08:42 AM
Thank you for the kind sentiment Deuterium. Although I must admit we have doctrinal differences, I'm glad to hear you speak your heart. What are your thoughts on the Alien prequels then and where do you think the series is going? Feel free to DM if needed.
Hi PRJ,
Firstly, a brief sideline / segue related to previous post...
I just wanted to clarify that the Catholic Church has not made a dogmatic declaration or doctrinal definition when it comes to the Creation timeline and duration of events. A Catholic is free to believe in a literalistic interpretation (i.e. six 24-hour days), or to interpret and understand the Creation narrative in a more figurative, allegorical (and anagogical) manner. The Church teaches, unambiguously, that all of Sacred Scripture is the inspired Word of God, and affirms it's inerrancy. However, there is no question that the Bible, nor the inspired authors, ever intended to present a scientific account of Creation. The inerrancy needs to be understood in light of the four senses of Scripture, as well as the distinction between interpreting the Bible literally (which we do), or interpreting the Bible literalisticaly. The "literal" meaning of a passage of Scripture is the meaning that the author of that passage of Scripture intended to convey. The "literalist" interpretation of a passage of Scripture is: "that's what it says, that's what it means." The latter has to be handled with more care, and with a firm grasp on the style and genre that the inspired author was writing.
The 73 books of the Bible are written by many inspired authors, who are writing in many different genres, across a great span of time. Certain books (such as the Gospels, Acts, and many of the Epistles) are straightforward historical accounts. Others, such as Revelation and the Book of Daniel belong to Apocalyptic genre. Still other books are written in the style and genre of prophecies, allegories, parables, poetry, songs, etc.
So, to be clear, most Church scholars, including many of the Early Church Fathers, do not hold a "literalistic" interpretation of Genesis, although they all hold a "literal" interpretation. This would also be the case for the Orthodox Church, as well as most main-line Protestant denominations.
Now, back to your question on my thoughts/opinions on Prometheus, and the state of the Alien franchise, in general. Please keep in mind that everything to follow is simply my humble opinion (obviously).
I won't pull any punches. I absolutely loathed Prometheus. IMHO, it was a beautifully filmed mess. I was offended by the bad science that riddles the film, as well as the bad scientists making outrageously stupid decisions. Also, there is the ridiculous retcon of the once mysterious, eerie, unsettling, disturbing and utterly alien Space Jockey. Now, it becomes nothing more than an exo-suit worn by a big, blue human. Of course, we have the ill conceived "Chariots of the gods" storyline to thank for that. Even that wouldn't have been so bad, if Lindelof and Scott had maintained a truly inscrutable and utterly alien high tech civilization as the so-called "engineers". Heck, I wouldn't even have had a problem with an alien Space Jockey race interacting with and influencing ancient human culture. But Lindelof/Scott had to shoehorn in a lame "they were our creators", we were "made in their image" twist and anti-religious corruption of authentic Judeo-Christian belief. Then, there is the sheer laziness of non-explanation, via the introduction of a magical "black goo". How I hate the "black goo" trope. Finally, we have the not-so-subtle atheist agenda shoved in our face, with the character of Shaw facing a crisis and then losing her Faith. Seems like we can never get a story of someone, when faced with a spiritual crisis, finding the strength (working through Grace) to persevere and triumphantly reaffirm and renew their Faith with a deeper and abiding conviction. I guess that wouldn't be "edgy" enough.
So, to sum up, my favorite films of the franchise are:
#1) Alien (by a country mile) -- pretty much a "perfect" film, like "Jaws" or "Raiders of the Lost Ark".
#2) Aliens -- excellent film in it's own right, and a great action flick. However, I have issues with how Cameron reduced the fantastical, biomechanical, Lovecraftian Alien into something that is little more than a glorified insect (hence "bug-hunt"), complete with a Queen termite. The original nightmare fuel, the "perfect organism", has been transformed into a rather mundane bullet-sponge.
#3) Alien 3
Cheers,
John