Thursday, October 4, 2007

Dogma Redux

First, let me say that I really like 'Dogma'. I saw it in the theater in it's first run and thought it was a top-notch satire.

I only had a problem with one scene: the 'word of god'. You know, where Alannis Morrisette comes out as God, she and Ben Affleck exchange a look, he asks for forgiveness and she screams at him until his head explodes. Except for the part where Alan Rickman wipes his shirt on god's robe, I didn't like it. I thought it lacked subtlety, especially with the fantastic bit where God shows Affleck the error of his ways with just a look; you could feel the torrents of metaphysical parental shame crashing into him. Since I walked out of the theater, I thought it could've been done differently. I wasn't sure how, but my basic idea went something like this comic. I felt that a whisper disposing of Affleck might more effectively show the 'power of God' rather than a scream that sent ripples through the air.

Keep in mind,

1) it is not a storyboard and there were some narrative and artistic corners cut to fit it into a single page.
2) I was going by memory on purpose (rather than hitting You Tube). I double-checked after and think I got pretty close.
3) I really need to practice hands.

Here you go, as always, click to enlarge:




listening to while posting: 'Something to Remember Me By' by Steve Wynn off of Kerosene Man

5 comments:

Swinebread said...

I’m more of a Chasing Amy kinda guy, that being said…

Yes, Yes, Yes you nailed it! I think maybe Kevin Smith might have felt he needed a big Hollywood-type ending or something but it rang false due to the budget constraints of the film as well as the direction of the story… A soft moment (less is more) interrupted by Jay’s filthy mouth is actually how this scene should have been scripted and shot. It would have made a great counter scene to the one in Chasing Amy when Silent Bob Talks about Amy and Jay tear into him… Good Job.

Arkonbey said...

thanks, man!

I was wondering if it worked. The (now) wife has been listening to my talk about this on and off since we walked out of the theater...

I have to check out Chasing Amy again, too.

He was on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on NPR two weeks ago and Lo and Behold, he was a funny guy.

Michelle Lana said...

This is cool!!!! Great!

Unknown said...

I like the contrast between the quieter scenes just prior to it and the "What the fuck?" at the end. It's like quiet-loud dynamics in music.

Cedricstudio said...

Thanks very much for taking time to post on my blog. I've posted a response if you are interested.

http://cedrichohnstadt.wordpress.com