The Hollywood Holy Man

My sister likes Drama.  I like Action.  She hates Action and I hate Drama.
It's difficult to be movie-watching buddies.

At my house, the Friday Night Movie is practically an institution.  An immovable law of nature, a non-negotiable ritual, to be observed for all eternity.  Part of its sacredness derives from the fact that the Parental Units did not allow the watching of movies any other night of the week.  (TV was strictly prohibited every night of every week, plus the antenna had been removed before we were born.)  Therefore, the Friday Night Movie was not taken lightly.  Even now, we kids continue to observe the Friday Movie Night tradition.  As they say, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is older he will salivate at the sound of a bell.”

So a few FMN’s ago, my sister and I watched a film called "Traitor,” which features the fabulously soulful Don Cheadle and the strikingly fierce Guy Pearce (heh, faux-pun).  ‘Tis a very tense and engaging movie, filled with strong religious/political undertones, and characters with lots of secrets.  Aka I loved it.

Cheadle portrays a devout Muslim who's working with a Jihadist cell, despite his strong sense of conscience.  Pearce portrays the FBI agent who’s tracking him, in an effort to stop a major terrorist attack.  The interesting part is watching a very conflicted Cheadle struggle with the concept of Jihad.  On the one hand, he’s the most committed Muslim you’d ever meet, and at the same time he has a tremendous respect for life and can’t fully condone the Jihadist way.   But neither the Jihadists nor the FBI are the forgiving type.  So he’s got to figure out a way to maintain his conscience before Allah, work with the Jihadists, stay ahead of the Feds, and basically avoid getting a bullet in the head without putting a bullet in someone’s head. [SPOILER ALERT:  About midway through, it’s revealed that Cheadle is working undercover to break up the Jihadist cell.  But his mission is so covert that not even the FBI knows about it.  The heat ratchets up when he’s forced to complete missions for the Jihadists in order to maintain his cover and carry out his ultimate mission.]

The point of the film, so to speak, is that true Muslims aren’t Jihadists, but humble, sacrificial, honorable people who affirm life and fear only Allah.  They aren’t afraid of death and may/may not know kung-fu.

Political and religious implications aside, I found this portrayal of a Muslim character intriguing.  Because, the thing is, I'm starting to recognize a pattern in how films portray spiritual heroes. In spite of Hollywood’s distaste for Christians/religious figures, it hasn’t completely thrown away the shaman archetype.  There’ve been a slew of spiritual heroes lately:  the missionary in 'Pirates of the Caribbean 4', the blind dude in "Book of Eli", and … er, I can’t recall any others off the top of my head.  But nevertheless, here are several noteworthy observations on Hollywood’s concept of a spiritual hero, as evidenced by Mr. Muslim, Sir Missionary, and Blind Dude:

1.   Code of Ethics. These guys got consciences; they live before God, not man.  Therefore, they always act honorably, regardless of (and usually in contrast to) their surroundings.  Which makes for good hero material, ‘cause these people are more than willing to stick to their guns and get themselves killed for something. 

2.   Compassion.  Although these people observe a strict moral code, they also exhibit great kindness towards their fellow man.  Mr. Muslim has “seen enough death to know the value of life.”  Sir Missionary explicitly pleads for mercy claiming, “… I see [the face of God] when compassion and mercy are shown in the face of great suffering.”  This is not your parent’s Inquisition.

3.   Allegiance to a larger system of faith.  They may be lonely little believers, but they’re not poached eggs, just making it up as they go along.  That is to say, they submit themselves to some sort of authoritative and codified belief system, or at the very least, a text.  Some overachievers like Blind Dude literally memorize the entire Scripture (not just John 11:35).  Plus, they religiously perform the rituals of the faith.  And apparently these rituals are sources of strength/renewal, and not repressive coping mechanisms.  Interesting. 

4.   Bold.  Because these guys know where they stand before God, they don’t fear death.  And they’re not afraid to speak the truth, calling out cowardice and selfishness.  They may be do-gooders, but they ain’t no pushover pansies.

5.   BA.  Apparently spiritual warriors are also kung-fu warriors.  Or at the very least they’re not pacifists.  Most of them shoot scary guns, do jujitsu, and swear occasionally (primarily to put ruffians in line).  They are, in two words, very BA.

With the exception of the last criterion, I’d have to say “Not bad, Hollywood.”  This certainly isn’t Jesus-the-Action-Figure, but for a pop-culture version of a “holy man,” it’s not bad.  I really can’t quarrel with any of these qualities, except maybe the fifth one (I don’t approve of jujitsu)(just kidding, jujitsu is awesome)(it’s the swearing I might have a problem with).  But seriously, this is pretty good recipe for a spiritual hero. 

Except don’t non-spiritual heroes have a lot of these qualities too?  Standards of morality, compassion, boldness, total BAness.  Maybe not the “allegiance to a larger system of faith” part.  Hmm… so essentially what distinguishes a Religious Hero from a Generic Hero is the holy man’s connection to an established, defined, mystical Catechism. But I have to wonder if it’s a frail sort of Catechism, though, since the defining power behind all the swirling smoke and serene facial expressions (namely Allah, Jesus, whathaveyou) is rather undefined and overlooked in these films.  (And, yes, I realize this is bleeding into the religious implications.)  Despite featuring an overtly Muslim character, “Traitor” counterbalances the Islam element with Pearce’s character, the son of a Baptist minister.  He appeals to Cheadle, claiming to hail from a similar heritage.  Er, what?  Likewise, in “Book of Eli,” the Bible is eventually shelved next to the Qur’an and the Torah.  Which is a fabulous use of the Dewey Decimal system, but a rather unsatisfying ending after watching Blind Dude transport, protect, and ingest the Bible for 60+ minutes.  And it makes me wonder which voice was in his head, guiding him along.  I’d assumed it was the Holy Spirit, but apparently not.  Allah?  Elohim?  The Universe?  Beuhler?  *Sigh*  Good ol’ Hollywood, neutering all systems of faith in one fell swoop. 

Anywho, it’ll be interesting to see if this Holy Hero trend continues.  Given that Sir Missionary’s last moment on-screen  featured him being dragged underwater by the Love of his Life, he clearly has a sequel coming in 'Pirates 5.'  Therefore, his character (not to mention his relationship with Ms. Mermaid) will have to be further developed.  My crystal ball predicts that the next movie will downplay his missionary-ness and up-play his heartthroby-ness.  Oh goodness.  *Sigh*  *Flutter-flutter*  (That was a sigh of disappointment, accompanied by fluttering eyelashes.)

On the other hand, perhaps the filmmakers were insinuating that he's going to drown.

In which case his next moment on-screen will be his arrival at the Pearly Gates (which would definitely be the apex of a spiritual hero's journey).  Or Mr. Missionary could wake up on a sandy beach, miraculously alive (another highlight in the career of a spiritual hero).  Guess we'll have to wait until 2013 to find out if his character is ultimately "hot" or "holy."