The Knee-Jerk Contrarian Game
Lets play the Amazon.com Knee-Jerk Contrarian Game! Here is how its played:
Citizen Kane
"Please stop the hype on Citizen Kane. It doesn't work. It's like you are trying to convince people that poop smells good."
The Godfather
"This movie was so violent I couldn't believe it!"
The Great Gatsby
"It was poorly structured, the story is unclear and it is not very memorable."
and, finally, one result that makes some sense...
King James Bible (both old and new testament)
"This was the worst piece of fiction I've ever read. The characters were cliched and their actions were just unbelievable. A total piece of trash."
First, look up the most popular and critically-acclaimed books, movies, and music on Amazon. Click on 'Customer Reviews,' and sort them by 'Lowest Rating First.' Hilarity ensues!The following are some results:
Citizen Kane
"Please stop the hype on Citizen Kane. It doesn't work. It's like you are trying to convince people that poop smells good."
The Godfather
"This movie was so violent I couldn't believe it!"
The Great Gatsby
"It was poorly structured, the story is unclear and it is not very memorable."
and, finally, one result that makes some sense...
King James Bible (both old and new testament)
"This was the worst piece of fiction I've ever read. The characters were cliched and their actions were just unbelievable. A total piece of trash."
posted by david burnstein at 3:03 PM
5 Comments:
Surely someone remarked on the Old Testament as well the the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmud that any one who would read this stuff more than once ought to have their foreskin cut off.
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My comment does come off as a personal affront, and given my state of mind when I wrote it, I probably was affronted. What I really feel, however, is a state of confoundedness (ie, per webster to be thrown into a state of confusion or perplexity). I am fundamentally confounded by the fact that there exists little if any scientific foundation for the bible, yet people put so much credence in its proclomations. If people were more humble in their religious beliefs - recognizing, that is, that such beliefs are founded on unsubstantiated fiction, er, I mean "faith" - then the world would be a better place. Another problem with religion is that people use the bible as a shortcut to avoid having to grapple with often very complicated situations that are rife with context. Its hard to think about the implications of embracing homosexuality; its easy to point to the bible's condemnation of such behavior and be done with it.
My original message was: baby-balony talmud. Wow! Not even sure what you're talking about. I think I should know what you're talking about. but I don't. Four glasses of vino in my system (steph drove tonight) and I say with conviction that religion is the root of ALL evil in this world. If people thought for themselves without reference to a cookbook, we'd be so much better off. Context is everything, I say. What confounds me is that some really smart people I know are die hard believers. Its a disconnect I do not understand at all.
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