January 15, 2012
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The Pain of the Gods
Just re-watched the movie Stranger than Fiction with Will Ferrel which is a lovely story about a man who starts to realise his life is being written by an author and that the author is planning to kill him off.
There is a lot more to the story but it beautifully plays with the idea of the roles of both gods and mortals and I think highlights some very interesting points and concepts.
The one I find most moving in the film is the pain that the author feels when she becomes aware that her ‘character’ is real and is going to die.
The beauty and symmetry of the story she is writing demands his death, that’s his part and without it the whole journey loses it’s meaning, but still the weight of his life rests on her and her choice to write his story.
And this concept when applied to that of a God is even more tragic.
When we complain about our lives or the suffering of others, and even blame our God’s for letting such suffering exist we are ignoring the fact that if there are Gods who have lovingly created our lives, down to the very last detail and moment.
And have not only been doing this for us, but for countless thousands of mortals for centuries then our complaints pale in comparison to the suffering of a divine creator both mother and father to an endless story of beings each as beautiful and wondrous as only a divine being could create, but each doomed to die, to serve their unique purpose…and then to be lost.
If you begin writing something or creating a story, pretty quickly you realise that it suggests it’s self to you rather than you writing it. And so you end up being left with only a few choices that work for the character or the overall story, sometimes you might not even like the choice that you write, but it’s the only one that makes sense.
But there is a hopeful part to this film because at the end they seem to be highlighting the fact that for the creators they have this incredible ever growing story to construct each bit made up of the lives, loves and fortunes of the mortals they have created.
And for the mortals they don’t need to be concerned with the story, they should just treasure their part in it and the little details that give so much joy to not only them but to the divine spirit that gave them those details to enjoy.
Comments (14)
I haven’t seen this movie yet, but it sounds so interesting I think I’ll add it to my list of movies to watch! (:
This is one beautiful tribute to creation and writers Bede, I have always admired writers and I wait for the wondrous universes of your creation amaze me
I like your perceptive note about how words and the story kind of suggest themselves once we put pen to paper… very true.
Very interesting post!
I’ve heard of that movie, but never saw it. I’m adding it to my to-watch list.
I haven’t seen this movie, but thanks for the rec
@mostlystardust - Yea I’d certainly rec it. It’s for one a totally unique role for Will Ferrell totally unlike his normal stuff.
I’ve seen it twice and it made me cry both times lol
@xXxlovelylollipop - Thanks Nadia
Yea it’s an interesting thing to consider the importance our creations might have.
@ed408 - Yea it’s a very strange and sometimes worring thing for me…I start to wonder just how much of it we are creating and how much we are uncovering.
@Cestovatelka - It’s very good, great acting from all teh people in it
@bmojsilo - No worries, it’s worth checking out. The story is quite something.
It’s funny too
interesting perspective and comments
Apparently a lot of us have not yet seen that movie! I think you are right, though I never really took the time to think about it and put it into words as you have. God created us with a purpose and with love, so everything that happens in our lives is for a reason. Everything must come to an end, but every end is just the moment before a new beginning.
People are like interacting g-ds here on xanga. We write and create blogs but still the folks who do followup comments make us feel alive and worthy to being on xanga. How often do we get feedback from our own creations? The comments on our blogs is the closest to our creation talking back to us.
For sure some of the top bloggers approach greatness but are unworthy to approach G-d status.
It made you cry…? I thought it was pretty funny. Will Ferrel managed to not play Will Ferrel like he usually does, and still made the comedy work.
I disagree with you regarding the tragedy & gods. The author was in shock because of the possibility that she may have inadvertently killed people. People that may have lived if not for arbitrary incidents. A fictional event like “A man tried to avoid hitting the kid who had ran in front of his car, drove it into a ditch and died in the ensuing crash” has a been in motion for the duration of exactly one line. I would be pretty damn upset if a line I posted in a comment caused the death of someone in real life. Furthermore, she was not sure if the character would continue to live if she stopped writing the story.
By contrast, if a god, or group of gods are fabricating each and every aspect of a human life, and by extension the world it takes place in, everything has more or less been in motion since creation. There’s a history billions of years long behind the boy that ran in front of a car. There’s a history billions of years long behind the man that drove his car off the cliff. And the incident itself is just another point in a story that continues for billions of years more. It’s the human equivalent to growing attached to one’s skin cells.
But then, if we are stories written by gods, and we complain about life, why are gods writing stories that criticize them? And if every single little detail is a script someone wrote, which includes criticizing the writer, what choice do we have?
@Lakakalo - Yea it was funny too, but there are some moments that get to me
And yea aparently thats what Will Ferrel is actually like, the other character is all him acting :O he’s super sweet and quiet normally lol.
I like your take too, but then I’ve never been comfortable with the concept that everything is predetermined…seems all a bit pointless that way. So perhaps it’s more like a colaberation much like in the film, the writer is influanced by the character as much as the character is by the writer
But yea it’s just one of those cool films that is fun to just watch…but also gives plenty of food for thought.
@RushmoreJ - Thanks, sorry for late reply
@SUMRdaisy - Nicely put
I also like the ending poitns in the film that sort of suggest our most important act is to just enjoy our little moments, seems comforting.
@PPhilip - Hmm good point, we have a much greater impact on people, ourselves and the world than we often think when we put fingers to keys.
@SaintBlue1131 - Ya’know in my experience, the the best approach to religion & gods was the one presented in R. E. Howard’s Conan stories. Crom, for the most parts, left his creation/followers alone to their own decisions, actions & consequences.
Come to think of it, are you familiar with the Discworld stories? Some of them are absolutely brilliant in their take on Gods, and Death, among other things.
@Lakakalo - Yea I love the concepts in Discworld!
I like that more flexible humerous sort of perspective, with a touch of the cruel and playful thrown in.
My brother has some pretty unique ideas about fantasy type worlds and gods, that have echos of Discworld.