The Children's Act

Entertainment and Pop Culture
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Watched this last night and was pleasantly surprised. I figured it might be some good history on the law surrounding children’s rights when their parents use religion to prevent medical treatment. It was that and much more. The judge is Type A personality and pushing people out of her life while making these difficult life and death decisions in court. She is also an excellent pianist. This becomes important as she meets the young man she is ruling on and they discuss what truth is and what beauty is.

One of the important issues I learned, fortunately early, in my journey out of religion is; don’t teach a young person that something is absolutely true if you know they will find out there is controversy about it later. This story digs into that in a way I’ve never seen before.

I got it on Netflix DVD. Looks like it’s not widely available.

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She set the kid free from being enslaved by a cult. No wonder he followed her everywhere and was smitten with her. He was going to die, and she saved him…for awhile. I find no beauty in this narrative. Maybe you could explain the dynamics of this “beauty”.

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I find no beauty in this narrative.

He didn’t say the narrative had beauty. He said the judge discussed with the young man what beauty is. Exact quote:

This becomes important as she meets the young man she is ruling on and they discuss what truth is and what beauty is.
Maybe you could explain the dynamics of this “beauty”.

As I said, he didn’t say there was beauty in the movie, but the judge discussed what beauty is. And there is the answer to your question- it wasn’t the show, it was the discussion between characters.

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It seems that injustice has brought a lot of people to tears. This a legal issue that is controversial. So is abortion. Then there is a laundry list of controversial decisions that have had traumatic consequences that involve issues concerning women’s rights, BLM, Genocide, immigration, teenager’s and parents, deer hunting, and just about everything life throws at us. The failure of our institutions/systems that have tragic consequences is another example. The decision to get vaccinated, and it does permanent damage. In this movie it was law deciding what is best for the family. That goes 360 degrees also. Elderly care , removing a child from their mother, divorce/child custody, etc… This film exploits the emotional side (which will always boost sales) of ONE issue. It is a very sophomoric idea for a whole movie.

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The decision to get vaccinated, and it does permanent damage.

It does? Not sure how. I’ve been vaccinated for everything except shingles and chickenpox (had it as a kid, because there was no vaccine then). I’m just now old enough for the shingles vaccine and I plan on getting it too. I also got the COVID vaccine too. No permanent damage for any of them and I’m immune to some like measles, without ever having it.

As far as abortion goes, that should be between the woman and her doctor. It’s not up to us or the some stupid judge or congressman who knows nothing about medicine and only wants to control women. There is no controversy when it is up to the woman to make her own medical decision, but other people want to make it their business, when it shouldn’t be.

I could probably continue, but the fact of the matter is, as I go back to the original topic, religion has killed more people, done more harm, and destroyed more lives than women have had abortion. So, if the judge said, in order to save the child’s life, he must get medical treatment then good on the judge.

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You can find tragic stories everywhere about the dangers of vaccinations. (I get my second shot next Saturday) Everyone creates a inner narrative about life circumstances according to their conditioning. For thousands of years we have been at war with each other over countless differences. Today we have progressed no further. We still use our arguments, our likes and dislikes to determine what our preferences are, both personal and as a society (all being different). When is this going to stop? This dualistic way of seeing/treating human affairs has to end sometime, or we are headed off a cliff. Division, is what the “rulers” want. (which hopefully will start to change with Biden’s agenda) We are facing a mass extinction, and yet we squabble over EVERYTHING. BUT, cooperation doesn’t sell. If you think this movie shows some brilliant nuances of this very moving situation, then good on you. I don’t. I prefer the ending of the movie showing estranged soul mates running through the field to embrace each other. It almost always brings me to tears. :slight_smile:

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Here is a link to a movie with similar dynamics that is low budget, rated very high, and free to watch.

The Castle

https://youtu.be/-fUL75TeNrI

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If you think this movie shows some brilliant nuances of this very moving situation, then good on you. I don’t.

That’s fine, because I don’t think that is quite what Lausten was going for. That is, I don’t think he was going for “this scene was brilliant and moving” type discussion. I think he was going for how religion harms and how important it is not to teach kids lies, in which they will find out later in life are not true or could cause them to die. This isn’t about beauty or brilliant nuances or moving scenes, it’s about harm that religion does. Because of religion, the boy (and his family) are rejecting a life saving treatment. The boy doesn’t have to die, but religious beliefs will kill him. This has nothing do with what you are trying to make it out to be. It’s not suppose to be a romance where Kramer v Kramer kiss and make up. If you want a feel good comedy, stay away from movies that show how religion kills people, which is what the movie Lausten introduced. OTH, people could benefit from learning about Religious Trauma Syndrome and how religion harms people, which is what this movie is about, but I guess you don’t want to face that.

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Why watch a movie about it. It is in the news all the time. 911, Iraq, Afghanistan…, Jews vs. Arabs, Shites vs. Sunis, missionary deaths, divorce on religious grounds, the list is endless. These movies just enhance these religious tragedies into an emotional charged epic.

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Why? Because people don’t believe that religion can cause trauma, but there are groups of people who are in treatment for religious trauma.

It is through learning about how religion harms people that we will overcome religious indoctrination which leads to all the abusive BS, hate BS, etc etc. We have to face it before it will ever stop.

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I agree with you about KNOWING the abuse these fantasy myths cause. I guess you like them being exposed in movies. I don’t need movies to inform me of their horribleness/ignorance and the suffering they cause. Once you know (however you wake up), don’t let anyone stop you from exposing these travesties.

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I don’t need to watch the movies to be informed, because I lived it and I happen to know Marlene Winell personally, as well as a few others (Valerie Tarico, Darrel Ray, to name a couple more) helping other people recover from RTS. I’ve even told my story more than once. It’s not that I need to know or be informed, I need other people to know so we can stop it. Remember “The Ring”? That girl was being abused and once people knew, they had to speak out, if they didn’t, they were just as guilty. If someone knows about what religion does and doesn’t expose the horror, psychological damage, and tragedies it does then IMO they are just as guilty and are perpetuating the abuse and trauma of religion.

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This film exploits the emotional side --foghorn
Boy, I say boy, you're posting a lot but not saying anything.

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Welcome to the forum. Glad this post caught your eye.

My first question, did you see the movie?

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He didn’t say the narrative had beauty. He said the judge discussed with the young man what beauty is. -- Mriana
Thank you for reflecting that. I didn't think it was unclear.

I watch movies because some things are difficult to express in a logical and orderly fashion. JW’s have some really complex education and they isolate themselves and repeat it to each other over and over. That’s not something you can just read about and understand. Overlapping that with the equally complex situation of a long and respectful marriage between two highly successful and intelligent people makes for a good drama.

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@lausten Seems you watch such movies for slightly different reasons than I do. I watch Leah Remini’s series on the Scientologists to hear story of the religious trauma she went through. Of course, I watched her series because she was talking about RTS- that is the trauma she went through. What happens in various religious groups isn’t always the same as another, but the stories need to be told so that people know religious abuse is a serious problem. I won’t say anyone’s religious trauma wasn’t as bad or was worse than mine though. It’s different for everyone.

That said, I didn’t watch the movie you pointed out to everyone. I just read the description and made an assumption about it:

As her marriage crumbles, a judge must decide a case involving a teenage boy who is refusing a blood transfusion on religious principle.

To me, the boy was brainwashed into believing something that could kill him because that belief was the rejection of a lifesaving medical technique. I find it sad that people are brainwashed by religion to believe something that isn’t true. Sometimes that brainwashing can cause death.

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.

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This film exploits the emotional side –foghorn
Boy, I say boy, you’re posting a lot but not saying anything.

@laustenKeymaster

Boy, I say boy, you’re posting a lot but not saying anything.

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Welcome to the forum. Glad this post caught your eye.

My first question, did you see the movie?
May 16, 2021 at 10:13 pm #344152 Reply | Report
@laustenKeymaster
He didn’t say the narrative had beauty. He said the judge discussed with the young man what beauty is. — Mriana
Thank you for reflecting that. I didn’t think it was unclear.

I watch movies because some things are difficult to express in a logical and orderly fashion. JW’s have some really complex education and they isolate themselves and repeat it to each other over and over. That’s not something you can just read about and understand. Overlapping that with the equally complex situation of a long and respectful marriage complex situation of a long and respectful marriage between two highly successful and intelligent people makes for a good drama.

The first bold sentence above is judgemental. I would say you are unable to comprehend the bigger picture I am trying to convey. When I lay it out, you both have narrowed the focus to your personal bias. Who cares about 2 or three peoples take on social justice. At this point in history everything is divided by personal biases. Most people insist on focusing on the “event” and the damage incurred. I am interested in HOW the event occurred in the stream of life. This involves studying history, anthropology, semantics, psychology, prediction studies, revolutions, technology, capitalism, etc…to understand HOW to alleviate the suffering as quick as possible. Starring at the accident, and being mesmerized shuts our inquiry down. This is my personal bias. I will continue to use language and knowledge to express what I understand. My view is not popular. I don’t want it to be. Relying on popularity and approval does nothing but narrow our view.

Second bold…Art and myth has been used for 1000’s of years to express the “unknowable” aspects of life. JW’s are just one of hundreds of groups that have “really complex education and they isolate themselves and repeat it to each other over and over.” Again, nothing unique about it. It is absurd saying you can’t understand the situation by reading about it, but CAN understand it by having a “complex situation…between two highly successful and intelligent people makes for a good drama.” So it is the melodrama or the “emotional” charge one gets that informs us. Weird. If this forum is truly interested in inquiry they will want to go further than being moved by a piece of art. If you do enough reading of current events you will find trends of how “reality” is being conveyed. With modern technology Capitalism capitalizes on creating emotions we don’t like. That motivates us to “buy” what advertisers are selling us, and they are experts at it. They make sure we never pull back the curtain that reveals the lies, manipulation, greed, selfishness, etc…that big money creates and trickles down to the consumer as attractive. Pull back the curtain and you will see the story behind the story. Otherwise we will remain puppets on strings dancing about, not by our own will, but by the will of the puppet master.

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The first bold sentence above is judgemental. -- foghorn
You have a cartoon name and cartoon avatar. But you can't take a joke? And you can't spell judgmental.

I quit reading your post at “it is absurd”. This is a discussion forum, not a “berate the other commenters” forum. I liked a movie. Using your logic, there are a lot of people who like movies. I don’t need to defend that any further.

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Cool. I have some axes to grind with the arts. Something that might explain some of the positions I have come to realize is on a blog I created called “Necrocapitalism”.

https://wordpress.com/openmind693.wordpress.com

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The first bold sentence above is judgemental. — foghorn You have a cartoon name and cartoon avatar. But you can’t take a joke? And you can’t spell judgmental.
Oh it's wonderful starting the day with a good belly laugh.

I thank you both. ?