I woke up this morning with the unfortunate realization that I didn't know how James Dean had passed away. I know, it's quite sad that I didn't know. Why didn't I? Was I not listening in school?
So, while waiting in line to get my passport, I read about his death. How terribly thought provoking it was! The details of the events impressed upon me a sort of religious awakening. I couldn't help but wonder, is James Dean to film what Jesus is to religion?
What if HF allowed Jesus to die in a car accident instead of hang on a cross? Would that change Christianity?
Randall Riese, author of The Unabridged James Dean surmises:
"Within a year after his death James Dean had arisen, Christlike, to become the biggest movie star in America, perhaps the world."
Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given... Zeus (1178 BC)
Dean died before either of his two Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, but I understand Jesus did a helluva a job convincing people he was the son of some god. Who was the better actor?
You bring up another question. What if Jesus didn't try to convince anyone of who he was or what he stood for before he died?
Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given... Zeus (1178 BC)
"Any over-ritualized religion since the dawn of time can make its priests say yes, we know, it is rotten, and hard luck, but just do as we say, keep at the ritual, stick it out, give us your money and you'll end up with the angels in heaven for evermore."
hyperbole sells. But was there money to be made in the first century with the Jesus story? Long range investiment?
As far as the meaning of Jesus death I think it is tied up with the accusations leveled against him. He was executed as a criminal.
I guess I was sort of using exaggeration as a rhetorical device. I didn't want this thread to become a "rip on Jesus" thread. I really didn't.
What I wanted to share was my thought provoking experience of learning, for the first time, about how Dean was killed. Right in the middle of Giant as well. It's sad to think of how accidental it all was. It's amazing to think of how legendary he is today. The whole story around this event feels a little religious to me. Religious in a good way. Does this make sense? I'm certainly not trying to rip on religion here. I'm wondering if religion can take on a more humanistic flavor. Sure, let's go with apotheosis.
Sock Puppet, would you feel something special if you had discovered a Skip James recording that was previously thought to have been destroyed? Might you feel a little "spiritual hallelujah" at the discovery? Might it be a sort of born again moment to find yourself listening to Jim Morrison after just learning how he died?
Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given... Zeus (1178 BC)
zeezrom wrote: What if HF allowed Jesus to die in a car accident instead of hang on a cross?
Mormons would no longer be allowed to wear cars around their neck.
I dash myself to the ground... (Hungarian saying, as far as it was translated correctly...)
- Whenever a poet or preacher, chief or wizard spouts gibberish, the human race spends centuries deciphering the message. - Umberto Eco - To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim that Jesus was not born of a virgin. - Cardinal Bellarmine at the trial of Galilei
Zeezrom, I am a curious about your thought experiments. You want to look at peoples sprititual awareness from very different angles. Not always knowing what will be seen that way is a definate positive.
I find it easier to wonder what you are thinking for Jim and the bathtub than James Dean. It may be a fluke of timeing but James Dean means very little to me while Morrison is an inescapable puzzle in my life, having commenced college to the tune of "break on through to the other side". Venturing a positive feeling about that bathtub escape from life however is something I do not know how to do.
I am hoping to encourage you to yourself fill in your questions with a bit more of your own thought.My only thought about the James Dean picture was he has a bit of resemblance to a new greek marble head dug up in Sicily.
