(June 29, 2019 at 11:28 am)Rev. Rye Wrote: Here's the thing you don't seem to be getting: THIS IS NOT A STRICTLY HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADES. IT'S AN ALLEGORY FOR GETTING CAUGHT UP IN MASS MOVEMENTS. IF YOU CANNOT GRASP THIS SIMPLE CONCEPT, YOU SIMPLY CANNOT UNDERSTAND THE MOVIE AND CERTAINLY NOT WHERE I'M COMING FROM WHEN I ARGUE ABOUT IT.
LOL and what makes you the dictator of how I will interpret this movie?
(June 29, 2019 at 11:28 am)Rev. Rye Wrote: And, of course, in addition to being gay,Andrzejewski was also an atheist, so while a gay man might make unflattering views of gay people, it's harder for me to buy that an atheist in a communist nation would try to whitewash the Catholic Church's complicity in the Children's Crusade.
Doesn't matter if the author of the original novel was an atheist. He could have written it as whitewashing of Catholic Church if he is stupid. He may have been set on writing one story but got another one. This reminds me what Isaac Asimov remarked on people interpreting his stories:
Quote:On returning, I found a letter from one Gotthard Guenther, who was lecturing on science fiction at the Cambridge Center of Arts. The first lecture was on October 3, and I decided to attend. [...]
Take, for instance, he said, the story "Nightfall" by Isaac Asimov. (At this point, I shrank lower in my seat.) It dealt with stars as instruments of madness, whereas in all Old World views of the universe, the stars were seen as gentle, benign, and friendly.
He continued to describe the manner in which "Nightfall" reversed or distorted common views and, in general, built up an interpretation of the story that had me gasping.
When the lecture was over, members of the audience flocked around him, and I waited patiently. When I was the only one left, I said, "Dr. Guenther, your analysis of 'Nightfall' is all wrong."
"Well, that is a matter of opinion," said Dr. Guenther, smiling gently.
"No, it is not," I said, forcefully. "I am certain you are wrong. Nothing of what you said was in the author's mind."
"And how can you know that?"
That was when I let the guillotine blade fall. "Because, Dr. Guenther, I am the author."
His face lit up, "You are Isaac Asimov?"
"Yes, sir."
"How pleased I am to meet you." Then he said, "But tell me, what makes you think, just because you are the author of 'Nightfall,' that you have the slightest inkling of what is in it?"
And of course I couldn't answer that question because it suddenly became clear to me that there might well be more in a story than an author was aware of.