An Elephant of One's Own

"Can I help you?" "Yes, I'd like one religion, please." "Certainly. Monotheistic, polytheistic or atheistic?" "Erm... I dunno. Atheistic I suppose. I wouldn't like to to spoil my Big Bang." "One atheistic religion. Sense of community with that?" "Community?" "Belonging." "Ooh, yes. Lots of belonging. I like belonging." "Morality?" "I beg your pardon." "How deontological would you like your religion? Rare, medium or sharia?" "Oh, rare please. I already have my own morality." "So that's one atheistic religion, with belonging, rare... Side order?" "What have you got?" "Ritual, dogma, oppressive sense of guilt, self-righteousness, patriarchy, steeple hats, mystical visions, Sistine chapel. slaughter of innocents.... no, slaughter of innocents is off the menu today. Fresh out of innocents until next week." "Oh, ...

One day I will have time to write a proper post, with a plan to it, and a point, and everything. Promise. OK, first off, if you haven't seen the original Matrix movie, trust me: you missed nothing. I managed to survive from 1999 up to about a week ago without seeing it, then the curiosity became too much and I downloaded it and watched it, only to wish immediately that I hadn't. Overrated is putting it mildly. The word "crap" comes to mind. I will allow that the special effects are, well, special, but then, that's what special effects are supposed to be. (Movie makers please note: if your effects are not, in fact, all that special, there's no shame in crediting them as "Not Particularly Special Effects". Plain language will get you far.) I will also allow that the movie loudly trumpets "an aesthetic", which was briefly fashionable in the early noughties if not before, consisting of everyone wearing long coats and dark glasses and looking ...