7/10
1946: The Documentary That Misses The Point
20 December 2023
Sure: "1946" is a worthwhile and enlightening documentary about how Christians came to be weirdly obsessed with homosexuality. The problem is that it's made by the wrong people. The film is the work of a small band of extremely well-meaning believers who, like many others, have been hurt and damaged by being rejected, demonised and persecuted by the church. So they set out to prove that those who have wielded the bible as a weapon against homos have been erroneously acting on a couple of ham-fisted mistranslations. The case they make is entirely persuasive, and not hugely surprising. Their first mistake is believing that it will make any difference, when clearly the church isn't about to give up any of its most dearly held prejudices. Their second and rather more tragic mistake is not seeing the bigger picture. There's much earnest discussion about the need to see the bible as a reflection of the times in which it was written, especially in relation to women, marriage and patriarchy, etc. But nobody goes that step further and suggests examining the promotion of a deity in the context of patriarchal power structures of the day. The real question is why anyone would want to be accepted by a hopelessly outmoded, irretrievably patriarchal, deeply judgemental and monumentally twisted organisation like the church, which has only ever existed to oppress and control. Still, well done to those who did the valuable detective work. Now how about applying the same intellectual rigour to the rest of the bible.
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