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In precisely ten days, five hours, and twenty-six minutes, Trekkies across the United States will rejoice in a movie premiere that marks a celebration of forty years of the incredibly influential science-fiction series known as Star Trek. This new film will be the eleventh Star Trek movie and the first in eighteen years to feature the entire crew of the Original Series. Fortunately for Star Trek lovers, the storyline of the new film is complteley novel, and the film itself is not a remake.

Recently, it seems that Hollywood has run out of ideas. Films like "The Day the Earth Stood Still," "Ocean's Eleven," and "The War of the Worlds" are just a few movies that are remakes of films that were originally made in the 1950's and 60's and were altered to be more receptive to a contemporary audience. For the most part, these changes have been for the worse. "Remakes have generally been considered inferior to earlier versions by film critics and cinema-goers alike," and cinemas nationwide are under siege from repetitive, unoriginal films that do nothing more than waste our time and our money.

Of course as to any stereotype, there are exceptions, and not all remakes of classic movies are doomed to failure. Peter Jackson's 2005 remake of 1933's classic "King Kong" was a spectacular and faithful rendition of the original (which I can truly say since I have seen both the original 1933 film and the 2005 one). However, this one success is overshadowed by the great amount of mediocre film remakes.

Why do film makers create, or even consider, doing a remake? The biggest reason is probably for the money. As a film maker, you are guaranteed fame and fortune if you are able to pull off a remake of an immensely popular classic film or film series with success, and your name will be associated with that famous franchise for generations. Another reason is because the film maker thinks that he or she can make their movie better than the original with some character changes, plot changes, and better effects.

Dear Hollywood,

Movie-goers around the country are tired of watching contemporary versions of age-old classics. These recent remakes are extremely boring and demonstrate an inherent lack of creativity among the members of Hollywood writers. Please do not make a remake of a classic film unless your producers are 100% sure that they are able to pull one off successfully. A successful remake pays homage to the original and includes some personal touches that are significant enough to add extra depth and color to the film while staying faithful to the intent of the original.

Sincerely,
The American People

The Columbine High School Massacre happened ten years ago, but for some people time does nothing to soothe their vivid, bloody memories of the shootings that took the lives of twelve students and a teacher. In a recent Newsweek article, Rev. Don Marxhausen, a local pastor who performed funeral, talks about how the decision to preside over the funeral of Dylan Klebold (one of the perpetrators of the massacre) haunts him to this day.

"Marxhausen believed that Dylan's parents deserved to hear the message of God's grace. In his sermon, Marxhausen spoke of God's love. 'God, who knows about suffering and pain and loss, wants to reach out to you,' he told the grieving parents."

But it is what happened after the massacre that shows that the shootings did more damage than taking the lives of thirteen individuals. Immediately after the incident, local evangelicals declared the shootings as the work of the Devil and indirectly criticized the reverend for allowing one of Satan's minions to have a Christian funeral. In the end, Marxhausen lost his pastoral job because of his relationship and public support of the Kleblod family and was discredited by his own parish.

A man should not be persecuted because he provided a grieving family with support when others would give them none or because he gave the opportunity for a sinner to experience God's grace through a Christian funeral. Jesus, too, was criticized for eating with sinners, prostitutes, and tax collectors. What happened to Rev. Marxhausen as a result of the Columbine High Massacre is a disgrace to the institution of Christiantiy. Who are we to judge and deny another person of a celebration of their death?

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In 1738, the Roman Catholic Church issued an official document entitled In Eminenti Apostolatus that banned Catholics from becoming Freemasons, and the Catholic Church has been one of the leading critics of Freemasonry ever since. The 1983 document Quaesitum est is the Vatican's most recent document concerning Catholic membership in Freemasonry. In it, the Church has declared the following:

"The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion... the Church’s negative judgment in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden."

All of the Papal Bulls (official Vatican documents which are directly from the Pope) regarding Catholics and Freemasonry are fairly ambiguous and somewhat unclear as to why the Church opposes Freemasonry. Many of these documents simply state that the Church's ban on Freemasonry is still active and that Freemasonry is a mortal sin in the eyes of the Church.

It seems that the Catholic Church's position on Freemasonry is unsubstantiated and that the Church is simply afraid of the power and prestige of such a large secret society. However, to find the reason why the Church bans Catholics from joining a Masonic Lodge one does not need to analyze official Church documents but, rather, look at how the Freemasons themselves describe their society. According to the Freemasons, "Freemasonry is not a religion, nor a substitute for religion. There is no separate 'Masonic deity', and there is no separate proper name for a deity in Freemasonry." One of the requirements for entrance into the Society of Freemasons is the belief in a Supreme being, and this in itself is very open-ended.

By observing this, one could conclude that the Freemasons are not only tolerant of all religions and beliefs but also believe that all religions are true. In many ways, Freemasonry inherently seeks to merge all religions into one. The Freemasons themselves will never declare that this is the goal of their society, but I believe that this is true of the Freemasons.

Of course, the Catholic Church will never accept any sort of compromise of Catholic doctrine. The Vatican will never agree to throwing away certain aspects of Catholic theology just so that Presbyterians and Catholics can be friends. The Catholic Church isn't simply afraid of a secret society. The Church just does not want its members to become soft - to become a cafeteria Catholic who picks and chooses which aspects of the faith he or she will believe and participate in and which aspects he or she will not.

You cannot say that you are a Catholic and choose to go to Mass only when you feel like it. And yet, you cannot say that you are a Catholic if you blindly follow the Vatican like a dog on a leash. The Pope isn't there to boss us around, and babies aren't there for us to kill just because we don't want them.

In many ways, the Pope is a dictator. He is an absolute monarch, the bishop of Rome, the head of state of the Vatican, and the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The Church as a religious institution and a political entity revolve around his leadership. He does not answer to any man except the Son of Man. He is in charge of all religious, moral, ethical, administrative, and political matters within his jurisdiction. His word is infallible. His presence is celebrated. His death is mourned.

And yet, in many ways, the Pope is our servant, our teacher, our mediator, and our counselor. The pope has guided the Church through schisms, revolts, wars, and sex scandals, has soothed international arguments, taught the people about the love of Christ, and has served to bring his believers closer to the Christian heaven.

But whether the Pope is seen as a dictator or a souped-up priest, one thing remains certain: the Pope holds enormous political power in those old and frail but commanding hands. He is more than a peace-loving figurehead. In fact, Urban II was everything but a pacifist. From the spreading of Christianity under St. Peter to the Crusades of Urban II to John Paul II's work during the Cold war, history has shown that papal authority has made a profound influence on world events. "Vatican diplomacy is so influential and can exert such great power in the diplomatic-political field because it has at its disposal the tremendous machinery of a spiritual organization with ramifications in every country of the planet."

The Vatican is the world's smallest independent sovereign state and, just like any other country, seeks to further its own interests. Unlike most countries these interests, are strictly spiritual goals. And also unlike most countries, the Pope does not command a military (the Swiss Guard is not the Vatican's military). But though the Pope has no direct control over any military force, the Pope has used his position, prestige, and charisma to incite and justify a holy war. The reason why "Vatican diplomacy is so influential" is because the Pope is first and foremost a holy man, and the words of a holy man are immediately assumed to be wise, educated, and sometimes completely infallible and correct. The Pope is the leader of one of the world's largest single organizations, and the advice of a man who can trace his lineage all the way to the 30th Year of our Lord is not to be taken lightly.

For more information on the Papacy, Papal Authority, and Papal Infallibility see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_of_Rome
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/papal_infallibility
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II

When portraying an actual event, filmmakers usually choose one of two approaches: a dramatic depiction or a documentary. The goals and effects of a dramatic film are very different than those of a documentary, even if both the dramatic film and the documentary are based on the same subject. Documentaries are "a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt document reality" and provide an unscripted window into a momunental event, whereas dramatic films represent the director's interpretation of the event and the director's imagination of what-could-have-been.

Up the Yangtze is a 2007 award-winning documentary directed by Chinese-Canadian Yung Chang that follows the path of two young Chinese workers aboard a cruise ship that makes tours of the Yangtze and caters to wealthy western tourists. These tours are labeled "farewell" tours by the cruise company since, with the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, the cruise company is trying to showcase the river's pre-dam beauty. The film also follows the effects of the dam on the two young workers and their families and the workers' desire to put their impoverished Chinese past behind them as they strive to climb out of poverty and experience a clash of cultures.

In the film, young Yu "Cindy" Shui has just been hired by the cruise line as a waiter and dishwasher. For her family, this is a momentous occasion as she lives in a makeshift shack right by the river and will make more money than her parents have ever worked for. The camera follows her as she struggles to begin training and be away from her parents for the first time. The most heartbreaking event of the film is Cindy's boss meets her parents for the first time to congratulate them for raising such a diligent daughter. Her parents are the poorest of the poor, peasants who have been farming the Yangtze valley for generations, and Cindy ends up crying as she is ashamed to show her boss and the camera her roots. Cindy's intense yearning to leave her peasant background is vividly pronounced through her tears and words. The camera follows Cindy and her family to their home, which they have lived in for many years but will soon be destroyed by the Three Gorges Dam. The family has been told that they must relocate within the month, and Cindy's parents are filled with mixed emotions. On one hand, they should be celebrating the dam's construction because government agents have told them that the dam will benefit all of China, including the peasants, and that it represents China's national identity and economic prosperity. On the other hand, Cindy and her family will lose their home and their farmland and will have to adjust to a new enviroment and build a new life.

Still Life is a 2006 award-winning Chinese dramatic film directed by Jia Zhangke that tells the story of a man in search of his lost wife. The film takes place in the city of Fengjie, which is upstream from the site of the Three Gorges Dam. Marked for flooding, the city undergoes a drastic process of self-deconstruction. The protaganist, Han Sanming, is a coal miner from the province of Shanxi and returns to the dying town to look for his wife. Sanming asks a local to drive him to his wife's former address. Instead, the driver brings Sanming to the riverbank, and Sanming realizes that the entire neighborhood has already flooded. He manages to contact his wife's older brother, who informs Sanming that she has been relocated from her submerged home but will return to the town eventually.

Documentaries have certain advantages over dramatic films when it comes to depicting and recording an event of cultural or historical signifcance. While the dramatic approach is more entertaining, more appealing, and will often yield a higher profit for the filmmaker, a documentary depicts the event at a more personal level since it captures the true emotions of real people who are actually experiencing the said event, not the narrow, and often flawed, interpretations of actors performing a script that is primarily written to fill the pocketbooks of the bureaucratic heads of Hollywood film studios. Fortuantely, Still Life is a Chinese dramatic work and is a wonderful movie that does not adulterate the facts. Yet, Up the Yangtze is a more delicate and profound work that more effectively communicates a sense of loss since it is driven by the emotions of real people and not scripted characters.