Tuesday, November 29, 2005
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Goodness. I just watched The Exorcism Of Emily Rose at Cathay Causeway. The tangibles vs the intangibles? Think the courtcase scenes were damn zai. Hadn't really thought about how reason vs belief can actually bring about conflicts in court. Was mulling over the line:"Facts leave no room for possibilities of doubt." Indeed. Especially when ECB was arguing so passionately over a religious belief....the very notion that Emily Rose was indeed beyond medical cure...and that no other possibilities could substantiate Father Moore's case. I was pretty traumatised by that sickening pose of Emily...with her head arched backwards...her hands and limbs contorted on the cold hard floor of her dorm when Jason found her. Somehow I felt that the "acquittal" of Father Moore was to appease many of the religious groups...I suppose the film maker was very much aware of how controversial this movie could turn out to be. He's found guilty of negligent homicide and yet recommended by the jury to have carried out his sentence.
Just like how the tape recorder couldn't possibly provide absolute evidence on the fact that Emily was demonised, there was simply no way...absolutely no way how ECB could possibly prove the case. No hard cold facts, no evidence, no credible witness to prove that Emily was indeed haunted by demons. I just found it ridiculous that the doctors summoned on court could possibly dismiss her case as mere psychosis...epilepsy or even psychotic epilepsy! Sounds pretty atrocious to me.
And the supposedly "cultured" doctor who approached superstitions from a scientific viewpoint looked like someone from some Bollywood scene.
Somehow after this movie....I've grown to appreciate lawyers even more. That they have to defend the case till the very end. Even without concrete facts to substantiate the intangibles.....they have to BELIEVE and be CONVINCED of whatever they are arguing. Emily's case was one such example...it's so hard to believe that someone is being controlled by demons and yet at the same time...this possibilty can't be ruled out. The worst thing is when no fact can be used to substantiate the case...and she had to resort to appeal via emotion...and not reason which was something supposedly unaccepted in court. Found it pretty incredulous though..
Somehow..I can relate to the movie when it was mentioned that once you stepped into boundaries of the Dark, there's no way you can step out of it...and it stays with you throughout life. I'm no Christian or Catholic and I guess I'm probably in no position to comment on the various religious beliefs that were fervently involved in this case. But as an "on-looker", I stood on the side of Father Moore.. Particularly there was one really agitated guy who sat in front and perked up whenever Father Moore stood trial. ;)
How many a times have science been proven to cross religious boundaries? Who is to say that science is the be-all and end-all of everything? Religious and spiritual issues remain a mystery..even till today.
Thought-provoking indeed.
InDuLgeD~|2:01 PM|
