I was watching The Book of Eli with a friend a couple of nights ago, I have been pondering on it since. It was an interesting movie, and for Christians, one which catches our eye, given that it concerns the Bible and one man, devoted to it, trying to save the last copy in a post-apocalyptic world (whatever that's supposed to be - I always thought that after the Apocalypse we'd all be in one place or another, not a barren and ruined USA). For a plot summary see wikipedia. Directed by the Hughes Brothers, it has their usual action scenes tainted with violence.
I am trying to figure out what they are saying. Not that I do not have a theory - I did as I was watching it, but I wonder what others make of it. Is this movie, if the Hughes Brothers could delve so deeply, a Protestant allegory in which The Book is everything. Do the baddies represent the Catholic Church who control the words of the Book in order to make people do what they want? Does Eli represent the Pilgrims who fled oppression in Europe, going west (like Eli) to freedom and to those who will appreciate the Book for what it is? Eli knows the Bible off by heart, and, after having to give up the Book, he is able to recite it verse by verse to have transcribed in a new manuscript. Note the translation is the King James Bible, which becomes the New King James Bible. Eli dies, and the new Bible finds its place on a library shelf between copies of the Torah and the Qur'an. That said, the character of Eli is noble and Christian; he prays and teaches others to pray. He is humble, dedicated to this mission to preserve the Bible even if he kills without batting an eyelid. Interesting.
If there is anybody out there, and if you have seen this movie, let me know what you think.
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