Historical Spanish Drama Film Agora - Essay Example

?Agora Paper Agora is an historical Spanish drama film produced in 2009. The movie was directed by Alejandro Amenabar. Agora represents a movie genrethat is increasingly rare. The movie is based in the happenings of the 4th century in the Roman Empire. The whole story focuses on a 4th century Greek astronomer called Hypatia. Richeson (76) states that Hypatia was a noble woman, a professor, in Alexandria, an Egyptian city. The high rating received by the movie is a clear indication that the happenings of the 4th century are still relevant in the 21st century. In other words, this particular period had many connections to the present 21st century reality. The movie therefore represents a successful project of making a movie about the past period while at the same time, making a movie about the present (Germain 12). The historical movie was set in roman Egypt, specifically, at the end of the Roman Empire. In the last days of the empire, the Alexandria city in Egypt was torn. There came a split between Christians and the pagans and due to their large numbers, Christians gained political power. They therefore set the standard of morality that was a must-abide for all who wanted to survive. There are several religious aspects that are evident in the film (Pollard and Howard 64). Religious domination and war between religious groups is seen when Christians destroyed pagan gods and waged war against pagans. The Jews were caught in between this leading to divisions among them. Many pagans were converted to Christianity as well as some Jews like Dave, Hypatia’s slave. They shifted to Christianity to save themselves of trouble from this powerful group. Others stuck to the Jewish religion and there emerged open war and hatred between Christians and the Jews. Devout Jews became victims of the war against paganry. Religion was also use to cover up for the rejection of the ideas of some people. For example, Hypatia was not really interested in religion but in making discoveries and selling her ideas to the people. she was victimised on religious grounds because most of the Christians did not support her views. This also depicted the religious hypocrisy of that time. The Christians were not ready to forgive Hypatia as Jesus, their perfect example, forgave those who sinned against him. Religious leaders could only stand with the rights of Christians instead of humanity, representing God’s precious creation. Although some people may criticise the movie for emphasising on early Christianity, especially the dominating nature of Roman Catholic, the movie has a high historic accuracy. Rohter (10) observes that the themes of religions verses spirituality and faith verses zealotry are clearly brought out. This religious rottenness was powerful enough even to nullify other binding factors among people. This is seen when Synesius and Dave, at one point, turn against Hypanthia because of sticking to Jewish religions yet they were in love with her. The clash between education and religion, and knowledge and faith leads to destruction of the library. The making of a present time movie out of the past period represents a high level of creativity in the movie. Amenabar developed the movie as a result the interest he developed by exploring the night sky. In 2004, he took a break after producing one of his movies and he travelled to the island of Malta. Stevens (5) notes that while there, Amenabar discussed astronomy with this friends and they begun speculating about extraterrestrial life found on other planets. They studied famous astrologers like the Ptolemy, Galileo, Copernicus and Johannes but the story of this 4th century astrologer was most interesting. The film is therefore cerebral, ambitious and complex. Unlike most toga movies, Agora does not depend on CHI spectacle but on ideas and real drama. The political situation at this time was poor and discriminative. When Christians waged war against the Jews, the rulers of the city of Alexandria were not powerful enough to stop it and the situation got out of hand. Despite declaring pardon for the Jews, the rulers did not fully shield public victimization of the Jews on religious lines for example, Hypatia was to be killed publicly and as expected of any leadership, she should have been protected by the rulers of the town. This therefore justifies a critic of their inaction. It also brings out the extent to which religious domination can threaten the survival of governance. The rulers are forced to choose to side with one group. Neither was the social situation a good one. The Christians were rough and tumble while the pagans were aristocratic. This difference led to conflicts in the social order of the city of Alexandria and the Christians felt that the pagans should shift to their social order to end this conflict. However, they used coercion to achieve this leading to greater social disorder. A group of black-robed Christian militia referred by the name Parabolani undertook to enforce their uncompromising morality notions with knives, clubs and stones. Richeson (76) reveals that these faith-based warriors were led by Ammonius, a former street preacher. There is some level of romance in the movie. Hypatia’s two students Orestes and Synesius, and her slave Dave have a crush on her at the same time. The high-minded melodrama depicts Hypatia as a devout teacher with a group of aspiring philosophers. With her students, they gaze at the stars at night and the students were so keen. These scenes bring out Hypatia as a warm and open person driven by the pursuit for knowledge. She was ready to transverse societal restrictions just to share this with anyone regardless of their stature or rank (Godden 15). Because of this, she becomes an object of romantic desire on the hearts of her two students and her slave. This yields for her protection from Orestes and Daves in various ways. Conclusion Agora is an epic historical production that has been handsomely mounted. The film is most compelling and stimulating at an intellectual level. Set in the 4th century in Alexandria Egypt, the film is a fascinating portrait of social, political and religious conflict within the Roman Empire during its last years. It also depicts a high level of creativity by the film director. The film is based in the 4th century but it finds a lot of relevance in the 21st century society. It has a high level of historical accuracy. However, the movie is full of fanaticism despite the characters who bring it out. Works Cited Germain David (17th June 2009). "Weisz, Amenabar preach enlightenment with 'Agora'. London. guardian.co.uk. Godden D avid. “Hypatia of Alexandria: Humanist Martyr.” Humanism Ireland. (111) pp 15. 2009. Pollard Justin and Howard Reid (2007). The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern World. London. Penguin Group. Richeson A. "Humanism and History of Mathematics: Hypatia of Alexandria". National Mathematics Magazine. (2) pp 72-84. 1940. Rohter Larry (2010). "Science vs. Zealots, 1,500 Years Ago". The New York Times. Online: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/movies/23agora.html. Retrieved on 29th November, 2011. Stevens Dana (2010). "Alejandro Amenabar's Agora". Online: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2010/05/alejandro_amenbars_agora.html. Retrieved on 29th November, 2011. Read More