Smith’s Dogmatic Dogma

Kevin Smith’s Dogma presents God’s existence as a fact, suggests that God is kind and patient, and encourages people to have faith. But he criticizes organized religion, especially the , very strongly; he also critiques gender, race, and corporate capitalism. His mythology is quite rich. The film is populated with angels, muses, dead apostles, prophets, and so forth. Some of this derives from Christianity, some from western culture more generally, all of it reimagined and repurposed by Smith. For example, he has three “demons” who help Azazel; on the soundtrack, they are accompanied by the sound of flies buzzing, an allusion to Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies. The theological discussions between Bethany and Metatron, Rufus (the 13th apostle), and Serendipity (a muse) are leavened with comic relief, provided by . Jay, in particular, is a sex-crazed, pot-head, misogynist. He is not a traditional prophet. But this fits Smith’s overall argument, which suggests that organized religion is corrupt and deadens people’s faith. He is particularly critical of (his own) Catholic church. The establishing shot of Bethany’s church, for example, shows the sermon title (“The Labored Voice of God”) and, in a panning shot, shows people in the pews, variously sleeping, listening to music on their headphones, and fighting. The priest then asks people to rise for the “recession of faith” (rather than the “profession of faith”). Bishop Glick retires the crucifix as “depressing” and giving people the “willies,” to be replaced with “Buddy Christ,” a parody of devotional statues of Jesus. Glick later is shown using the communion chalice for putting practice, with his blessed golf-clubs. While Smith is particularly critical of the Catholic church, many of his complaints are equally applicable to any organized religion. In addition to criticizing religion, he also addresses other issues. Thus, he critiques racism by introducing the 13th apostle, the black Rufus, who has been written out of the gospels because he was black. Smith suggests that Jesus, too, was black. Referring to God as “he” is also criticized; some characters (generally the female ones), refer to God as “she.” But ultimately, he suggests (in accord with most theologians) that God is genderless. And he criticizes the corporate commodification of culture, by inventing the “Mooby” corporation, a cross of Disney and McDonalds, selling burgers under its golden-calf mascot, who resembles Mickey Mouse. Ultimately, Bethany learns, as Smith apparently wants the audience to learn as well, that she should not have “beliefs” about God/religion but ideas. What sort of religion this would result in is unclear, but Smith’s mission is to criticize and question, rather than provide clear answers. This is probably his real goal: to get people to think and reflect and develop their own ideas, to engage with religion and spirituality, rather than just going through the motions.

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This paper is my own work, all in my words unless specifically indicated. I have fully indicated all sources, cited directly or indirectly, in the in-text notes and the bibliography or works-cited list.