delysid d
very good documentary
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/12/19
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Audience Member
A disturbing, intense, and emotional documentary that fairly explores both sides of the abortion debate. I, personally, love objectivity in documentary films (although I do enjoy some biased films), so this was the film for me! It shows both the horrors of abortion, and those who are highly against it, bombing and killing abortion clinics. Those who are easily disturbed should be warned, because "Lake of Fire" is a film with a lot of graphic imagery.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/22/23
Full Review
ian t
Great doc. My one negative point is that it concentrated a little too much on the religious fundamentalist side of the 'pro life' movement. Although I come from a religious background I do view these people as living in a bubble and not educated in the modern sense. Therefore it frames the argument as us vs them or even ignorance vs enlightenment. He does makes some attempt to address this and I think the look at fundamental i was in itself interesting.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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Audience Member
"Lake of Fire" depicts abortion in the United States, and the conflict of pro-choice and pro-life (propagated by the fundamentalist Religious Right.) While I understand the value of wanting to save a human life, this documentary exposes the religious position of pro-life for it's true horrible position. It is not a position of the value of human life from personal moral principles derived from intelligent thought.
This documentary demonstrates the well-known fact that their pro-life values are based on "God, Jesus, and the Bible tell us so," and a position of giving up personal responsibility for doing God's Will. They misrepresent Biblical scripture, as they do with all Christian doctrine, to promote their own agenda. The irony is the individuals in the film who contradict their values by murdering doctors for murdering children. One of them declares "abortionists are murderers, murderers should be executed," and yet when he is sentenced to death, the religious become angry at the state's judgment. What's even more disturbing is how they justify using murder, terrorism, and harassment as having been effective ways of stopping abortion clinics. Clearly a show that Christian values are like human values, as Noam Chomsky states "The values we hold are not absolute. They are always contingent. They conflict, and life is made up of decision and complicated situations in cases of conflicting values."
The bible does not support Christian family values. It does not support Christian values of motherhood and the value of human life. Perhaps no other literature holds more contempt for women, children, human life, and the natural occurrences of a woman's body related to her reproductive system (childbirth, menstruation, etc.) The FACT is that Christian values are based on delusions that are not supported by evidence including the doctrine of the bible.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
Full Review
Audience Member
"There are still things I need to do before I have a child, like finish college, and have a job . . . and a marriage." The camera doesn't show her face. The rumbling machine makes a sudden scream, like the sound of a drill bit when it comes to a screeching halt. "In just a few minutes, we're able to facilitate her decision to not be a parent," the doctor says jauntily. "Now it's just a matter of piecing the fetal tissue back together." He sifts through the machine's contents, holding up a tiny human arm, a splintered leg, and a ghoulish head. The bulging, empty eyes stare into the camera.
Yes, Tony Kaye's Lake of Fire is graphic. Shot entirely in black and white, the grayscale film only mutes the viewer's horror. Nevertheless, this documentary isn't so much about abortion as it is the people who care about abortion. Just because Kaye never speaks during the film's 152-minutes-the narrative lumbers along through a combination of interviews and archival footage shot over the course of 16 years-doesn't mean he has nothing to say. Repeated juxtapositions of religious imagery and spiritual rhetoric are not-so-subtle suggestions that abortion wars transcend the political.
Lake of Fire fetishizes zealous fundamentalists on both sides. Pro-choice activists are seen carrying a cross emblazoned with the words "cross of oppression, keep abortion legal" and shock-rocker femme fatales perform vulgar acts with coat-hangers. Most of the film follows anti-abortion activists who perceive themselves to be vehicles of God's wrath upon abortionists. The interview subjects that Kaye chooses betray his interest in militant subculture, a fascination he carries over from his previous work, American History X, which examined neo-NAZI skinheads. Unfortunately, this approach paints the entire pro-life movement with the brush of violent extremism. But the film also shows how ugly abortion is, which casts the vigilantes in a more sympathetic light.
Though Kaye claims neutrality on abortion, his inclusion of a clip from "The Hard Truth" may reveal the motivation for his graphic documentary. "Some might ask why a video of this sort should even be necessary," the clip's narrator says. "Teachers don't show bloody World War II footage to manipulate students emotionally, they use it because the NAZI death camps represent an evil so inexpressible that lectures alone could never adequately describe it. Until you've seen the pictures . . . you can't begin to know how evil it is."
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Noam Chomsky: You are not going to get the answers from holy texts. You are not going to get the answers from biologists. These are matters of human concern that have to be discussed seriously...
Lake of Fire es un documental franco acerca del aborto y que profundiza en las opiniones de ambos lados de el debate. Tony Kaye dirige sin parcialidad un documental acerca de un tema controversial. Lo que aprendí luego de verlo fue que no hay ninguna respuesta definitiva, y cada persona tiene una opinión distinta. Las entrevistas a distintos individuos te abren los ojos a distintas realidades. Están los fanáticos religiosos que están en contra, llamados pro-life, que están tan obsesionados con la palabra de dios, que son capaces de asesinar con tal de salirse con la suya. Está Peter Singer un filosofo ateo que no apoya el aborto, pero que no se sabe realmente cuando un feto empieza a ser un ser humano con funciones cognitivas y que cada mujer tiene derecho a decidir que hacer con su cuerpo. También está la mujer llamada Norma McCorvey que firmó la controversial ley de Roe Vs. Wade, la cual despenaliza el aborto, y en su entrevista habla acerca de lo difícil que fue su vida luego de este período, y que por casualidad, encontró a dios y ahora es una activista para hacer el aborto ilegal. La aparición de Noam Chomsky y sus reflexiones, como siempre dieron en el clavo y la historia más conmovedora del final, donde una mujer es filmada lidiando con la decisión de tener un aborto.
Lake of Fire es un documental completo acerca de este tema y que disipa varias dudas, aunque después de verlo, me di cuenta que ninguna verdad es absoluta. En definitiva sigo manteniendo mi decisión de que cada mujer tiene un derecho irrenunciable a decidir que hacer con su cuerpo y el aborto debe mantenerse seguro y legal, de manera que no volvamos a el período donde las mujeres se veían obligadas por la desesperación a introducirse objetos en la vagina de manera de auto provocarse el aborto, pero terminaban muriendo desangradas. Sin importar que posición tome la gente, deberíamos estar de acuerdo que la mujer y su seguridad vienen antes que la de un feto. El fanatismo de los cristianos religiosos es escalofriante, y siento que su posición es la menos razonable. Dicen que son pro-life, pero sólo les importa mientras el bebé es un feto, ya al nacer, no tienen el mismo interés de defenderlo. Mientras se oponen al aborto, tampoco tratan de evitarlos, con educación sexual efectiva y tratando de inculcar el uso de preservativos, sino que tratan de abogar por la abstinencia, lo cual es poco realista para el mundo en el que vivimos hoy en día.
Una parte que más me impactó fue cuando se le realizó un aborto a una mujer cuando llevaba 20 semanas de embarazo. El doctor al aspirar el feto, sus restos son puestos en una bandeja donde claramente se ven partes del cuerpo, como pequeñas manos y la cabeza. Se ve que ya es un bebé formado, y fue inquietante ya que no se si se puede racionalizar los abortos tan avanzados, a menos que el niño o la madre estén en peligro.
Lake of Fire es un documental que logra exitosamente lo que muchos no pueden, que es exponer un tema sin tomar ningún lado. Al filmarlo en blanco y negro afirma aún más esta acción ya que nos dice que este tema tiene matices de gris, y cada lado tiene la verdad de su lado, y también le da un realismo absoluto y crudo a este documental.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/13/23
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