Mooby In Dogma

“Dogma” (1999) by director Kevin Smith was the first feature from the indie director to stray from the path of silly diversions and idiosyncratic banters first set on by “Clerks” (1994) and “Mallrats” (1995) and focuses on the bigger issue of religion. The film follows two fallen angels: Loki and Bartleby on their journey back to heaven after being casted out by God. Their journey and its consequences are the foil the bring about the director’s interpretations and attitudes toward Catholicism and religion in general. Although primarily a comedy, the film attempts to convey many religious issues; morality and state of the church in the secular world being the most prominent ones. The genre of comedy allows us to take ourselves less seriously
and therefore providing us a more critical len over many important issues without fear of intense backlash.
The most important element from which both comedy and religious meanings can be derived is satire. The image of Mooby, Cardinal Glick attempts at making Catholicism relevant and the concept of plenary indulgence are especially on point. The image of Mooby is a parody of the golden calf in the Jewish faith. The golden calf symbolizes the impatience of the Jewish people as they wait for Moses return from Mount Sinai. Mooby is the modern society’s answer to this ancient symbol. He’s a golden cow who wears shorts and exhibits a relaxed and laid back manner. He is essentially a commercialized mascot for modern religious sentiments. The place where we can see the images of Mooby are numerous and loaded with meaning: fast food joint, airport, baseball cap and corporate boardroom; places that epitomize modern life and the impatient lifestyle that comes with it. Cardinal Glick presents another source of satire. His efforts at making religion relevant by way of the Catholicism WOW campaign show us the social distance between the church and the secular world. Retiring the crucifix and replacing with the image of the smiling and winking “Buddy Christ” because the image was determined by focus groups to be depressing and unfun is, for me, the funniest way and most effective way of showing
how far religious sentiments has changed in the modern world. Lastly, the concept of plenary indulgence and the flawed way that it was perceived by the two fallen angels to be their salvation show a misunderstanding of Catholicism theology. This, I think, not only provides the backbone for the story but also tells us about the way that religion are perceived by the masses: as a quick spiritual getaway, a quick exit for all their sins. Furthermore, it represents a disconnection between real world behaviors and what are considered religiously correct. It shows how far religion in the secular world has evolved and as a result, stray from the moral and ethical principles of the original. The concept of plenary indulgence and the loophole that goes with it provide the main driving force for the plot but it is not, in my opinion, the main way the film expresses its religious ideology. That honor belongs to the film’s portrayal of its various colorful characters and the dialogues that accompany them. This is best illustrated by the monologue by Bartleby, in which he talks about how the humans are ungrateful toward God and the gifts that he has given them: paradise, the world, greatest affection; yet, somehow God has remained infinitely patient toward humans. The film is also very keen on portraying the various sins that humans love: idolatry, adultery and cheating which is used to shows the unbelief that humans exhibit in the face of God’s love. The act of going to Mass being trivialized by the main character is also a sign of humans shunning God. All of this leads to the notion that faith is good but religion is not: “wars, bigotry, televangelism.” “that gets carried out in his name”, “Mankind got it all wrong by taking a good idea and building a belief structure out of it." (Smith , 1999). This I think is what Kevin Smith intended to be the moral of the movie and thus the moral religion in his eyes.