adrienmundi (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
adrienmundi) wrote2003-10-07 02:55 pm
adrienmundi) wrote2003-10-07 02:55 pm
(no subject)
I've always kind of liked The Prophecy. Aside from the obvious reasons (Christopher Walken, a war between angels, etc.), what really made this memorable for me was Viggo Mortensen's portrayal of Lucifer, which is arguably the best I can recall ever seeing on screen. The defining moment for me was when he was explaining to Elias Koteas what damnation was really about:
"Do you know what hell is? It's being removed from god's sight."(1)
That's always stuck with me, despite being about as agnostic as you can find; (2) I think it was the sentiment with which I identified, not the specifics.
Today, pondering my relationship with aesthetics, that kept bubbling up from my subconscious. The applicability finally hit me, specifically in regards to that slight-to-sometimes-huge feeling of sadness/unfulfill-ed/-able longing that accompanies an appreciation of the beautiful. So, with appropriate substitutions:
"Do you know what hell is? It's being removed from the beautiful."
That pretty much sums it up, alright.
(1) paraphrasing from memory; forgive potential inaccuracies.
(2) a gnostic (wannabe) with no experience of gnosis
"Do you know what hell is? It's being removed from god's sight."(1)
That's always stuck with me, despite being about as agnostic as you can find; (2) I think it was the sentiment with which I identified, not the specifics.
Today, pondering my relationship with aesthetics, that kept bubbling up from my subconscious. The applicability finally hit me, specifically in regards to that slight-to-sometimes-huge feeling of sadness/unfulfill-ed/-able longing that accompanies an appreciation of the beautiful. So, with appropriate substitutions:
"Do you know what hell is? It's being removed from the beautiful."
That pretty much sums it up, alright.
(1) paraphrasing from memory; forgive potential inaccuracies.
(2) a gnostic (wannabe) with no experience of gnosis
Yes.
It's too long for a reply, so I made a page.
Zelanzy wasn't as sublime of a fantasy-scifi-dry-humor writer as say Moore or Gaiman, in my opinion, but I think you'll get the gist of it.
Re: Yes.
I guess I was alluding to what feels like a necessary precondition for aesthetic appreciation, namely a seperation from the beautiful, and a desire, possibly hopeless, to connect with it.