M.Night & Mystery

awakening : Happening | posted by Shaun O

Reading and watching two separate things today, a connection arose! 
First there's an UTNE article, again on reason & faith relationship. 

Second, there's the thrilling (to be expected) trailer to the new M.Night film - The Happening.

Here's a tiny connection - maybe a bit of a reach, but it intrigued me today. 
The article speaks to the power of science in analysis, but how it can function as well as to become too "reductionist."  There is a place where ignoring the spiritual (or even artistic) is a drab semi-reality:

"viewing the human experience as nothing more than biology and physics allows for only happenings." 

Ah, enter M.Night - new movie "the Happening."  Now let's not pine too much on what this new movie could be about, what mighty twist awaits us all - there's got to be some extensive blog posts already going on that.  But think of his movies thus far, and what spirit they conjure.  Shyamalan writes tales of wonder and whimsy.  They require faith and mysticism and they seem to focus us on all that is quite beyond us!   If biology and physics allow for only "happenings," it's ironic for this film of this title to play with so much beyond our physical experience. 

Re-enter UTNE discussion of faith & reason.  It seems like the spiritual/scientific debate or question is also one of current philosophy and how we should all look at the world.  Peter Sellars, directing an opera called Dr. Atomic about the atomic bomb, says

“Understanding the limits to human knowledge and intervention is going to be the question of the twenty-first century.”

However fanciful M.Night's Happening, he is doing art with the limits of human knowledge.  Though massively entertaining, I think it fits now.  Let's see how far he goes.