The Hughes Brothers imprint their religious point of view in their 2010 American post-apocalyptic film, “The Book of Eli”. In this dramatic tale Denzel Washington stars as Eli, a mysterious wanderer that carries the world’s only remaining copy of King James’s Bible. He ventures 30 years across a desolated post-apocalyptic landscape in the attempt of finding a safe haven for this sacred book. Determined to complete his mission, Eli’s quote “We walk by faith, not by sight” from the Bible conveys a very special meaning. The Hughes Brother’s seriousness about religion interplays with a compelling story filled with biblical references. Eli is led by faith to carry the last copy of the bible through the wasteland, to an unknown destination
…show more content…
In this gunfight, Eli is wounded and Solara is captured along with the Bible. Solara manages to break free, without the Bible and walks towards West with Eli. In the West, Eli finally finds the safe haven he was looking for in Alcatraz Island, a place where civilization is preserved. As the story culminates, we are given the utmost surprise that the Bible, which had been carried by Eli, is written in Braille. Hence, Carnegie is incapable of reading it. Eli, nevertheless, is capable of reciting the entire Bible by memory to a librarian in Alcatraz Island, perhaps the last librarian after the environmental calamity which killed or blinded much of the human population. Out of this remarkable scenario, we are left with the supposition that God helps those who walk by faith. Furthermore, the ending reveals that Eli has been partially blind the whole time. It seems that the Hughes Brothers are trying to resemble Eli to the biblical Eli. In the Bible, Eli was a really old blind priest who raised Samuel, one of the major prophets of Christianity. Moreover, Eli’s quote, “We walk by faith, not by sight” brings out further significance to the whole film, once we know that Eli has been partially blind all this time. Through Eli, the Hughes Brothers instigate the imperativeness of ‘one must walk by faith, not by …show more content…
They achieve to demonstrate their audience ‘why’ religion carries such a compulsive importance, especially in lawless places. As if the difference between Cannibals and Christians lies down in their faith. The film showed how the cannibals acted accordingly to their sight, to their survival instincts, whereas Eli, a Christian man, acted according to his faith. The film highly portrays the utter importance religion has. Surprisingly, Carnegie, the head-master of the cannibals, resembles the portrayal of Andrew Carnegie, wealthiest 19th century U.S. businessmen, a tycoon. The Hughes Brothers could be criticizing the ways Americans have abandoned their faith, in the name of wealth and power (e.g., Andrew Carnegie). We can deduce that the Cannibals walk by ‘sight’ rather than by ‘faith’, as Eli does. Subtle implications such as these could imply, further on, that the cannibals resemble an exaggerated version of what Americans ought to become if we keep evading the morals of Christianity into our lives. It is asking us to realign our lives with Christianity. The film is asking us to see the utter importance of Christianity, and to realize the drastic horrors that might come if Christianity completely
In this gunfight, Eli is wounded and Solara is captured along with the Bible. Solara manages to break free, without the Bible and walks towards West with Eli. In the West, Eli finally finds the safe haven he was looking for in Alcatraz Island, a place where civilization is preserved. As the story culminates, we are given the utmost surprise that the Bible, which had been carried by Eli, is written in Braille. Hence, Carnegie is incapable of reading it. Eli, nevertheless, is capable of reciting the entire Bible by memory to a librarian in Alcatraz Island, perhaps the last librarian after the environmental calamity which killed or blinded much of the human population. Out of this remarkable scenario, we are left with the supposition that God helps those who walk by faith. Furthermore, the ending reveals that Eli has been partially blind the whole time. It seems that the Hughes Brothers are trying to resemble Eli to the biblical Eli. In the Bible, Eli was a really old blind priest who raised Samuel, one of the major prophets of Christianity. Moreover, Eli’s quote, “We walk by faith, not by sight” brings out further significance to the whole film, once we know that Eli has been partially blind all this time. Through Eli, the Hughes Brothers instigate the imperativeness of ‘one must walk by faith, not by …show more content…
They achieve to demonstrate their audience ‘why’ religion carries such a compulsive importance, especially in lawless places. As if the difference between Cannibals and Christians lies down in their faith. The film showed how the cannibals acted accordingly to their sight, to their survival instincts, whereas Eli, a Christian man, acted according to his faith. The film highly portrays the utter importance religion has. Surprisingly, Carnegie, the head-master of the cannibals, resembles the portrayal of Andrew Carnegie, wealthiest 19th century U.S. businessmen, a tycoon. The Hughes Brothers could be criticizing the ways Americans have abandoned their faith, in the name of wealth and power (e.g., Andrew Carnegie). We can deduce that the Cannibals walk by ‘sight’ rather than by ‘faith’, as Eli does. Subtle implications such as these could imply, further on, that the cannibals resemble an exaggerated version of what Americans ought to become if we keep evading the morals of Christianity into our lives. It is asking us to realign our lives with Christianity. The film is asking us to see the utter importance of Christianity, and to realize the drastic horrors that might come if Christianity completely