Watched two engaging bits of moving pictures recently.
The first was on SBS on Monday night - Anatomy for Beginners with Gunter Von Hagens. Essentially, this involves this showman surgeon cutting open a human body and explaining how things work inside.
If you've never seen the exhibit involving plastinated corpses and animals, you might find it hard to stomach the visuals when he cuts open the cadaver's rib cage with what looks like pruning scissors.
That's when I flinched the most.
Imagine having someone cut your bones. On purpose.
Other 'highlights' include when he pumps air into the lungs to show how they inflate and deflate, and when he cuts open the heart to show the cross section of the two chambers.
Initially, I had quite a mixed response to the show. On one hand, I was severly grossed out but on the other, it was fascinating to see how the human body worked, not just in pictures and diagrams, but with a live demonstration.
I imagine I'll get the DVD at some stage.
Secondly, Shirley and I watched the international premier of Deliver Us from Evil at the Melb Int Film Fest last night. It was a documentary about Oliver O'Grady, a pedophilic priest in the Catholic church who allegedly molested and sexually assaulted over 100 children in over two decades. His victims were as young as 9 months old. At present, he walks around freely in ireland after only serving 7 years in prison. In many of the scenes, he's walking freely around with young children, none of whom have a clue about his past.
At first, I thought a show like this would be more factual reporting, or 'chronicling' a series of events that happened. What really got my attention was how Oliver O'grady somehow had a different sense of morality and reality. At one stage, during the interviews, he talks about how he doesn't get excited or aroused seeing naked women. But when he sees children, children in bathing suits and underwear, there is a definite spark in his eye and he fully admits to being aroused.
I never thought I'd ever want to beat up a priest. He's since been defrocked but he's still being supported financially by the catholic church, which the show alleges was hush-money for O'Grady not to expose the details of the cover up that happened. Apparently, 10% of the priests from one seminary in LA alone were involved in Sexual abuse cases.
Also, the extent of the cover up was somewhat disturbing, especially considering that the key figures involved were still in power. Roger Mahony, who is now Archbishop of LA and even up to Pope Benedict.
It's hard to think of this as a conspiracy theory when you see the interviews of the victims, not to mention testimony given by Oliver O'Grady and Roger Mahony.
I did a bit of digging and found what I thought to be the most startling quote from the movie. In this scene, Cardinal Mahony was being interviewed for a deposition:
Interviewer: If it had come to your attention that Father O'Grady told a your Vicar General that he had sexual urges towards a 9 year old or a 10 year old or an 11 year old, is that cause to remove him from ministry?
Mahony: No.
But the lasting argument that the movie left me with was this: Many of these priests enter the seminary at a young age and subsequently take a vow of celibacy. Despite all the training and conditioning, it is hard to deny primordial urges. As such, they should not be taken for granted that they are above their human nature. Thai Monks at one stage faced a similar problem.
Some good links on the story and the movie :
A Glimpse at the Mind of a Pedophile
Priest makes 'most honest confession' of his life
Pedophile Priest
Both 'must-sees' but be prepared - They're neither light not entertaining. The excutive director of the film festival prefaced the movie by saying "I wouldn't say enjoy the movie as it is quite harrowing, so just sit back."
