Bill Maher’s Irreverent Lens
REEL TIME: Bill Maher?s new documentary takes on religion.
“Religulous” seems poised to be 2008’s most irreverent film, a merging of the creative talents of “Borat” film director Larry Charles and comedian and TV host Bill Maher. The documentary follows Maher, known for his biting satire and political commentary, as he meets with representatives of various world religions and members of different belief systems.
REEL TIME: Bill Maher?s new documentary takes on religion.
Promotional materials for the film include everything from a poster displaying Maher’s face on a grilled cheese sandwich with the tagline “Do you smell something burning?” to the creation of a Web site called disbeliefnet.com — a spoof of beliefnet.com, a site devoted to religion and spirituality. Disbeliefnet.com is stocked with material mocking religious sects, with headlines as politically incorrect as “Burkini Babes” and a glaring ad demanding that viewers help “Save California From Satanic Homosexual Marriage.” The site (which bears the tagline “You won’t believe what people believe”) takes jabs at the anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox fringe group Neturei Karta and presents kosher cell phones, which offer calling plans that shut down on the Sabbath and block “over 10,000 phone sex numbers — whether you want them to or not.”
“Religulous” is slated for release in October.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
