The
people living in Hell are depicted in two completely different ways of
suffering in Dante’s poem and in the film version of Inferno. While the poem describes an ironic depiction of absolute
unbearable punishment (the violent attack one another, the gluttonous feast on
excrement for eternity), the film illustrates the theme that moderation is
everything. Instead of twisting sin into an excruciating, eternal damnation
like the poem describes, the damned are forced to do the sin they willingly
committed on Earth for eternity – the lustful have sex for eternity, the
gluttonous eat sweets, etc. In the way the film portrays condemnation, it
almost undermines the vital theme in the poem that God’s justice is perfect and
all-knowing.
One
very memorable scene in the film shows Hitler running around among those who
used psychics on Earth. Virgil explains that he was being punished for
consulting a horoscope during his life, adding that sometimes the only way to
“catch” people is through a technicality. But how insulting is this to the
omnipotence of God? To His perfection? In the poem, Dante came to this
revelation that although he had seen absolutely horrific things during his time
in Hell, he realized that God’s justice was perfect. This is what people
deserved to endure for the sins they committed. However, in the film, we see
that Dante is almost jealous of those living in Hell – he drools at the sight
of the cars at the auction or the fact that the punishment for the lustful is sex.
We see that justice is performed, but not the kind of justice people deserve
for committing such heinous acts on earth. If modern Dante was drawn to that
life even remotely, what is holding him back from going back to his life and
living the exact same way he was?
An
important theme in the poem was that people should fear God’s perfect justice –
He is the ultimate judge and knows exactly what He is doing. People should fear
the fact that God knows every inch of our hearts and we can’t hide our sins
from Him, therefore we should live our lives repenting of our sin and trying to
please God. Dante in the poem was scared out of his mind at the end, determined
to share what he had seen with the rest of the world and give them the
motivation to live better lives and avoid the terrors of Hell. However, when
Hell is depicted like it is in the modern film, it undermines God’s power and justice,
implying that even His justice is a little blind. Without that fear, even Dante
at the end of the movie didn’t appear to be bound and determined to change his
ways – what would motivate others to repent of their sin and strive for better
lives?
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