Review of Agora (2009) by Elisabeth B — 24 Apr 2011

It's never a good sign when I multi-task while watching a movie. But that's exactly what I did while watching Agora.

Agora is the name of a library in Alexandria, just before the fall of the Roman Empire. This film is about Hypatia, a mathematics and astronomy scholar and teacher. She's friends with the Roman prefect Orestes. Despite the fact, Orestes has converted to Christianity, the Bishop does not like his friendship with Hypatia, who represents science, which he saw as an enemy of christianity. Hypatia also didn't know her place as a woman. Didn't she know she should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen instead of gazing at stars? The evil christians murder Hypatia. The one thing I liked about this movie is that it showed that it was not just a matter of religion. When the Roman Empire fell, it was an end to slavery and thought control, consequently millions of people in Europe were suddenly a) free and b) able to form their own thoughts. Therefore christianity became for a while not only a new religion, but also a revolution for thousands upon thousand of people. This revolution understandably became violent. Wouldn't you feel a bit angry after being enslaved and forced to like that big statue of a roman god?

What this showed me is that it was not in the name of christianity, although they may have believed it was, but more in the context of backlash to the vicegrip of the Roman Empire, that so much bloodshed followed its demise. The movie could have been about more than just Hypatia and then it might have been more solid.