Every Atheist Needs: The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game

I really loathe movies these days. If they’re not a part of some franchise, as the 32nd remake of the original remake of the sequel, then they’re a sequel or a remake or some artsy film with no plot, Patricia Arquette and a whole lot of drunk, loser husbands. Whenever Godless Dad says, “hey, let’s watch a movie,” I literally feel like I would find more enjoyment serving hors oeuvres at a bris.

So, I really don’t know what made me watch this film, but I am certainly glad I did.

I’ve not seen Cumberbatch in anything prior to The Imitation Game, so this was my first Benny experience and I have to say, I am impressed. While I still fail to see why so many women seem to melt at the sight of him, I thought his acting was great. He played the socially awkward Alan Turing so well, and I know, because I, myself, am socially awkward. It was a brilliant portrayal of that nonsense, anyway.

Turing, a man whose code-breaking shortened the second world war by an estimated 2 years, and saved millions of lives doing it, is credited as one of the founding fathers of the computer. Without a man like him having graced this earth with his genius, I might not be typing any blog posts for you to read.

Turing was gay. He was prosecuted for it. Just saying that makes my stomach turn. What despicable creatures we are to have had this in our past... and not too distant past. Imagine criminally charging a man for which adults he’s attracted to. Remember now, that there are countries still doing this.

Without Turing, I may not have a blog. Without Turing, I may not have been able to Skype my brother in Mexico yesterday. Without Turing, dim and loathsome men and women the world over, could not type up their hate-filled Facebook posts about denying human beings the right to marry, the right to buy cake, the right to live free.

Without the work set in motion by a gay man himself, we may not be where we are today.

And he was prosecuted for it. Chemically castrated for it. He took his own life because of it.

This movie is less about entertainment and more about telling an important story, and while not all events or facts portrayed in the movie are entirely accurate, the gist of the story is the same.

It’s the story of a man who loved the wrong sort of person and couldn’t even redeem himself by saving millions of lives.

It’s the story of a brilliant man, so valuable to our progress, being driven to kill himself by the very same sick and twisted world he saved.

Really, It’s the story of what monsters we can be.

I enjoyed this film, much to my surprise, and I think you ought to check it out, too.

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#history #lgbt #LGBTQ #movies