I had a bit of a film binge on the plane back from Malaysia. (it’s now on DVD)
The Hoax was the stand out movie. Starring Richard Gere who plays Clifford Irving the man who conned McGraw Hill the US publisher into paying out millions for a fake biography of the entrepreneur aviation billionaire Howard Hughes. The film does a great job of holding the tension as Irving spins a web of lies to keep the illusion going. Irving eventually is caught in his own web as he becomes increasingly obsessed with Hughes and takes on his persona. there are hints of “A beautiful mind” when Irving imagines shadowy figures engaged in a big conspiracy.
I hadn’t connected Howard Hughes with the Nixon administration and especially the Watergate scandal and this films does a good job of making the links.
It’s a great study on the nature of greed – how the need to be significant and respected is enslaving. Irving is so absorbed with his own desire to imitate Hughe’s success that he sells out those that are closest to him so that they do what he wants.
The film reminded me of the nature of idolatry for two reasons:
Firstly idols are mute but are used by their prophets for their own ends:Psalm 135:3-7
The Psalms and the Prophets often contrast the fact that God speaks but that idols are mute.
3 Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.
4 But their idols are silver and gold,
made by the hands of men.
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but they cannot see;
6 they have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but they cannot smell;
7 they have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but they cannot walk;
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
But if idols are merely human creations. Where do they get their words from? I am reminded of CS Lewis’ “Last Battle” where Shift the Ape exploits a shy donkey, dresses him up in a lion’s skin and tells everyone that Aslan has returned to Narnia. The disguised donkey is too shy to speak and so the Shift the ape becomes his prophetic mouthpiece. The ape uses his idol for his own ends and abuses his worshipers. The Hoax has Clifford Irving as Howard Hughes’ mouthpiece and he uses Hughes’ seclusion to his own ends. The best parts of the movie come when it looks like someone is going to call his bluff. When the ruse will be unmasked and it is clearly seen that the prophet does not speak for the deity. In this movie Hughe’s is seen as kind of divine figure, living in the shadows, idolised by the masses and pulling the strings behind the most powerful person on the planet – the president of the USA.
Secondly we become what we worship: Psalm 135:8
8 Those who make them (idols) will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
There is a biblical principle that we basically become like whatever we worship. If we worship God then we become more godly. If we worship money then we become less human, more calculating, more greedy etc.
In the movie we see Irving taking on the persona of Howard Hughes’ so that he can no longer distinguish between lies and truth, between performance and reality. Hughes becomes Irving’s obsession and is consumed in the process. This echoes the biblical idea that we become enslaved by our desires. Irving gets himself into a deeper mess the longer he spends chasing Hughes he is enslaved by his greed, his lies and his using of all those around him. He ends up a deranged lonely man. The film in many ways is a morality play, vividly showing the implications of naked ambition.
