Dogma (1999) - 13 questions

Question: Bartleby says to Loki that as angels they have no free will. Yet, he also says that Lucifer, a former fallen angel, rebelled against God. Isn't this an example of an angel demonstrating free will?

Answer: What he means is that humans have the choice to accept or reject God's love, but that angels have no such choice. Lucifer questioned this logic and was prompted to start a war, just as they're questioning it and are prompted to find a loophole to return to Heaven.

Question: What does Loki mean when he says that he's "heard a rant like this before"? What rant?

Answer: He's saying that Lucifer made a speech much like this one, questioning God's judgement, before starting the war in Paradise.

Question: In the scene where Bartleby and Loki are in the Mooby HQ, Bartleby whispers the boss's secret into his ear, then Loki says, "And you're his father. You sick f*ck!" Does anybody know what the secret actually is?

Answer: The logical assumption is that he is molesting his son.

Question: I want to sit down and watch all the Jay and Silent Bob Movies, so can someone PLEASE tell me all the movies in the order you're supposed to watch them. Thanks.

Answer: There are two ways: (1) the order in which they were released: Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerk II; or (2) the chronological order: Mallrats, Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks II. There's only a very short time between the events of Mallrats and Clerks though, and any crossover is limited to incidental references, so it doesn't really matter.

Question: At the bar after Bob hits Azreal, Serendipity tells Bethany to "blast the sinks." Bethany slides down the bar, makes a hand gesture and the sinks fill with water. I didn't see her hit a switch or anything else that could make water come out so what happened?

Answer: Serendipity says "Bless the sinks." Bethany's hand gesture is the sign of the cross.

Question: In the train scene, they cut to Chris Rock alone and he says something. I think it's "pilgrimage". Is that right or is it something else?

Answer: He says, "Poopietrim". According to the commentary, it's an inside joke among the crew and director. They felt they had to throw it in the movie somehow.

Question: In the end of the movie, Jay asks who this person (God) is. Metatron replies that the answer you seek lies within my companion's eyes. I assume this is something about God, but what exactly does he mean there?

Answer: Jay looked in her eyes, got his answer, saw God and fainted as it was more than his stoner mind could handle.

Question: I am told that the film is satirizing Catholicism, what aspect it is satirizing?

Answer: Many different aspects. For example, George Carlin's character portrays a grandstanding Cardinal who postures for the public. Rufus claims that, as a black man, the Church chose to ignore his role in history, as well as the fact that Christ was black (historians say this is more than likely, but it has never been acknowledged by the Church). The Mooby scene can also be seen as an analogy of the modern Church, obsessed with appearances and maintaining its image more than with the worship of God. Even at the climax, the action that solves the movie involves euthanasia of a terminally ill man, an action that the Church strongly believes is unethical for dogmatic reasons rather than Scripture. There are many more, too many to list here.

Question: As with Kevin Smith's other films, why does Jay refer to Silent Bob as "Lunchbox"?

Answer: Because Silent Bob is fat. Lunchbox refers to A. he eats a lot or B. he is shaped like one.

Question: Metatron tells Bethany that Bartleby and Loki have been clued into a loophole in catholic dogma that would allow them back into heaven. What does he mean by "catholic dogma"?

Answer: Roman Catholic is the oldest of the Christian Churches, and the one from which all others (Eastern Orthodox and Protestant) have separated. Dogma is the core tenets of a given religion, the ideas that make up that religion and which can never be changed, because to do so would destroy the entire belief system (contrasted with doctrine, common beliefs and intepretations held by a church that can change over time). So Catholic dogma is the specific, basic beliefs of the Catholic Church, in this case, "God is infallible."

Question: Why is it that The Metatron, Bartleby, and Loki all refer to God as "He" when God actually turns out to be a woman? The Metatron even says "her" and "she" to Bethany, in reference to God, in a very patronizing manner, as if she's holding on to an incorrect belief.

Answer: Metatron explains at the very end that God has no gender, and can appear on Earth as a man or a woman. Metatron's patronizing tone is indicating that there are far more important matters afoot than which gender noun to use to describe God.

Question: After Matt Damon shoots the sinner on the bus he and Ben Affleck get off the bus and Matt Damon starts singing a strange song. What is that song all about?

Answer: In the bus, Ben Affleck teases Matt Damon for thinking that the movie "Krush Groove" was going to leave a greater legacy than "E.T." So after they leave the bus, Matt Damon's starts with this riff from Krush Groove. The words are, "Whose house? Run's house. I said whose house? Run's house." The "Run" is from "Run DMC," stars of Krush Groove.

Question: How do Bartleby and Loki know Rufus? They haven't been in Heaven since they were expelled after killing all the first born sons of Egypt, which happened during Moses' time. Rufus died two years after Christ died and went straight to Heaven. Christ lived and died hundreds of years after Moses. So, presumably, Bartleby and Loki were in Wisconsin when Rufus went to Heaven. How would they recognize him?

Answer: In a scene shortly before, Azrael was telling them about the last scion being sent after them. After that scene cut, he could have mentioned that she had an Apostle with her. That, and, Bartleby was a 'Watcher' Angel (a Gregoriate if I remember correctly), and he can see into people's pasts.