During a recent interview, cult director Kevin Smith reflected on the intense backlash he received from religious and right-wing groups following the premiere of his most “controversial” movie, Dogma. Released in 1999, Dogma followed Loki (Matt Damon) and Bartleby (Ben Affleck), two fallen angels desperate to get back into heaven. After finding a loophole that would allow them to return, a rugged group bands together to stop them, knowing their return would destroy the universe. Dogma is now regarded as one of Smith’s best movies by his fans, but the movie wasn’t so universally beloved when it was released…
During the build-up to Dogma‘s theatrical release, Kevin Smith and those involved with the film received mountains of hate mail and a few genuine death threats from angry religious groups, protesting the movie’s depiction of God, angels, and its “besmirching” of Christianity. As well as Loki and Bartleby, the film includes Rufus, a.k.a. Jesus’ 13th disciple, played by Chris Rock, the demon Azrael, and a female incarnation of god (played by none other than Alanis Morissette, because who else?) Now, speaking to EW, Smith looked back on the backlash surrounding Dogma, revealing the sheer amount of hate mail and death threats he recieved at the time. He said:
“This was my fourth motion picture, and I almost got killed over it.
400,000 pieces of hate mail, and bona fide death threats. [Recalling one of the death threats] ‘You jews better take that money you stole from us and start investing in flak jackets because we’re coming in there with shotguns.'”
Smith remembers the moment as hilariously as anyone familiar with his work (be it his movies or various podcasts) would expect him to, saying:
“The movie had a rubber poop monster in it,” Smith said. “Can you imagine getting that irate over a movie with a rubber poop monster in it?”
At the time, receiving various death threats must have been a terrifying experience. But, 25 years later, Smith hopes the disgruntled groups managed to overcome their intolerance, but couldn’t help but make a joke about the country’s current political state, saying, “I hope whoever wrote that missive found peace. It sounds like they ran for congress.”
Kevin Smith Protested His Own Movie
The angry religious groups organized protests outside of screenings of Dogma in 1999. Participants held up signs reading “Dogma is a sin!” One protest was reported on the news during Dogma‘s theatrical run, and the coverage included a very familiar looking face.
You might be cool, but you’ll never be Kevin Smith protesting his own movie cool. That’s right, Smith attended a protest in New Jersey in 1999, with none of the other protesters recognizing him. During an interview with News 12 NJ way back when, Smith made a few jokes at the protesters’ expense, highlighting how they were objecting to a movie they had never seen, and were only going off what others had said about it. Smith said, “I don’t think it stands for anything positive.” When asked what the movie actually stands for, Smith replied, “I don’t know, but I’ve been told ‘not good.'”
Sadly,
Dogma
still isn’t available to stream anywhere. However, some of his other movies can be streamed on the likes of Max, Apple TV, and Prime Video.