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Sarah Masters reviews the film

Bali: Mask of Rangda

Bali: Mask of Rangda, filmed just over three decades ago, captures an extraordinary psychodrama, a cultural and religious tradition acted out on the lush island of Bali.

Once a year, in order to exorcise violence and maintain their peaceful culture, the Balinese rice farmers and artisans don God-like masks representing different aspects of the human soul and enter into deep trances. Their ritual descent into madness leads, according to their tradition, to a rebirth of sanity and wholeness and thereby allows the Balinese to preserve the spiritual cooperation so essential to their culture.

Also captured on camera during filming of this ritual is a drama in the manner of an ancient Greek tragedy, which is called the Ketjak. The Ketjak involves a chorus of 250 villagers who chant in a distinctive and haunting manner this ancient story of renewal. In the Balinese annual ritual of good versus evil is an elegant acknowledgement of the complexity of human behavior, a reminder to Chaplains of the universality of humanity.

Bali: Mask of Rangda offers a rare window into a little known culture.

Completed: 1974
Running Time: 30 Minutes
Director: Elda Hartley

If you are interested in purchasing this film, you can do so at www.hartleyfoundation.org. Just click on “Hartley Classics” on the homepage for more information. The cost of the film series is $19.95 for a VHS.

Book Review

Rev. Sue Wintz reviews

Transplantation Ethics

Transplantation of organs and tissues is one of the most highlighted issues in healthcare today. It is also one that is laden with ethical issues and potential dilemmas that professional chaplains and counselors may be asked to address. In Transplantation Ethics, Robert Veatch draws on his extensive experience as an ethicist to explore these issues. He suggests that there are three primary ethical areas: the definition of death, organ procurement, and organ allocation. His book is organized according to these three parts.

His first chapter outlines the stance of major religious traditions; the second provides an overview of ethical theory. Both provide basic theoretical background to consider the ethical pieces. The remainder of the book explores in more detail the three areas: death, procurement, and allocation of organs.

Particularly helpful for the professional chaplain and counselor is Veatch’s summary of issues of brain death, including a historical overview of its understandings and morally problematic issues in language and practice. He also clearly sets out the various theories and practices surrounding organ procurement and allocation. He possess a great deal of knowledge and expertise, and his layout and language are clear, systematic, and useful.

While some clinicians may find Veatch’s book to be either too simplistic or overly clinical, it is an excellent and thought-provoking volume for professional pastoral care providers. His use of case studies brings the ethical concepts into clinical practice to which professionals can relate. As chaplains become more involved in caring for patients and families faced with the decision to donate or the hopes of becoming a recipient, it is a valuable addition to one’s library.

Transplantation Ethics. Veatch, R. (Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2000), 427 pp.

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