Everywhere I turn I can't help but run into another story about Mel Gibson's controversial new movie, The Passion. If you haven't heard already, it's more-or-less about the last twelve hours in the life of Jesus Christ, as told from the traditional bible-thumping Catholic point of view. Certain religious groups and journalists have had the opportunity to read the screenplay and/or view select clips of the film, and the general agreement is that the story essentially blames the Jews for everything.

In response, there has been more than a little discussion and controversy surrounding the release and the possible effects it could have on the general public. Officials of the Anti-Defamation League were finally allowed to see the film in its entirety and left the theater expressing concern "that the film, if released in its present form, will fuel the hatred, bigotry and anti-Semitism that many responsible churches have worked hard to repudiate."

My response to this whole fiasco is: who the hell cares? If people are so pathetic that they're going to hit the streets looking to harass Jewish people for "what they did to JC" a few thousand years ago, chances are they'd be busy at home beating their wives or raping small children anyway. The truth is Americans aren't nearly as religious as they tend to believe they are, and I seriously doubt any film is going to raise feelings of anti-Semitism that weren't already there. Besides, from what I understand, most of the idiots who hate people of Jewish descent don't feel that way because of Jesus.

As for how The Passion will reflect on Gibson, I seriously doubt this will help his career and it may actually hurt his image in the long run. Sometimes knowing too much about an actor can have a negative effect regarding whether or not the audience believes it when he plays a particular role, and Gibson will probably solidify himself as a religious zealot when all is said and done. I always had suspicions that he insisted on emphasizing the faith angle in the movie Signs, which if you remember mercilessly shoved the "having faith" theme down our throats.

Posted September 2, 2003 | link