The Passion and me
This film is really making me mad. I find myself annoyed at those close to me who want to see the film, and that is not a reaction that I want to have. I don't understand all of my reaction, myself. I have said from the beginning that I had no problem with Mel making this film or with people going to see it. And intellectually, that is still true. I am opposed to censorship and would fight any efforts to keep this film out of the theaters.

But the film bugs me. And it isn't the anti-Semitism. The part that has bugged me about that has been the right's dismissal of anti-Semitism as if those concerned about it are completely irrational. Never mind this story from Colorado. This may not be the norm, but it actually proves many of the critics right--that some will use this film for bad ends.

But let's set the anti-Semitism aside for now. I will assume that most evangelicals and Mel himself, are well-intentioned believers who don't actually hold the Jewish people responsible for the death of Christ.

So, why is this film making me mad? I think there are numerous reasons. One is the expectation that Christians should want to see it. After all, if you believe that Jesus suffered and died for your sins, shouldn't you want to go watch it happen? And speaking of suffering, this film appears to be all about that, as if the suffering was the critical issue of our faith. I don't understand that. If Jesus was both God and Man, then how was his suffering any greater than any of the other hundreds of Jews (or others) who were crucified by the Romans? Is the suffering integral to the faith? As I posed in an earlier posting, would his sacrifice for our sins mean less if we were to flash back in time and find that he didn't physically suffer as much as Mel thinks? Or, would it fall apart if he had been killed a different way? There is something dark here about Mel's view of the world and of his faith. He is haunted by something that I don't understand.

There seems to be a super-macho aspect to this, as if we have to prove that we are strong enough to watch this. As I noted in an earlier post, this from people who have often dismissed violence as negative almost regardless of context. I sincerely believe that they would have had a complete opposite reaction to a film about Matthew Shepard.

And what about Mel? Let's assume that his beliefs are genuine and heart-felt. But he has been less than up-front about this film. For all of his protesting about those weighed in against his film (conveniently those are portrayed as part of the dark (read Satanic) forces that oppose God), he has pushed and promoted this film in a way that would make all those Hollywood types that he and his recent fans denigrate very proud. While pretending to not promote it, he screened it for thousands of evangelical conservatives and watched in mock-horror as people objected. Every objection, every claim of "pornographic" violence or anti-Semitic content was controversial, and every controversy spurred free press. Hell, if he were serious about reaching out to people, he would have reached out to them when he started the screening.

And then there is the issue of historical accuracy. I have some credentials to back me up on the history angle (though my specialty is not Judea or Ancient Rome) and I find the entire discussion frustrating. Most defenders say that the film is accurate because it is based on the gospels which (in spite of having been written 40+ years after the events) are supposed to be historically accurate. This despite the contradictions between the various stories and problems with the non-Biblical scholarship (mostly dealing with the relationship between Pilate and the Jewish leaders). And, and this is big, the fact that Mel admits being heavily influenced by a 19th century mystic's dreams, hardly the gospel truth.

But ultimately, I am frustrated by the right's acceptance of the film while having no sense of the context. No acknowledgment that this film has been sold to them, and that they are, in part, supporting it because of Roy Moore, and the SF Mayor, and ten commandments and prayer in school, and .. Jon Stewart had a great line the other night about the bravery it took to make a pro-Jesus film in America. Wow. Really brave.