Don't believe the hype

Editorial

Who is Mel Gibson to give us a portrayal of Jesus' final days on Earth? Far from a New Testament scholar or a Catholic religious authority, he is an Australian-born actor who found blockbuster success on our shores.

Gibson is not even a mainstream Catholic but rather a member of the Catholic Traditionalist Movement that rejects Vatican II, including the pronouncement that the Jews are not collectively responsible for the death of Jesus.

In a personal leap of faith, he has produced "The Passion of the Christ," portraying the last 12 hours of Jesus' life and culminating in his crucifixion. Gibson claims his narrative represents "the truth" because he based his script on the New Testament.

Not so fast.

He also looked to the writings of Mary of Agreda, who lived in 17th-century Spain and believed that Jewish culpability for Jesus' crucifixion is passed along to subsequent generations. He also consulted the writings of Anne Catherine Emmerich, a 19th- century German who perpetuated the belief that Jews murdered Christian children and mixed their blood into Passover matzo dough.

"The Passion" is a distant cousin of Martin Scorsese's film "The Last Temptation of Christ." In that rendition, Jesus is portrayed as wracked with doubt and fear, in his role as savior and also for the pain that accompanies it. Moreover, he does not know whether his "divine" messages come from God or Satan.

When "Temptation" was released in 1988, Scorsese was labeled a heretic, and the film was picketed and boycotted. Since the initial excitement, what happened to it? Check your local Hollywood Video. It's near "Last Action Hero" and "Last Tango in Paris" - two other over-hyped movies.

Gibson's "Passion" will most likely follow their lead and be filed away, alongside "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," "Pearl Harbor" and "Matrix Revolutions."

With its graphic, gory violence, "The Passion" may inspire many Christians to respond in disgust, saying, "This is not the story I learned as a child. This is not the Jesus I believe in."

In times past, when Passion plays were performed, Jews stayed off the street, locked their doors or left town.

Mel Gibson's version is Passion Play 2004, Hollywood style. Despite fears that it will lead to anti-Semitic violence, it's exceedingly unlikely that anyone who is not an anti-Semite would find viewing it a transformative experience.

We need not believe the hype of this Hollywood vehicle. It soon will follow J.Lo and Ben's break-up, Britney Spears' wedding and Janet Jackson's breast and be quickly replaced by the next episode in our media-molded pop culture.

We all need to keep in mind that "The Passion" is just a movie, brought to us by the star of "Bird on a Wire."

Home