Be warned, I'm going to go a little nuts here.
Full Disclosure: Born and Raised Roman Catholic, went to Catholic High school, recieved all the sacraments, etc.
Seriously people, "The Passion of the Christ"? Nothing more than a Jesus Snuff film.
How do I know this?
Let's play a little game shall we? If that movie were about any other character, historical, real or fictional, how do you think the Christian establishment would have reacted to the graphic content of the film?
That's right: Universal condemnation. They would have been screaming their heads off about "liberul Hollywood" ramming their filth down their necks. But because it involves Jesus, well, then it's A-OK! Let's bring the whole family to see the blood!
I see a lot of people (including those I call friends) heavily promote this film during Holy Week as some kind of universal bromide for the faith. Others even promote it as a cure-all for moral decay and for political motivation. I will address these issues below, and hopefully, definitively, state why I think a little reality check is in order for people.
JUSTIFICATION #1: The Stark realism of the film is brutal uncensored true account of the crucifixiton.
I would ask you to check all four of the gospels of the New Testament and note how they are all exactly the same in every detail. Oh, wait, they aren't. NONE OF THE FOUR GOSPELS EXACTLY AGREES WITH ANY OF THE OTHERS. Oddly, you don't find any mention of the details of the Passion in later parts of the New Testament, which one would assume would give some clue as to a definitive version of the tale because it was suppossedly written later. Funny that. Now if you are wondering why this is, you can just go to Wikipedia or Google and put in "Council of Nicaea". You might learn something.
The next reason this particular justification is so laughable:
EXPECTING REALISM AND HISTORICAL ACCURACY FROM A HOLLYWOOD MOVIE IS AKIN TO EXPECTING FIDELITY FROM A HOOKER
I cannot emphasise this enough: This was Mel Gibson's interpretation of the events. He may have taken some creative license or input his own religous influences. Just saying, you may want to apply as much critical thought to the passion as you would to the question of "Hey, do you really think the General Lee could jump over that ravine?"
Of course, this is probably the silliest justification, and the easiest to disassemble. The next ones require...well, they require a bit of a strong stomach really.
JUSTIFICATION #2: We need to see this level of violence to help people get back in touch with their faith.
First off, may I say that heaven help you if you require a Hollywood film to reaffirm your faith in the Almighty. Clearly, your religous values mean very little to you.
Now this may come as a shock to some, but in the days before "The Passion", one could celebrate the miracle of Christ's rebirth without a $30 million dollar Hollywood film. Churches, schools groups, and the occassional theatre group would and surprisingly still do put on their own tiny Passion Plays in this season. One wonders what motivates them; an attempt to spite Gibson and cut into the DVD sales? Or, and this is just a thought, that these are people whom, without the aid of millions of dollars of promotion and one of the biggest Hollywood actors of the last 20 years, are committed to actually expressing their faith and getting in touch with it and spreading their word to the communities that they share their values with? No, that's crazy!
I don't need to watch any movie to be reminded of my faith, and I sure as hell don't need to see every gory detail and buckets upon buckets of blood. Do I appreciate the sacrifice of Jesus? OF COURSE. Jesus was a great guy; he spoke out against blind obedience to the authority systems that prevailed in his day, and taught people to rise above their petty hatreds and nonsensical tribalistic dogmas to address that which was truly important. I believe that to truly appreciate the sacrifice of Christ means to follow in his teaching and how he acted in LIFE. I've never understood the people who obssess over the crucifixion; You can't understand what a guy died for unless you understand what were the teachings he was willing to die for. That's why I do go back to the New Testament and occassionally read from it and try to decipher what it means for ME, for TODAY. Everything else is kind of icing on the cake.
Fair warning; here's where the rant gets very politically charged. So if you have any qualms, turn back now.
JUSTIFICATION #3: We need Christian Fundamentalists to combat the scourge of Islamic Fundamentalists.
TWO WORDS:
FUCK
YOU
FUCK
YOU
That's like saying that you need the cancer in your right lung to kill the cancer in your left lung.
Let's compare, shall we? Last I checked, Christian Fundamentalists wanted:
- The Elimination of separation of Church and State
- The State to rigidly adhere to a literal translation of Church Doctrine
- The State to enforce Religious Doctrine on the people
- The Curtailing of Civil Liberties when they run contrary to Church Doctrine
- The Suppression of Academic and Scientific pursuits that offend the Church
- The Repression of Women
and the Islamic Fundamentalists want...oh right, EXACTLY THE SAME THING, just with a change on the name plates. So excuse me if I'm not quite ready to surrender the concepts of democracy and dissent of authority to a bunch of crazy people so insecure about their belief system that they would burn people at the stake rather then engage in any kind of critical thinking. Look, if you want that, please, go somewhere else and let the rest of us actually try to make this whole "Freedom" thing work, k?
That's all for now. Sorry I haven't posted much in the last couple days.
2 comments:
Comment on JUSTIFICATION #1: The Stark realism of the film is brutal true account of the crucifixion.
Yes, its not realistic to get every last detail right. Just as Tolkien purists can disagree over details, the general feeling is that Peter Jackson's movies do a very good rendering of Tolkien's vision using the medium of film.
Now for a historical text that is much older and much more influential in people's lives there will be differences in interpretation, but they are in a sense trivial.
The very idea of having the drama play out in Aramic is itself a strong statement to the committment to historical accuracy. And yes, there will be disagreements about what interpretation to give credence to regarding the Gospels. Based on the wikipedia entry of Passion of the Christ, it seems that Gibson borrowed heavily from the book of John.
I'm sure that the classic movie the 10 Commandments with Charleton Heston is also not perfect but that does not take away from its spiritual significance anymore than it would for Gibson's movie.
There will always be quibblers, but as long as the details are generally accepted as correct its good enough to be considered "true".
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Comment on JUSTIFICATION #2: We need to see this level of violence to help people get back in touch with their faith.
You are missing the point with your rhetoric about not needing the violence. The point of the movie is not about the mere "intellectual/factual knowledge" of what happened like its a court transcript.
The idea is to force you to be standing there, and film is as close as we can come to being right there, having it happen in front of you. Why else do you think people are in tears watching it?
In a world where the Islamic dog filth are executing people on camera, and white trash in north america are torturing animals on camera, we have become desensitized to suffering of others thanks to people like these.
But luckily we are not yet so far gone that we cannot feel pain for and cry for an innocent man sent into a cruel self-serving world full of Jewish scum and because of them suffering at the hands of those gibbering Roman soldiers. The faces of these apes are the same as that of concentration camp guards, or corrupt police, or anyone that feels a sense of impunity and thinks that they cannot be held to account. We need to see the suffering and know that good can triumph over evil if we are strong enough. We must MAKE ourselves strong enough.
Sure its possible to intellectualize about any engineered thing in terms of its formal aspects, and quote lots of meaningful statistics about its properties. Its an engineeringish thing to do.
But only the most self-righteous and pedantic bastards would think this is the whole truth about a thing; mere numbers and enumerable qualities of the thing in question.
What I am talking about here is VISCERAL knowledge. Sense-based knowledge. You must SEE the brutality, you must SEE the faces and hear the laughter of those wastes of skin to get it RAMMED into your motherfucking skull to appreciate the banality of evil.
My blood boils as I watch. Thats something that mere intellectualization will NOT do. Your spirituality is muted and weak without fire in heart to forget you emotions to an extremely sharp edge.
I don't think that the emasculated wussy ass limp-wristed gay ass Passion plays of today can create the same fire of the movie. If any of these passion plays had whoever plays Jesus actually being flogged, I might believe in its dramatic power, but all the politically correct bitches out there could not tolerate that, even if it was voluntary.
And that Jew bastard Caiphas - an absolute asshole for all the ages, a filthy dog for all fucking time. He should have been flogged instead of Jesus. Why didn't Pilate threaten to flog him.
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Comment on JUSTIFICATION #3: We need Christian Fundamentalists to combat the scourge of Islamic Fundamentalists.
We are gonna need to be reminded of the suffering of Jesus to provide us with the bravery needed to die if necessary against the new cancer, namely Islam.
Whatever you might think of the equivalence of fundamentalist Christians and fundamentalist Islam, there is ONE BIG DIFFERENCE. Christianity has evolved with time, and has recognized mistakes its past adherants have made, and does change with time into something that is still relevant and current based on TODAY, not the 8th Century.
When was the last time you saw an Islamic ever entertain the notion that any of what their fellow Islamic yeast infections could possibly be wrong or inhumane? They never say anything even slightly critical of their bastard religion. Of a man that strangles his daughter over clothing, its a "teenager problem" ... and on and on it goes.
Sharia law is an example of how they would have world live, and they do not wish to in any way make their religion compatible with Western philosophical or political systems. They would rather turn our systems upside down to enslave us, and conform to them and their degenerate ideas.
If there can be no peaceful co-existence with Islam, I mean look at them. They live in failed states because they will not live in peace with Hindus or anyone else, yet their Islamic countries are rife with civil war. The only alternative left is war. There will be war. Or all Islamics are driven out of Western democracies, or forced to convert to live in the West.
We NEED strong Christians willing to die for their beliefs to take on a generally inferior religion that forms the basis of their generally inferior societies.
We need Vlad Dracula to impale these Islamics alive, as they would do to us, and make them know that God does not want us to live as they do, never learning and growing and living in perpetual enslavement to spiritual perverts. Just as they wish to convert by the sword, we will convert them by the sword. All of their ideas will be shown to be in vain because they were never God's ideas.
I have every confidence its a war that Christians will win. But I do wonder how many millions of Islamics will have to die before they realize that their lives up until that point has been a sham and a waste of existence.
"Now for a historical text that is much older and much more influential in people's lives there will be differences in interpretation, but they are in a sense trivial."
It is not trivial at all: the choices of what material is referenced provides necessary insight as to the intention of the creators at work. This cannot be understated. As you said, there is several centuries worth of debate and analysis of the Bible, and what the Gospels teach and the differences between them. A hand-waving of this matter is doing an injustice to critical thought and analysis.
"The idea is to force you to be standing there, and film is as close as we can come to being right there, having it happen in front of you. Why else do you think people are in tears watching it?"
I understand the idea; I simply do not agree with the belief that I need to see gallons of blood. I have an imagination and faith and basic human empathy to fill in those details.
"In a world where the Islamic dog filth are executing people on camera, and white trash in north america are torturing animals on camera, we have become desensitized to suffering of others thanks to people like these."
This clear attempt to blame the media of our modern times is fairly weak. I would call upon you to take up some level of personal responsibility in this matter; if you have become desensitized to the suffering of others, THAT IS YOUR FAILURE AND YOURS ALONE. Is it easier to come by such materials? Certainly, but the media makes it available, they do not force you to watch these things, nor do they force you to alter your beliefs or become desensitized. I would recommend that you try to adjust your own viewing and critical thinking habits before you pass judgement on all of civilization.
"But luckily we are not yet so far gone that we cannot feel pain for and cry for an innocent man sent into a cruel self-serving world full of Jewish scum and because of them suffering at the hands of those gibbering Roman soldiers."
Oh really? Then have you been making yourself feel the pain of innocents who are currently, as we speak, being oppressed under dictators of every religious and political stripe? As far as your clearly misguided "Jewish Scum" comment, I would simply advise you to stop believing what amounts to millienia of propoganda that has been passed down and codified into such banal evil you claim to rail against.
"I don't think that the emasculated wussy ass limp-wristed gay ass Passion plays of today can create the same fire of the movie. If any of these passion plays had whoever plays Jesus actually being flogged, I might believe in its dramatic power, but all the politically correct bitches out there could not tolerate that, even if it was voluntary."
Yes, well, here you were before claiming that you needed to empathise with someone's suffering in order to feel how unjustly they've been treated, and now you claim that people must subject themselves to such unjust treatment for your own gratification. Is this not base hypocrisy? I would again advise you greater empathy and imagination. As a Catholic whom has seen many many passion plays in his life, I can say that more of them can bring more emotional content into the story than any amount of "real" bloodshed ever could.
"And that Jew bastard Caiphas - an absolute asshole for all the ages, a filthy dog for all fucking time. He should have been flogged instead of Jesus. Why didn't Pilate threaten to flog him."
-Because the depictions of Caiphas and Pilate are fictionalized accounts meant to absolve Roman authority of culpability in the death of Christ. Because if the new Religion of the Empire when it was adopted promoted a view of the Empire that was not perfect, then it would encite greater dissent and uprising within the already fragile Empire. Thus, the Jews (the traditional scapegoats of history) were made villianous to absolve the Romans. A child's understanding of history and media awareness would of course, make this clear.
"Whatever you might think of the equivalence of fundamentalist Christians and fundamentalist Islam, there is ONE BIG DIFFERENCE. Christianity has evolved with time, and has recognized mistakes its past adherants have made, and does change with time into something that is still relevant and current based on TODAY, not the 8th Century."
I contest your revisionist view of Christianity. The only reason for any of the reformations of the faith were due to their loss of poltical power as democratic systems of governments arose to contest and strip them of their power. Otherwise, they would be EXACTLY THE SAME. The goals of the Christian and Islamic Fundamentalist are IDENTICAL. As an example, former U.S. Republican Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee, a Minister, claimed that Palestine should be moved to Egypt or somewhere in Jordan, which is exactly the same manner of intolerant garbage that Iranian President Mamhoud Abedenjad preaches with Regard to Israel. In terms of the behaviour of extremists, they preach INDENTICAL oppressive values that all real citizens of a democracy should oppose. Extremism is extremism and has no place in the modern world. Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind that far too many religious leaders of the current Catholic church are more concerned with preventing Gay Marriage and disparaging Harry Potter fans than with the works that Jesus taught them to their fellow man. If you believe that that a truly pure Christian society would be any different that any other, then you are sadly deluded.
"When was the last time you saw an Islamic ever entertain the notion that any of what their fellow Islamic yeast infections could possibly be wrong or inhumane? They never say anything even slightly critical of their bastard religion. Of a man that strangles his daughter over clothing, its a "teenager problem" ... and on and on it goes."
Actually, they do, if you take the time to look for them. That is, if you again take the minimum level of personal responsibility and vigilance necessary to perserve your democratic rights. In that very incident you mention, I found many moderate Islamic organizations that denounced and rejected that barbarity. However, as they do not make stories "controversial" or "sexy" for the nighttime news, the moderate and progressive views are ignored for the more extreme ones by media organizations to indulge in that "visceral knowledge" you so crave. Educate yourself and learn to be critical of the media, and spend a minimum amount of time searching for your own answers and challenging your outmoded racist preconceptions. If you do not do this, you are failing yourself as a democratic citizen: no more and no less.
"Sharia law is an example of how they would have world live, and they do not wish to in any way make their religion compatible with Western philosophical or political systems. They would rather turn our systems upside down to enslave us, and conform to them and their degenerate ideas."
Educate yourself. Statistics Canada, and similar groups in the United States show that an OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of Muslims are happy in their lives in Western Society and are making the attempt to adapt and change, but find themselves torn and opposed by the voices of intolerance and the extremists in their midst. If you truly believe in the principles you claim are so important, then you would find the voices of these communities and seek to empower them. However, that would require more mental effort and courage than the simple straw men and scapegoats you create.
"If there can be no peaceful co-existence with Islam, I mean look at them. They live in failed states because they will not live in peace with Hindus or anyone else, yet their Islamic countries are rife with civil war. The only alternative left is war. There will be war. Or all Islamics are driven out of Western democracies, or forced to convert to live in the West."
I would contend that they live in failed states because they have been oppressed, invaded, or manipulated by greater powers (Such as the US and the UK) for centuries, and that this has created systemic failures within the ability to manage states. Of course, this again requires some degree of understanding history instead of indulging in racists screeds, so I can see why it is out of your realm.
And no, we do not need to create Christian Monsters like Vlad Tempes as some sort of means of fighting evil. You do not fight evil with evil. By that damaged logic, we should have sent black supremacists and Jewish zionists to destroy Hitler in WWII. That way lies madness and endless evil. Do you truly think so little of democratic values that you would promote such barbarism? Throughout your commentary, you have shown nothing but the same naked contempt for freedom of choice and the freedom of individual beliefs. You believe that to fight monsters we must become just like them. That is the path of the Tyrant and the Demagogue. These concepts have brought nothing but horror and tragedy to millions in this world, and if we are ever to know peace, we must soundly reject these concepts for what they are: the offspring of fear, ignorance, and blind hatred. I reject your assertions on their very principles; they are not the beliefs of my faith, or my country, and if you would try to promote them in any arena, know full well that I would devote a lifetime to opposing your narrow, simplistic, foolish, and evil pedantry.
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