The Passion

I've seen the passion. Had some time this afternoon and there has been
so much talk about it around me that I felt compelled.

Well, it is bloody and sadistic; a snuff film is the quick and short of it.

In the beginning we see Jesus praying to the moon on a blue night, in an
olive grove, so we can assume the story is unfolding on a blue moon
night. It has to be difficult to spend so much time on developing a
story where everyone knows the plot, but Mel tried his best I suppose to
make it interesting. The fact that the guy who composed the musical
score had to fight with the Devil, as it is reported in teh media, is
blood pudding on the carcass. It had never occurred to me that Golgotha
would be a pile of crushed gravel, that a cross was built with nails,
that there would be Jackson Pollack moments in a bold splattering of
red, that Jesus in the last scene would look like he was painted on with
barbecue sauce, or that the sign above his head on the cross telling us
who he was would be written in indelible marker. None of it is in
English, some form of recombinant Aramaic, and when the subtitles cease
and the centurions continue to drink and play cards and fart around it
makes as much sense. I thought of the Can of the Clave Bear several
times. This could have been a sci-fi movie if it were not for the
audience expectations.

I also kind of wondered if they have the authentic shroud of Turin then
what happened to all of the bloody rags that his mother used from that
day to clean up with? I'm sure there is an answer. Think of the fun one
could have with DNA mapping of Jesus and how many people could make a
claim to their descendance. A direct blood line to Jesus is much more
interesting than reincarnation from Cleopatra.

Oh, I'm reminded that one of the lessons of Jesus is the anti-Napoleonic
syndrome, that is, that if you dare do anything extraordinary or to say
neat things to your friends and gain their respect and love then you
will get the hell beat out of you, or worse you might be crucified, or
go nuts like Judas and hang yourself. Then your friends will make up
stories about what a great job that you did. I like Jesus... I love
Jesus... but I like Jesus for liberating us from our sense of guilt, for
helping us to be better people, not for an interpretation of Jesus that
reinforces our need to hide in the basement and live on bread and water.

I'm not concerned so much about a revival of Christian reaction to the
Jews, whom I will return to later, as to an increase in the births of
new-baby Christians. This is the kind of movie that will appeal to the
boy who never got over torturing cats and who as a young adult male with
too much testosterone will want to find a more fulfilling cathartic
release than driving a spike with a heavy maul and blood spurting on the
movie screen. Trust me, they will not know what they are doing in the
bed or the back seat of the car.

The blood spurting in this movie is over the top. The fact that that a
whole bunch of fried chicken eating church goers are going to get
together, pass around, or sneak off with the DVD to this movie does have
me worried. I was inclined at one point to leave the theater not from
moral outrage that my savior was being brutalized, but from the fact
that I thought I might throw up. It was nothing like Kill Bill for
blood, in the Tarantino movie the blood spurting was entertaining, here
it induces physical revulsion.

As to the Jews, it is simple, if you believe what Christ said, and what
he is shown to have said in the movie, then it is clear that God did not
blame the Jews... it was all Satan playing games. If you don't
particularly believe in Satan either then you will have a real problem
with the premise of this story. I got the distinct impression Jesus was
condemned by guys in funny suits, the Temple Jews rather than the good
Jews that actually liked the boy, and that the Temple Jews, the fat
cats, made a false claim that Jesus was harboring weapons of mass
destruction.

I also was confused about the devils mini-me character. What gives with
that?

For the Jews it is one thing seriously to be concerned about -- no doubt
about it -- but for me I would be much more concerned about the
representation of the mentally ill. What I saw portrayed was a message
that everyone on all sides of the issue were screwed up in the head
something fierce -- a Thunderdrome sort of madness -- except for a few
of the women who seemed to really have a handle on the scene. If I were
mentally ill I would protest this movie for fear that it would cause a
backlash of mentally healthy people wanting to kill me. It may not be so
healthy any way that we look at it; I presume Mel Gibson assumes that
modern humanity is less mentally ill than at the time of the crucifixion
but somehow I doubt that we are healthier.

Is the film irresponsible? I'm not quite sure, but I do know that if my
mother knew ahead of time what was going to be shown in the movie that
she would not want me to see it.

50 First Dates, with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, is a far more
entertaining and satisfying movie, funny and I actually cried a little
bit at the end.

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