Jesus Christ Superscar
This is not a review of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, which is being released in theaters today. That, online readers, was not possible. The movie's publicists told Box Office Mojo that pre-release screenings were restricted to so-called print media, though most print publications make their content available online (and those who use the Web know how to print an article). Online media, we were told by those ordained to publicize The Passion, were not trusted to review the movie in advance.
The movie, according to most accounts, is two hours and six minutes of bloody Bible stories with subtitles and an unknown cast. Yet, one need not see it to sense that the spectacle offers a snapshot of the culture.
From holy war to holy matrimony, religion is at the center of the debate of ideas. Though the attention on The Passion is fueled primarily by Gibson's celebrity—not by an interest in examining faith—and Gibson has obliged faster than a drunk finds Jesus, the frenzy is real.
Gibson has shrewdly cashed in and that's his right. Actors have always used celebrity to promote their principles. Redford's environmentalism—Cruise's Scientology—animal-loving starlets (Bardot, Hedren, Novak, etc.)—what's the point of fame if you can't use it to apply your ideals?
In Gibson's case, that means spreading religion in its fundamental sense. The Passion of the Christ's theme is that suffering, not joy, is man's proper fate.
A Mel Gibson movie about pain as man's highest purpose is practically redundant. Pain is at the core of the bloody Braveheart, the gruesome The Patriot, the tortured Mad Max and nearly every picture Gibson has made. His movies, including Ransom, Conspiracy Theory and Lethal Weapon, show that torment is his stock in trade.
Gibson has created, distributed and sold the movie he wanted to make, and that is not an easy achievement anywhere, whether on Wall Street or on Sunset Boulevard. Gibson ought to take pride—one of those seven deadly sins—in his entertaining, thought-provoking movies.
Gibson's Jesus Christ has America's attention. By Gibson's own admission, The Passion presents the essence of religion. It's the Bible told in literal images, imbued with no romanticization of goals as in Lilies of the Field, no sense of jubilation as in Sister Act, no sense of the sublime as in The Song of Bernadette. It's religion offered for what it is—abject misery here on earth—with no hint of the larger than life scope of Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments. The Passion promises vengeful Jews, a weeping whore and the most vile execution; in short, unrefined religion.
Surely, Gibson is not alone in seeking fundamental religion as man's guiding philosophy. The world is dominated by those who choose to share Gibson's faith-based passion. Western civilization is threatened by devout believers who proclaim that "God is great!" and use planes, computers and skyscrapers to attack the secular civilization that made planes, computers, skyscrapers—and movies—possible.
Whether the besieged culture is ready to renounce reason, yield to faith and submit to suffering does not depend upon Mel Gibson's fundamentally religious movie. But its box office success, especially for those of us who are infidels, may offer an ominous sneak preview.
• Talk about the passion and this commentary in our user forums...
•LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers respond to 'Jesus Christ Superscar'
• Read past commentaries by Scott Holleran:
• More Commentary
The movie, according to most accounts, is two hours and six minutes of bloody Bible stories with subtitles and an unknown cast. Yet, one need not see it to sense that the spectacle offers a snapshot of the culture.
From holy war to holy matrimony, religion is at the center of the debate of ideas. Though the attention on The Passion is fueled primarily by Gibson's celebrity—not by an interest in examining faith—and Gibson has obliged faster than a drunk finds Jesus, the frenzy is real.
Gibson has shrewdly cashed in and that's his right. Actors have always used celebrity to promote their principles. Redford's environmentalism—Cruise's Scientology—animal-loving starlets (Bardot, Hedren, Novak, etc.)—what's the point of fame if you can't use it to apply your ideals?
In Gibson's case, that means spreading religion in its fundamental sense. The Passion of the Christ's theme is that suffering, not joy, is man's proper fate.
A Mel Gibson movie about pain as man's highest purpose is practically redundant. Pain is at the core of the bloody Braveheart, the gruesome The Patriot, the tortured Mad Max and nearly every picture Gibson has made. His movies, including Ransom, Conspiracy Theory and Lethal Weapon, show that torment is his stock in trade.
Gibson has created, distributed and sold the movie he wanted to make, and that is not an easy achievement anywhere, whether on Wall Street or on Sunset Boulevard. Gibson ought to take pride—one of those seven deadly sins—in his entertaining, thought-provoking movies.
Gibson's Jesus Christ has America's attention. By Gibson's own admission, The Passion presents the essence of religion. It's the Bible told in literal images, imbued with no romanticization of goals as in Lilies of the Field, no sense of jubilation as in Sister Act, no sense of the sublime as in The Song of Bernadette. It's religion offered for what it is—abject misery here on earth—with no hint of the larger than life scope of Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments. The Passion promises vengeful Jews, a weeping whore and the most vile execution; in short, unrefined religion.
Surely, Gibson is not alone in seeking fundamental religion as man's guiding philosophy. The world is dominated by those who choose to share Gibson's faith-based passion. Western civilization is threatened by devout believers who proclaim that "God is great!" and use planes, computers and skyscrapers to attack the secular civilization that made planes, computers, skyscrapers—and movies—possible.
Whether the besieged culture is ready to renounce reason, yield to faith and submit to suffering does not depend upon Mel Gibson's fundamentally religious movie. But its box office success, especially for those of us who are infidels, may offer an ominous sneak preview.
• Talk about the passion and this commentary in our user forums...
•LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers respond to 'Jesus Christ Superscar'
• Read past commentaries by Scott Holleran:
- 'The Facts of Bob Hope's Larger-Than-Life Life'
- 'Ten Terrible Types at the Movies'
- 'Katharine Hepburn: A Woman for All Seasons'
- 'When Hollywood Went to War'
• More Commentary
