Holidays...
Apr. 8th, 2004 05:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brabbel123I am not the most religious of persons. I haven't been to church for a year and I don't pray. But I do believe that there is "something" out there that awaits and welcomes us when we die.
To be honest, I haven't seen "The Passion of the Christ" yet - and I don't plan to ever watch it. You ask why? Well, in my opinion it's one thing to show those last 12 hours of Jesus' life - but I don't think those 12 hours are the important ones in the life of Christ. However, of course, they are easy to turn into a movie, full of blood, torture, and action which is what most films nowadays seem to revolve around. But is this actually what Christianity is all about? I say no.
Christianity has always been a source for hope, why else would it spread among servants and slaves before gaining access to the ruling class? I doubt very much that if Jesus' life had only been about the crucifixion there would have been much hope to gain for those who desperately needed it. Make no mistake, I don't say that it's not important that Jesus was willing the bear the cross weighted down by humanity's sins and die - far from it. But it's not his death that's celebrated on Easter Sunday, but his life and resurrection. And both are missing in this film. I wouldn't have minded a movie about Jesus, maybe 150 minutes long, that shows *every* aspect, his life, his deeds, his death (even in all those gory details) and his resurrection. And I highly doubt such a film would have created such an uproar as this one certainly has.
I'm not opposed to violence as long as it is embedded in a story and not the story itself. For example, "Schindler's List" or "The Pianist" wouldn't have worked at all without showing the cruelty of Nazi-Germany. But the violence only served to emphasize the plot, to make it stronger, more poignant.
So, I return to the initial question: What's the point of "The Passion of the Christ"? What does Mel Gibson want to accomplish by showing 2 hours full of pain, torture, blood and suffering? The more sarcastic side of me says that he already has achieved everything he ever hoped for - no officially planned PR could have had the impact the public outcry against this film had in driving the masses into the cinemas... and the money into the pockets of Mel Gibson.
To be honest, I haven't seen "The Passion of the Christ" yet - and I don't plan to ever watch it. You ask why? Well, in my opinion it's one thing to show those last 12 hours of Jesus' life - but I don't think those 12 hours are the important ones in the life of Christ. However, of course, they are easy to turn into a movie, full of blood, torture, and action which is what most films nowadays seem to revolve around. But is this actually what Christianity is all about? I say no.
Christianity has always been a source for hope, why else would it spread among servants and slaves before gaining access to the ruling class? I doubt very much that if Jesus' life had only been about the crucifixion there would have been much hope to gain for those who desperately needed it. Make no mistake, I don't say that it's not important that Jesus was willing the bear the cross weighted down by humanity's sins and die - far from it. But it's not his death that's celebrated on Easter Sunday, but his life and resurrection. And both are missing in this film. I wouldn't have minded a movie about Jesus, maybe 150 minutes long, that shows *every* aspect, his life, his deeds, his death (even in all those gory details) and his resurrection. And I highly doubt such a film would have created such an uproar as this one certainly has.
I'm not opposed to violence as long as it is embedded in a story and not the story itself. For example, "Schindler's List" or "The Pianist" wouldn't have worked at all without showing the cruelty of Nazi-Germany. But the violence only served to emphasize the plot, to make it stronger, more poignant.
So, I return to the initial question: What's the point of "The Passion of the Christ"? What does Mel Gibson want to accomplish by showing 2 hours full of pain, torture, blood and suffering? The more sarcastic side of me says that he already has achieved everything he ever hoped for - no officially planned PR could have had the impact the public outcry against this film had in driving the masses into the cinemas... and the money into the pockets of Mel Gibson.
