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Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ": Just Another Film or Something Significant?

December 28th 2003

If all goes to plan for Mel Gibson 2004 will see the release of his film about the last few hours of Jesus Christ's life. On the surface this is not something exceptional, but it is already clear that this film has a much greater significance than it initially seemed to, with even the Pope himself giving the film his seal of approval. The reports on the film from various groups and certain initiatives launched on the websites associated with the film also point towards this film having a greater purpose than just providing "entertainment".

The film "The Passion of the Christ " is already causing a lot of interest, controversy, and comment from a wide variety of people and is set to be the most controversial film of 2004.

The fans website for the film is already up and running and has translations of the site in over 14 languages. This could just be a sign of the times we live in, where websites do appear in many languages (the official matrix website for instance has translations in 17 languages), but for this to be in place months before the film even premiers does seem unusual. The film appears to want to reach out to a large audience, and the feedback it will get is being taken extraordinarily seriously by the management team. The claims about feelings of Anti-Semitism being ignited by the film have caused Gibson to act by announcing "The Jewish Initiative". This initiative centres around recruiting Jewish and Christian leaders to discuss the film's effect on Christian-Jewish relations.  Some Jews have openly supported the film, whilst others have criticised him heavily and openly.

This sort or preparation and planning so far in advance to a film launch is not normal. The initial screenings of this film have also been unique. When was the last time you remember a film being shown to the Pope himself for his personal seal of approval? NewsMax.com reports that senior Vatican officials were given a viewing of the movie and all supported it fully ¹. Father Di Noia, undersecretary of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, called the film "an intensely religious experience.”. Gibson continues to screen the movie to Christian elders and officials, indeed his next plan is to show it to 3,000 pastors ².

The interesting question is "Why?". Why show the Pope? Why screen it to other Bishops and Ministers? What is the purpose? Yes, it is customary, in fact necessary, for a film to be screened before it is sent for general release, but would not Gibson be interested in the reaction of the average Joe Bloggs rather than people who already believe strongly in Christianity? Is the showing of senior Christians this footage part of the vetting stage of the content? Perhaps, but showing 3,000 Ministers must have some other motive, unless Gibson really is trying hard to please every one of them.

The motives, and background and plans for this movie are apparent from different sources that have commented on the film. The plan appears to be to strengthen the Christian faith, not only by seeking new followers, but by reassuring doubters of the truth of the events. Promotional items for the film are already available from the website, people are already talking about it, and the fans page for the site incorporates something I have never seen for a film.

The site claims that many cinemas may not show the film as they feel there will not be a sufficient demand to see it. The fan site (that appears to be more than "by the fans for the fans" as its blurb claims) seems to suggest a way of solving this problem and that is to sign the petition to have it viewed in your area. Thus each person is told to register with their email address and postcode to register their interest. Users in American can then immediately see a map of the US showing graphically which areas of the US have the most users interested in the film.

The site claims this is in order to petition cinema's with, but it seems instead a cunning way to get a snapshot of the interest in Jesus Christ worldwide, with information broken down to a district by district level. A possibility indeed. Could this be part of "The Passion of the Christ" project? Would this be one of the benefits that Gibson would tell Ministers, and the Pope, to encourage them to give it their backing?

The film is seen by certain Christian commentators as a clear tool to spread the good news of Gospels:

"But if they [the Jews] would give Gibson's film a chance, they might perceive the good news in Jesus' story—that their messiah has come, and that those who believe in him will reign with him in his second coming. And this coming will inaugurate that kingdom Jews have been awaiting for so long."³

World Net Daily are in no doubt about the apparent aims of this film:

"Conference organizers [Global Pastors Network] hopes the film becomes a tool for evangelism and believes attendees will encourage their congregations, which number over 1 million people, to see the film when it is released on Feb. 25, Ash Wednesday." ²

Christian preachers seem set to encourage their congregation to visit the cinemas to see the film. Fan sites containing information about the film urge people to go view the film. One page offers the advice to readers too:

"What You Can Do To Support 'PASSION'
1) Go to the Box Office in mighty numbers;
2) Declare a fast from all secular movies that do not glorify Jesus Christ;" ⁴

It appears venturing to see this movie will become a pilgrimage of sorts. The effect on the people who do see the film will be intriguing. During the making of the movie miracles were said to have taken place on set. One unusual event that was reported was the lead character, Jim Caviezel who plays Jesus, being struck by lightning during filming. Despite this Jim was inspired by playing the part of Jesus in the film:

"As a result of playing this part, I have become even more passionate about the way of the cross. It is about Our Lord’s sacrifice for mankind, for our sins, bringing us back to God, and it’s love that did this."⁵

This effect, I feel, is expected when such acts are recreated and the idea of the crucifixion then becomes far more tangible. This I feel is the aim of the film. For many "seeing is believing". The images of the film appear to be very powerful and moving, something that may well have more of an impact than the words of the Gospels.

So what of the Tomb of Jesus site regards all this controversy? The film is certainly likely to bring the events of the crucifixion in to the public's eye, and during conversations about the film, supporters of this site and the theory it presents will have plenty of room to present a different view of the crucifixion. 

"Mel, you see, all this stuff is great. There's just a few things I think need to be brought to your attention...... ever heard of a place called Shrinagar?"

 References

1 - http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2003/12/9/212636.shtml
2 - http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=36243
3 - http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/146/52.0.html
4 - http://www.passionmovieinfo.freeservers.com/
5 - http://www.catholic.net/us_catholic_news/template_channel.phtml?channel_id=1

Arif Khan