The Mission from Religious and Theological Perspective - Essay Example

? The Mission – from Religious and Theological Perspective The Mission, a British film released in 1986, revolves around the spiritual and tragic experiences of a Jesuit missionary in 18th century South America. In the film, Jesuit priest Father Gabriel travels to South America to set up a Mission there and to ‘Christianize’ the indigenous South American population. The story involves two main characters Father Gabriel and the salver Rodrigo Mendoza. Both these characters, having a background story of their own, meet at a particular point in the story and their combined efforts to run the established Mission forms the crux of the film. Directed by Roland Joffe and written by Robert Bolt, the film won the Academy Award for Best cinematography. From the plot summary, it is obvious that film mainly focuses on the religion of Christianity. Throughout the film, various facets of Christianity are explored and that includes the role played by that religion during the colonization of territories by the European or Western colonial powers in early centuries, particularly the role played by the Christian missionaries in the ‘evolution’ of the native population. The film also focuses on the core Christian beliefs and teachings, and delves into how different sections of population interpret those beliefs and teachings. “If you are looking for a fascinating portrayal of historical Christian faith and missions during the centuries past, “The Mission” is it (though not a “Christian” production itself).” (Paul, n. d) In the film, the religion of Christianity plays a vital component. That is, The Mission features the series of struggles faced by Father Gabriel in his journey to preach Christianity to the indigenous people, gain their trust and evangelize them. During that journey, the concept of Christianity is clearly highlighted. “The film is set in the 1750s and involves the Jesuit Reductions, a program by which the European Catholic Church sought to Christianize and “civilize the indigenous native populations of South America.”(“The Mission – Summary”, n. d). The representation of Christianity in the film seems to be accurate, as it reflects the activities of the Christian missionaries and other groups to spread Christianity in many lands in the early centuries. That is, the movie mainly focuses on the group of Jesuit priests traveling to distant lands in an attempt to spread and reach the Word of God to the native population. In addition, in those early times, the Jesuit priests/missionaries use to live with the native population for many years, instead of having a temporary stay. In a way, they coexist with the local people, thereby understanding their culture, lifestyle, problems, etc. In the movie also, Father Gabriel along with Mendoza permanently live and carry out constructive work in the Guarani settlement. “This fact is consistent with historical missions created by Europeans in South America, where Jesuit priests would coexist with tribes such as the Guarani.” (Fritz, 2010). Hence, the representation of Christianity in the film can be considered accurate, and also as an effective means of revealing the holistic features of Christianity. In the film, the Jesuit priests’ attempts to evangelize the native South American population provide key perspectives about the expansion activities of Jesuit priests as well as the core values of Christianity. The key message delivered in the film is how the ‘education’ of the native people about the basic principles of Christianity can bring about certain constructive changes in their society. Thus, the film in a way conveys a positive message; as it makes the native people to understand and imbibe the vital components of Christianity namely love towards fellow men, compassion, peace, sacrifice, etc. Though the Guarani initially resist and oppose the preaching of the Father Gabriel, in the latter part of the film, they even go to the extent of dying for his cause. “This movie depicts the role of religion in the European colonization of South America as a positive force. This is the reason why the movie is such a tragedy when that positive force is destroyed at the ending.” (Fritz, 2010). From the above, it is obvious that rather than imparting negative thoughts or religious fundamentalism, the film depicts the positive aspects of Christianity. However, when viewed from another perspective, the religion also brings out negativity among certain sections. That is, when one critically focuses on the conflict that takes place between Father Gabriel, Mendoza and the local people on one side and the colonizing Spanish and Portuguese forces on another side, it shows that they are using the religion for their personal gains. “Both sides in the dispute are using the name of God as a basis for their argument, mostly for personal gain. The movie builds up to a decision about the welfare of the tribe and explores how both sides react to it.” (Paul, n. d). Although the film maximally conveys a positive message about the religion and its positive impacts on the native population, it did have negative impacts in few occasions. Thus on the whole, “"The Mission" is a powerful, emotionally stimulating movie because of its examination of true Christian values and Christianity as a whole” (Fritz, 2010). Although, the film mainly features the lifestyle of a Jesuit Priest and the hardships he undergoes during his missionary activity, it also coincides with the life of Jesus Christ, thus striking a personal chord. As the film strongly portrays the preaching of Jesus Christ and even views the main protagonist Father Gabriel as a Christ like figure, it reflects my personal beliefs in Christian preaching. As it is commonly known, Jesus Christ used different methods to impart the message of love and brotherhood among the people. He performed miracles, preached Bible through parables, importantly rendered service to the needy and even ‘sacrificed’ his life for that purpose. On those lines, in the movie The Mission, Father Gabriel after moving to South America carry out noble service to the local population, thereby developing them and comforting them. The life of the Jesuit priest Father Gabriel exhibits the traits of Jesus Christ. “Father Gabriel clearly represents a Christ-figure, showing benevolence, goodwill, and love towards the Indians.” (Fritz, 2010). His love and care to the native population gave them happiness and they in-turn started to view Father Gabriel as their father or Christ like figure. Their reciprocation of love gave Father Gabriel a heightened feeling and he even goes to the extent of giving up his life for the local people, like Jesus Christ. “He sacrifices himself as a martyr for the missions' cause at the end of the movie, which is a Christ-like resemblance, the "savior" role in Christianity.” (Fritz, 2010). Thus, the portrayal of Father Gabriel as a Christ like figure evoked a lot of personal connections. That is, as the life and actions of Jesus Christ is well ingrained in me, similar reflections in the movie through the character of Father Gabriel stroke a strong personal chord. According to my perception, the film very well coincides with the Gospel and enhances the revelation of Jesus Christ through the effective use of spiritual background for the main protagonist. The message delivered through the film The Mission entails the choices made by the individuals in their personal lives after committing grave crimes. That is, humans normally commit mistakes; however, it is of key importance to accept those mistakes, transform positively and ‘turn over a new leaf’. Even if the mistake or crime is of very grave nature, if the individual repents for his/her crime and seeks forgiveness, he/she can have peace within himself/herself (even if he/she is punished by the authorities). The above concept can be compared with the life of Mendoza in the film, as he feels remorseful for his act of killing his brother. When Father Gabriel enters the area, Mendoza opposes him strongly as he feared that he may impede his slave business. However, when he kills his brother for having an affair with his fiance, he undergoes depression, and that is when he sees Father Gabriel as the one who can give penance for his sins. In addition, Mendoza, who was originally a slaver becomes a priest in the latter part of the film, and starts to preach the essence of Christianity to the native South American population. “At first he condemns Father Gabriel's work, but later begins serving as a priest in the Guarani settlement, taking his orders from Gabriel who he had persecuted earlier in the film.” (Fritz, 2010). In the end, he differs slightly with Father Gabriel regarding the mode to repulse the impeding attack of the colonial forces. That is, while Father Gabriel was against the use of violence, Mendoza had the view that only through violence they can defeat the forces and save their Mission. Although, they had different views regarding the mode of repulsing the attack, both had the same motive of protecting the Mission and saving the local population. The transformation of Mendoza from a cruel slaver, opponent of Christianity and a murderer to a peaceful and spiritual individual provides a positive message to the viewers of the film. That is, the most effective message from the film would be how the sinners should repent and regret for their past sinful life, and look forward to lead a holistic and spiritual life. While analyzing the religious expressions in the film, it is clear that the main concept of Christianity and the teachings of Jesus are handled efficiently throughout the film. In the movie, the Jesuit priests are portrayed in a positive manner, as they did not have only the intention of evangelization, because they also played a constructive role in the development and in the positive ‘evolution’ of the local population. Preaching the concepts of Christianity and spreading the religion can be considered as one of the major activities of the Jesuit priests. Although, the Jesuit Priest Father Gabriel featured in the film, The Mission also does that, he does not focus only on that, as he develops the local population optimally. For example, in the scene when Cardinal Altamirano from Vatican visits the missions to ask it wind up, he is amazed at the constructive work done for the local population by the Mission of Father Gabriel, by fully understanding and incorporating the local aspects. “The Jesuits had done a great job at identifying with the native culture’s customs and symbols.” (Cline, 2007). From this aspect, it is clear that the purpose of the religious aspect of the work is not just to “evangelize,” but also to bring about a wholesome development to the local population. Thus, the film had a positive impact on the open-minded audience, since it not only encompassed the vital components of Christianity, but also focused on the role that can be played by certain influential individuals, even if they are ‘outsiders’, in the development of the people. To cover up in a nut shell, the movie positively highlights Christianity and the role played by the Jesuit priests and other missionaries in the development of the indigenous people in many countries. This is in contrast to the other modern films because many of them portrayed “the European missionaries as evil, corrupted individuals who enslaved the Indians.” (Fritz, 2010). “The Mission” on the other hand seems to have portrayed the priests or missionaries in a positive light, as they understood the natives, gave importance to them and their culture and took great efforts to preserve their pure way of life. References: Cline, M. (2007). Analysis of "The Mission". Retrieved from: http://reclinerramblings.blogspot.in/2007/09/analysis-of-mission.html Fritz. (2010). "The Mission" Movie Review. Retrieved from: http://fritz11235.hubpages.com/hub/The-Mission-Movie-Review Paul. (n. d). The Mission. Retrieved from: http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2002/themission.html “The Mission –Summary and Historical background.” (n. d). Minds Eye. Retrieved from: http://www.themindseye.ca/kyotsu/mission.pdf Read More