Passion of Christ as a Religious Controversial Film - Movie Review Example

The Passion of the Christ Mel Gibson 2004’s Passion of Christ is a religious controversial film. Mel Gibson gives the audience a pathetic portrait of Jesus in the attempt of depicting historical Jesus. Gibson depicts Christ as medieval church piety unlike his portrayal in the Gospels. Historians are in the Third Quest for historic Jesus where the first two quests end unsuccessfully, as Jesus presence is onscreen and available in Biblical text. The path chosen by Gibson in the film shows a need for scholarly effort in a bid to find the historical Jesus. Most New Testament scholars refrain from publishing Jesus to avoid tainting religious commitments. Paul in the Book of Acts avoids mentioning Jesus since he did not meet him in flesh. The public says that the movie depicts a bloody and brutal treatment to Jesus. In that case, the movie has an R rating due to its graphic portrayal of brutality of Jesus’ persecution and death. Gibson portrays the aspect of Jesus life such as Jews arresting him, taking him to the Jewish council. The film shows soldiers allowing Jesus to fall and hang while being suspended with chains. Bo biblical record specifies the real occurrence of events. The Bible mentions Jews beating Jesus and spitting on him while he faces trial at the council. The Gospels mention Pilate scourging Jesus. Gibson portrays Romans beating Jesus with a flagellum. The device consists of a wooden handle, multiple leather straps and a metal or bone fastened to the end (Duncan 18). A viewer’s observation to the first few whips tears the flesh of Jesus at the back. Duncan (18) claim that most victims of Roman scourging through a flagellum died as punishment continued. That can also elaborate the cause of Jesus dieing quickly at the cross. Gibson portrays Jesus carrying the cross to suggest that Jesus could have carried a crossbeam. The Bible does not record the shape of the cross also called crux immissa. The movie portrays nails being driven at the palms. The Bible illustrates a Jesus that survives the onslaught of despisers of Christianity. In the film the crucifixion and the inscription on the cross is that Jesus is the “King of Jews.” Crucifixion meant to imply an insulting and demeaning end that will tarnish the hope of followers and other sympathizers of Jesus. The film just like the New Testament lacks witnesses to the resurrection and paradoxically informs that the intention was a glorious end. The similarity proves that Jesus did exist, in the film and the literature where people devoted to him with the conviction that he was a central figure that lives to provide salvation. Gibson constructs the portrait of Jesus that faces execution by the Roman Empire due to the reference of King of Jews. His passion and death serves as an insult to the Jewish nation. It is clear of collaboration between some Jews and the Romans to capture and execute Jesus. The entire trial tradition that appears in the Gospels has inherent controversies. The trial scene depicts Pilate as a tyrant and merciless person that only works to safeguard his reputation. According to some of the transcripts of Josephus, after Romans realized the inflammatory policies in use by Pilate they decide to replace him from office. It is true that Jesus was the long awaited messiah. The evidence of the long awaited messiah comes in one of the allegations of Jesus as a pretender of the Jewish throne. Jesus actions such as teaching, healings, personal charisma, chasing away business activities in the temple, and raising of people from the dead convinced many and this led him to acquire following. The important aspect of Jesus life bring credibility to the proclamation of Jesus are not evident in Mel Gibson Passion of Christ. What remains is the supposed opposition of Jews that only surfaces when the Christian community begins preaching that Judaism is a fulfillment of Christianity. Mel Gibson gives the audience a traditional portrait of the passion. He designs a modern passion play where words are ineffective in every tableau scene. In every tableau, Jesus serves as a cipher since one cannot see his teachings or actions. The only thing one can observe is the divine endurance of torture. The scenes of violence move people emotionally contrarily to the literature in New Testament. Mel Gibson gives the audience his own personal Christ of faith that can deepen other people. His attempt to give the audience the image of historical Christ ends up as defensive, deleterious, and degrades the Jews. It is time the researchers and scholars help Hollywood come out with a true image of historical Jesus to end the defensive argument that defensive anti-Judaism is beneath the dignity of Christianity. Gibson view concerning Jesus resurrection follows a contrary pattern to the canonical and orthodox representations of the resurrection. In the history of Christendom, Christians have not been able to access a moment of resurrection while they only account to post-resurrection witnessing experiences. The resurrection experience is a direct experience that opens up women to partaking Eucharist. The passion of Christ when placed alongside other films enables one to understand that Christian symbolic is not crucifixion it is resurrection. According to Duncan (23), the film addresses Jesus rise to power and suffering. During Jesus flogging, Pilate’s wife approaches Jesus mother and offers her white cloth to mop her son’s blood. As soon as the movie was released, television evangelists organized Christian Churches to support the film. Theaters sold most of their tickets to church groups to promote the film in their churches. The groups’ perception of the film is that it had the best propaganda. The church provided counselors to assist the emotionally distraught viewers due to extreme violence. It is disgusting to note that churchgoers were coerced to visit the theater and watch the spiritual film. After viewing horrible violence in the film, religious counselors pounced on them to offer emotional help and seized an opportunity to evangelize and manipulate them. Several reports from the counselors are an assurance to emotional people that Jesus suffered and died for them. At the premier of the film, counselors flocked the hallway theaters waiting for church groups like those that hawks descend on prey (Duncan, 24). The people react strongly to the psychological experiences in the movie. The emotional predators pretend to be their friend and strive to evangelize and manipulate Christians after the horror experienced. The movie experience on Christians is a first time that they observe the full bloody horror that Jesus underwent prior to the proclamation of salvation. Gibson attempts to avoid the claim of anti-Semitism that precipitate controversy from different viewers. Christian supporters defend and justify the film as they cite that the argument of the movie is accurate to the historical events. The gospel records depict Romans with a gentle audience while Jews let Jesus off with a flogging. Jews at one time say, “Let his blood be on us and our children (The Passion of Christ).” That statement absolves the Romans of any responsibility in connection with the crucifixion and the death of Christ. According to some viewers, the film depicts anti-Semitic fraud. Romans appear as wise and reasonable other than the soldiers that crucify Christ. Once again, Gibson depicts Jews as bloodthirsty mob with murder intentions and delight to torture the “King of Jews.” Some of the viewers object to Passion as a historical film since the film does not take into account vast amount of research in the past research. As anti-Semitism increases around the world, many use the strength of the movie to foment hatred on the Jews. Jews organizations flood with hate emails and letters. Catholics, Protestant, and Jewish theologians, clergy, and believers study the film at the onset and find it to be historically inaccurate, unfaithful to Biblical literature, and biased against the Jews. Those viewers that support the film say that it is effective to counter the toxic effect on Jewish and Christian communities. The film provides the warring communities with a platform to educate each other on biblical history and the interpretations accepted by Catholic and Protestants that are free of anti-Semitic elements. The movie serves as the greatest tool for evangelization than any other that has ever existed. People can view the movie at youth gatherings, churches, religious gatherings, and other places regardless of teachings. The film is significant in Europe and Middle East where anti-Semitism exists. The public feel that that Gibson is unfair in the portrayal of Jews as responsible for the death of Jesus. In every instance, the director reinforces that Jewish authorities and citizens are ultimately responsible for the Crucifixion. Some people feel that the film can fuel anti-Semitism where people with no prior knowledge of the events in the Bible will have a bad attitude towards Jews (Duncan 24). Images in the screen show that Romans behave with compassion toward Jesus. Pilate is not quick to harm Jesus while Jews appear as bloodthirsty. Caiaphas appears as a bully while hundreds of Jews demand the death of Jesus. In summary, most people after watching Gibson’s Passion of Christ end up moved emotionally where they weep a deep feeling of the violence they observe all to remind them what the Savior endures for all of us. After watching the movie, one has an image of what transpired so that one observes careless disobedience and the price of sin. Consequently, some of the shocking scenes in the film one cannot compare to any other film. All the scenes from trial and crucifixion are the flashbacks to the scenes of his teaching that compare to what he endured. Other scenes such as Sermon on the Mount, washing of disciple’s feet, and establishing of the Lord’s Supper are direct quotes from the Bible. Gibson use of ancient languages gives the audience of real life experiences that took place in yester years. Jesus and Disciples are not the representation of Hollywood that portrays them as White male Europeans. Indeed, Jesus and the Disciples belong to the Middle-East Semites different from the Western world. Gibson portrays Christ as strong and masculine unlike other films and paintings that portray Jesus as frail and effeminate. An unbeliever ignores being moved by faith can find some perverse thrill in blood and pierce while not understanding that Jesus lay his life for people’s sin. I am happy and content that the movie inspires some viewers in a motivational way. Finally, someone in Hollywood has been able to devote artistic and technological capabilities to produce something real and significant. Given the film, Christians have to recognize that a believer’s faith does not rise and fall from the film since faith comes from haring the word of God. Works Cited Duncan, Ken. The Passion: Photography from the Movie the Passion of the Christ. United States?: Icon Distribution, 2004. Print. The Passion of the Christ. Perf. Jim Caviezel, Maia, Morgenstern, Hristo Jivkov, Francesco DeVito, Luca Lionello. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2004. DVD. Read More