Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ

Written by Eric Olsen
Published February 25, 2004
page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

THE PASSION OVER "THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST"
After all the controversy and debate over this movie, I am at a loss as to what the fuss is all about....
Posted in Blogcritics on March 4, 2004 11:39 PM

Talk about The Passion
I don't know why I was surprised that yet another story about Jesus won't die. A week has gone by since the opening of The Passion of The Christ, and tonight I had the misfortune to hear Pat Robertson and...
Posted in Blogcritics on March 4, 2004 02:25 AM

Spielberg & Gibson: Two Men, Two Films
Why can't today's foremost Holocaust-awareness advocate speak out against the anti-Semitism of The Passion of the Christ?
Posted in Blogcritics on March 4, 2004 01:48 AM

The Passion of The Christ
I think TIME put it best with the title "The goriest story ever told" (March 2004 issue). It is the goriest story ever told, and Mel Gibson made sure it was shown in full detail.
Posted in Blogcritics on March 3, 2004 06:56 AM

The Passion Of The Christ
I'm glad I'm finally through with The Passion Of The Christ, I must say. There were some parts that were hard to watch, and I had to turn my head away, especially when they knocked Jesus' hands against the cross....
Posted in Blogcritics on March 2, 2004 05:40 PM

"Number of the Beast" Stalks Passion
If the lightning strikes on the film set weren't Sign enough from the Almighty, then surely this is: The number 666, which many Christians recognize as the "mark of the beast," is appearing on movie tickets for Gibson's film at...
Posted in Blogcritics on March 2, 2004 01:59 PM

The Passion of My Christ
By request, here follows my review of The Passion of The Christ. As a disclaimer, I am a Christian of over slightly more than one short year and am no expert. Instead, I count on God working within my heart...
Posted in Blogcritics on March 1, 2004 08:10 PM

Mel Gibson takes it easy on the Jews
Gibson could not have made an honest presentation of the source material that showed the Jews more favorably than what he did.
Posted in Blogcritics on March 1, 2004 06:02 PM

Safire Slams Passion: "The bloodiest, most brutal example of sustained sadism ever presented on the screen"
Okay, back to Mel: the NY Times remains consistent in its disapproval of The Passion. Conservative commentator William Safire sees the fim as inflaming anti-Semitism: The word "passion" is rooted in the Latin for "suffer." Mel Gibson's movie about the...
Posted in Blogcritics on March 1, 2004 12:01 PM

The Passion appeals to the unwary
Another type of defender hails from the 'it is just a movie' school of thought.
Posted in Blogcritics on March 1, 2004 01:31 AM

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Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ
Published: February 25, 2004
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Section: Video
Filed Under: Culture: Administrative, Video: Drama, Video: News
Writer: Eric Olsen
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Comments

#1 — February 27, 2004 @ 09:44AM — Never Knew

Now its CONFIRMED...Jews killed Jesus.

#2 — February 27, 2004 @ 10:12AM — Eric Olsen

Yes, clearly they had the Romans under their world-domination-Elders-of-Zion magical spell and forced them to savagely torture him to death, just before baking bread out of Islamic children. Thanks for the input.

#3 — February 27, 2004 @ 23:18PM — Trish

Remember the quote, "For those who have faith, no proof is necessary; for those who do not, no proof is possible"?
Along the same lines, for those who believe in Jesus as the Christ, this film will strengthen your faith. For those who deny that Christ is the Messiah, as evidenced from the scathing and malicious "reviews" I've read here, they are scraping and clawing for insults to hurl at Mel Gibson and his film. Hurl away! You won't be the first to cast stones.

#4 — February 28, 2004 @ 02:24AM — Mac Diva [URL]

Frankly, I'm personally indifferent about religion, Trish. Morals are a different matter. Religion and morals are not synonymous, you know? My concern here is that religion might be used as a method to do harm to human relations. If the film was coming from some other religious tradition and equally divisive, I would still be concerned.

#5 — February 28, 2004 @ 12:41PM — Eric Olsen

This has nothing to do with Christians vs. non-Christians - there are many Christians - including myself - who are concerned about the emphasis of the film. Christians, including Catholics, are some of the film's most vehement critics. They don't buy Gibson's vision as representing their own.

#6 — February 29, 2004 @ 17:37PM — debra hendry

Dear "ALL" I have yet to see this film, but I have read masses upon masses of reviews, insults, praise about it, and one thing has come to mind. You cannot blame a film for enciting jew hating maniacs, you either are one or you are not. I find it a total insult to any human being on this planet to suggest a film can be responsible for hatred of the jews or any other belief system. I myself will go to see the film on it's release in Britain and no matter what I may think of it I WILL NOT come away with the feeling that somehow the jewish people are responsible for jesus death, this is probably because I have my own beliefs in spiritual matters and no one will change that, as I am sure most people on this planet who has any sanity will not be turned into pyschopathic religious haters. So my message being, all you subjective bigots out there "GET A LIFE ITS ONLY A FILM", if we all had this reaction to the horrors that actually do go on in this world we could eradicate it over night.

#7 — March 1, 2004 @ 19:04PM — Corey

This movie isnt just a movie, it is a movie that every one in the world sould see. This is the most awesome movie I have ever seen, the title is perfect and I think Mel did a wondreful job on his first movie.

#8 — March 1, 2004 @ 20:09PM — Eric Olsen

Have you heard of Braveheart?

#9 — March 2, 2004 @ 00:38AM — Dizzy

HAHAH!!! FIRST?!?! Eric is correct..Mel directed and starred in Braveheart..and did MUCH BETTER before he was claiming that "God made his bed in the mornings." I am not religious, in the sense that I do not follow a particular religion. But, I refuse to see this movie for the fact that it deifies a man..say what you will of belief, but if Yaseph Christos actually existed, he was a mere mortal..with a powerful message of peace. It is a shame he was killed, and an even bigger shame his teachings were perverted into what most people now claim to be "Christianity."

#10 — March 2, 2004 @ 15:29PM — Rich

Great discussion of the movie (and lots of its surrounding controversy) by a Hollywood film critic Michael Medved:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/commentaries/passion-prejudice.html

http://www.towardtradition.org/article_Passion_Medved.htm

Level-headed and respectful to both Jewish and Christian traditions...

#11 — March 2, 2004 @ 18:33PM — Eric Olsen

Thanks Rich!

#12 — March 3, 2004 @ 01:54AM — Thomas

I hope many repent( change their minds about the way they have been living) and ask Christ to forgive their sin and live for Him. John 3:16.

#13 — March 3, 2004 @ 09:28AM — Bart

So Christos was his last name....dizzy? lol

#14 — March 3, 2004 @ 11:24AM — Eric Olsen

I thought his last name was "Josephson."

#15 — March 3, 2004 @ 12:10PM — Joe [URL]

My dad told me it was Aitchkrist.

#16 — March 6, 2004 @ 01:07AM — Andrea Calabrese [URL]

Service to God vs. Excess for Oneself

I would never be so disrespectful to let such inhumane cruelty go on before me.

The women in this movie made me sick.
There should of been more passages to the Bible.

They left Joseph out of the film? Joseph is in the manger scene. He should have been in the movie. Mary--in the film--is as sick and sadistic as the rest of them--I don't believe that is the truth. If she was the mother of God, then I doubt God could have made it possible for her to have been so ignorant.

www.joematters.com

#17 — March 6, 2004 @ 04:44AM — josh

Good grief!!!

#18 — March 6, 2004 @ 10:17AM — poopiepants

Andrea, you sure are a silly one. Mary was not the mother of "God" She was the vessel used to bring Jesus into this world. God has no mother. I wonder about your mother, was she there for you? Did she die?

#19 — March 7, 2004 @ 23:25PM — reallyhuh

Poopiepants,
Mary "is" the Mother of God !
Where did you learn your "version of religion" ? What are you ? Baptist ?

#20 — March 8, 2004 @ 00:00AM — Shark

"Where did you learn your "version of religion"? What are you? Baptist?

Whoa! NOW the insults are really startin' to fly!!

I'm not sure the First Amendment covers this kinda talk...


#21 — March 8, 2004 @ 14:27PM — Sandra Smallson

I haven't seen it yet but I am looking forward to seeing it when it comes out here in the UK. What I do find funny though is how there's always an uproar when there is a movie about Christ. From Jesus of Nazareth to right now. Yet, movies about other religions can be made without the same uproar. I understand the jews have a problem with the movie. It depicts them as having killed Christ. Well, if they did not kill Christ, who killed the fella? Everybody makes movies from their own perspective and point of view. Gibson is a Christian, it is our belief that the Jews killed Christ. So the Bible says. The movie is about Christ, therefore he was in no position for the sake of political correctness to edit that part out of the movie. I don't understand where the accusation of anti-semitism comes in. If all the Germans had stood up in arms after the making of Schindlers list claiming that it depicted Germans in a bad light, since the holocaust and the atrocities within were commited by Germans, what would the Jews have said? The Jews killed Jesus, even Jesus is no longer annoyed:)so the Bible says, neither are we Christians. It happened 2000 years ago. This is a movie about that time. Why cant people just watch it or not watch it. Whatever pleases them. Its okay to watch Kill Bill with all its violence but when the whipping of Christ is graphically displayed in this movie, suddenly violence is a no-no. Give me a break. I applaud Gibson just as I applauded Spielberg when he made his movie showing the suffering of the jews. No religuos sect, race, or gender is entitled to the sole ownership of grief or suffering or injustice. Everybody's got a tale to tell. People should stop throwing wild accusations all over the place.

As an aside may I just add that, Mary was the vessel that was used to bring Christ to this world, therefore she was/is the mother of Christ. Christians believe God is in three persons, God the father, God the son and God the holy ghost. In that sense, you find christians who call mary the mother of God. God, Jesus, we are splitting hairs here. The point of the matter is that of all the women in the world, she was chosen to bring the son of God into this world. So, yes, she wasn't just a "vessel".

#22 — March 8, 2004 @ 15:01PM — sheri

Considering their horrific past, I would say Jews had reason enough to be concerned that the movie might cause antisemitism. A dear Jewish friend of mine, when discussing Israel, put it this way..."we are ..such a TINY nation..."

#23 — March 8, 2004 @ 15:19PM — shaun

yeah, such a tiny nation with way too much power, they have the most power army in the world!!

#24 — March 8, 2004 @ 15:26PM — Eric Olsen

they are the JEW DEFENDERS (portentious and stirring klezmer music plays)

#25 — March 8, 2004 @ 15:26PM — Sandra Smallson

But thats what I am saying Sheri...many communities have horrific pasts. A horrific past is not exclusive to the Jews...I am about to laugh about the Tiny nation comment, but I'm not sure..am I supposed to laugh?;)

#26 — March 8, 2004 @ 15:35PM — sheri

Eric, I'm not exactly sure what your point is there. Is being a "jew defender" a good thing or a bad thing? Is that what I am?

#27 — March 8, 2004 @ 16:41PM — sheri

No...they are not Tiny in power. But, hey...might is right, go get some if you think you're hard enough. Besides, the Jews "Gods chosen people" ...if you dont like that, go have a word with the Big Man upstairs.

#28 — March 8, 2004 @ 18:24PM — Eric Olsen

As far as I'm concered it's a good thing, but it's also a joke from another post - I think this one, but I have a headache and don't feel like looking at the moment.

#29 — March 9, 2004 @ 07:38AM — sheri

Ok, ty Eric, and I apologize for becoming so defensive.

I finally saw the movie last night and I want to know...WHATS UP with that weird baby Satan is carrying???

#30 — March 9, 2004 @ 08:57AM — Eric Olsen

No prob Sheri, haven't seen it, don't know about the baby.

Sandra, Sandra, Sandra, Who are you Mel Gibson? There are not "many communities" with the "horrific past" of the Jews, who have been persecuted for 4000 years for their religion, and who just 60 years ago had half of their kind systematically eliminated in state-sponsored genocide. There have been other genocides, to be sure, but not on that scale and with the express purpose of eliminating them from the face of the earth.

#31 — March 9, 2004 @ 12:05PM — Sandra Smallson

Eric, I am not trying to take away anything from the suffering of the Jews. I am simply saying and will still say, since I think its a fair point, that suffering is not exclusive to the jews. We can go on and on and try and quantify or qualify the extent of grief suffered but that leads us nowhere.

Your point seems to imply that you think their suffering is greater than any ever suffered by any set of people ever. Thats arguable. However, I respectfully disagree that even if it were so, Gibson was therefore wrong to portray them as he did in his picture . Suffering is suffering to me. You don't tell a mother who has lost her 7 year old child that she should stop crying. Afterall, her neighbour just lost her husband and two toddlers. What has happened is a loss for both women and the gravity of one loss in comparison to the other does not give the mother with the seemingly graver loss sole possession of immense grief or sympathy from others.

The Jews have every right to feel as they do but that does not mean that Mel Gibson or anybody else for that matter should pussy foot round subject matter so as to appease them. It is what it is. His source is the Bible. The Bible says the Jews killed Jesus Christ. There is no reason for them to get so worked up. If Schindlers list did not send the new generation of Jews on a mass murder mission to Germany, the Passion of Christ will not send the new generation of Christians on a mass murder attempt to israel. Lets all try and maintain some calm amidst all this flurry of political correctness.

#32 — March 9, 2004 @ 12:18PM — shaun

Sorry gotta chime in about an above comment.

"Besides, the Jews "Gods chosen people" ...if you dont like that, go have a word with the Big Man upstairs"

Yeah chosen to suck my dick.

Don't ya think, eric, that a group of people have to do something very wrong in order for an entire COUNTRY to desire them to be wiped off the face of the earth?

And as for the holochaust, i am not one of those dumb fucks who try to say it never happened, but i do think the number jews killed is greatly exaggerated. If the amount of jews that they say were killed, then their would be no need for a jewish state. Their wouldn't be enough left, which i don't think i would cry over

#33 — March 9, 2004 @ 12:34PM — sheri

Shaun, you got one part right.Your first word was an apology.

#34 — March 9, 2004 @ 16:42PM — shaun

Nope, not really. You should join the "Jew Defenders". Ask eric olsen if ya don't know who they are

#35 — March 9, 2004 @ 18:48PM — Eric Olsen

#32 is the winner! Yes, you with the wretched spelling, debased vocabulary, and hate-filled heart, the time has come to go the way of the cheese. No one can say I wasn't as patient as Job.

#36 — March 9, 2004 @ 18:55PM — shaun

haha, are you gonna kick me off blogcritics?

Don't have much humor do you?

Haven't you figures out i have a fucked uptwisted sense of humor. I just like getting a rise out of you guys

#37 — March 9, 2004 @ 19:03PM — shaun

(trumpets blaring) the jew defender has arrived

#38 — March 9, 2004 @ 19:34PM — Al Barger [URL]

I'm not necessarily calling for any action, but I note with interest that just about every man jack here was united in hysterical outrage over the supposed horrible evil of David Yeagley, who had to be not just shunned but condemned in the absolute strongest words and banned. Yet this Shaun has been talking like this with impunity, and maybe marginal criticism for how long?

Nor has Mr. Larkin gotten any criticism for talking about 'pissing on some rabbis' and such in the thread of RJ's review of the movie. Of course, he was just making an ironic criticism of Mel Gibson's supposed anti-Semitism, so that doesn't count. Of course.

On the other hand, if some evil Injun made a similar "joke" about urinating on a black man or a Muslim imam, much less the some of Shaun's stuff...

#39 — March 9, 2004 @ 19:54PM — Eric Olsen

Action yes, I agree that the criticism has not been equal, although I have done my part across three or four different posts. I can't help it if fewer have jumped in to correctly vilify, although certainly no one here has defended it.

The point, however, remains that one example of hateful bigotry does not somehow mitigate another or render it less so.

My guess is that the cheese appeared more threatening because of his veneer of erudition whereas poor Shaun just sounds like a run-of-the-mill dyslexic shit-for-brains.

Nonetheless, even those who attempt to communicate via misfiring synapses their ill-formed sputterings of vitriol must be countered, which I have done on an ongoing basis and just now have finally chosen to mercy-kill as nothing has been achieved, no one has been edified, and I have better things to do.

#40 — March 9, 2004 @ 20:00PM — Al Barger [URL]

No, Eric, YOU personally (and Dawn) were specifically actively critical of this Shaun, so you're outside of at least THAT part of it. Nor did I mean this as justification for any sin of Yeagley's. It's just that the group here as a whole has some seemingly imbalanced priorities for their outrage. I'm just saying...

#41 — March 9, 2004 @ 23:29PM — shaun

I only started posting the harsh comments after i was attacked. I saw all these posts that eric and dawn did that critisize other bloggers respectfully, and I thought they would treat me the same way. Nope, you guys started in quite quickly with the personal attacks. I looked at my old blogs and i know they were written very poor, but i told you the reason why. I rushed my responses, so you chose to label me a "run-of-the-mill dyslexic shit-for-brains". Ok eric. Most of my later comments were mainly posted to get a rise out of you. And when we finally started to have a controlled discussion, Dawn must have felt it was time for her to chime in and start the bitching again. When she did that you jumped back on the bitching bandwagon. After all the shit you blabed at me, i am not phased because you and dawn obviously have no desire to be respectful, so why should I?

#42 — March 10, 2004 @ 00:32AM — Al Barger [URL]

Personally, my issue isn't you talking trash to the Olsens, it's the nonsense about "fuck Israeli Jews." Correct me if I'm misquoting you.

These people are getting massacred every couple of days by Palestinian dirtbags, and I tend to lose my usually very good sense of humor rapidly with crap like comment 32- which actually wouldn't be funny even if I ignored the disrespect for our besieged and massacred brethren.

You think you're Richard Pryor? You ain't. You're not funny. You're not clever. It doesn't take a great wit to do a bit of cheap Jew baiting anonymously over the computer.

#43 — March 10, 2004 @ 00:40AM — shaun

"These people are getting massacred every couple of days by Palestinian dirtbags"

really... that is why the isreali's are mudering the palestinians at a rate of 2 palestinians to 1 jew.

yo got your comment backwards.


"the passion appeals to the unwary"
go to this blog if you want to join a bigger discussion on the topic.

#44 — March 10, 2004 @ 01:04AM — Al Barger [URL]

You are making a really inappropriate comparison there, and you have to KNOW better. Palestinians are purposely massacring civilians, women and children, and they're not really even doing it to gain anything. The Israelis then respond by hunting down the specific dirtbags responsible. That's not even VAGUELY morally equivalent. And if your evil Palestinian heroes hide behind their children, and behind their women's skirts and get them killed too, well that's on THEIR heads.

This stuff is all basic. I'm sure you know this.

Your Palestinian brethren know that the Israelis are among the finest people in the world- certainly far morally superior to themselves. That's why they calculate that they can get away with their wickedness.

The forbearance of the Jews has been amazing. If they tried a couple or three of these little massacres against America, I'll guarantee that there wouldn't BE a West Bank left for them to want.

#45 — March 10, 2004 @ 01:13AM — shaun

if that is what you are going to come to the table with, i am not even gonna respond. You made no educated or true statments

#46 — March 15, 2004 @ 13:12PM — carolyn morrow

my husband took me to see the passion of the christ, over the weekend and i would recamain anyone to see this movie it really touched my heart to see this man being beat to death and still ask god to forgive the ones doing this to him Jesus was a brave man that took all our sins with him he washed us clean and to see Mary have to see her son do this had to be hard i can't imagen having to see one of my sons go thou what he did for us .this movie isn't to say hey go to chruch it to say hey he died for us and we need to believe in him and follow his rules of life .also i think Mel gibson had to have a reason to write this film maybe he had something happen to him and he felt he needed to share it with the world all i know is I believe and i always will
carolyn 3 15 04

#47 — March 16, 2004 @ 18:26PM — cathy moore

to carolyn i agree completely with you. i also feel that this was a gory movie, and glad that it was. poeple have to see what jesus really went through to understand what there beliefes are. i am not a religouse person, but man this movie had my me cringing in my seat knowing that this really happened to jesus. it saddens me to see that poeple from the prev. comments are putting each other down. we need to respect each others beliefs, and understand that we are all different with differnt backgrounds. i feel mel gibson didn't put anyone as far as jews, or christians, or whoever at blame. he just told the truth from waht he and many others understand of the bible. this is comming from someone who has come from both christain, and jewish backgrounds.

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