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Posted on 02/26/2004 6:01:04 PM PST by yonif
On Monday, February 23, I had the privilege of watching Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ at the Waterford Cinema, thanks to free tickets we received from a member of the Seaport Community Church of Groton who sponsored the pre-release showing. Hearing about this movie in the beginning of its production did indeed catch my attention, however it was not until various organizations and media began reporting about the controversies this movie was creating that it made me want to watch this movie as soon as possible, so that I could decide for myself. My thoughts and feelings upon seeing this film will be divided into three parts. The first will deal with my reactions to the movie, the movie itself, in the same way I would critique any movie I watched. The second part will deal with the biblical nature of it, and how it related to me as a Jew. Finally, I will, of course, address those issues relating to anti-Semitism and other fears.
The Passion of the Christ was an excellent movie. It caught my attention right from the beginning as you were transplanted into biblical times. The fact the movie was entirely in foreign languages (Hebrew, Latin, and Aramaic) caused me to become more connected to the movie. The uses of native languages at the time, instead of English, made it seem as if you were right there witnessing the death of Jesus. The subtitles were not a bother to me. This was the second time I viewed a movie with subtitles, the first one being “Life is Beautiful” a holocaust movie situated in fascist Italy. The Passion was very graphic, in terms of blood, flesh, and brutality. The graphical nature of the film was not for entertainment, but served to add to the meaning and importance to Jesus and his crucifixion, whereas the more violence that was inflicted on Jesus and the more he went on, communicated to the audience a message of strength. The special effects were excellent when it came to making the suffering of Jesus as realistic as possible.
The movie was one which told the story of a person who was being persecuted for his religious beliefs, a type of political prisoner, who, as a result of intolerance from some religious and political leaders, faced a horrible death. So in effect, this movie mirrors a message, even if you don’t connect it to the Bible. It would have been helpful if the main characters were identified in some way, so that someone who was not well-read with the New Testament could have been helped. But the absence of these did not hurt my viewing of the film. Some of the controversy surrounding this film has been in its interpretation of the New Testament text, whether "poetic license" has been abused. I must leave that to other biblical scholars to thrash out. Finally, the film might have been enhanced if the story concerning Jesus was started a little earlier, instead of just a few minutes before he was arrested.
Being Jewish, and fluent in Hebrew, improved my experience. Some times I could understand what the character was saying, and at times, even when it was not in Hebrew, I was able to understand it due to the fact the words were actual roots of words today in Hebrew, or very similar. Some said that only Christians would be attracted by this movie. I beg to differ. As a Jew, this movie portrayed ideas and themes which exist in the Jewish tradition today. One must remember that the first followers of Christianity were Jews themselves.
This movie reinforced links between Judaism and Christianity and exhibited common philosophy, ethics, and morality of the two religions. You must be saying to yourself, “How could a movie which portrays Jews taking part in the killing of Christ bring this to your mind?” (I will address that claim later in the column). What I am talking about are the instances where Jews try to help Jesus when he is carrying his cross. This relays back to the idea that helping those in need or those who need our comfort is a charitable and honorable act of both religions.
The ideas of friendship and family brought out in this movie identify also with my Jewish values. Friendship is viewed by Jesus as paramount. In one instance he says that it is an honor to show one’s friendship by putting yourself in harms way so that friends are saved. In addition, the idea of family and its value to society in that era parallels what Jewish families are known to be, especially in modern Israel.
Finally, the power of God, no matter if you believe Jesus is the Messiah or not, is also seen when Jesus is crucified. I see a general contention coming out of it where it underlines that God is everywhere and views the actions of each of us all the time. This is a strong belief in Christianity and in Judaism. And the movie, through the climax of Jesus being crucified, amplifies the importance of God’s power.
Now we reach the part of the column which most of you have probably waited for: To deal with the question, “Is the Passion an anti-Semitic film and does it render the Jews as the sole killers of Jesus the Christ?” First, let me quote some of what has been said about the movie. The Anti-Defamation League, “The movie blames bloodthirsty Jews for Jesus’ death,” and it reinforces stereotypes that Jews are ugly, hateful Christ killers (The Sun-Sentinel, Feb. 7 2004). In addition, the ADL claimed the movie was offensive to Jews and would be used by anti-Semitic groups to spread their venom of hate. The national director of the ADL, Abraham Foxman, also said that even though Gibson said Jesus died at the hands of humanity’s sins, the movie instead focused primarily on the Jews. Some people quoted said that the movie drew a wedge between Christians and Jews.
When the movie started, I must admit I did feel a little uncomfortable. Some friends joked and said maybe I will convert to Christianity after viewing the movie. Nonetheless, my viewing of the movie was without incident.
My conclusions are that this movie WAS NOT anti Semitic in any way. The movie did not characterize Jews as the sole killers of Christ, nor did it portray any one group as responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus. The crucifixion of Jesus came about because of many groups, (in line with current church thinking) that all of humanity is responsible for the death of Christ. The Jews in the movie as a nation were pictured as any other group. At times, yes, Jews looked violent and monstrous when they were accusing Jesus and harming him. But these were individual characteristics not stereotypes. In fact, many times Jews were seen sympathetic, not only to Jesus’ teachings, but also to the hardships Jesus had to experience when he was being beaten by Roman soldiers, and when he was carrying his cross. Simon, who helped Jesus carry his cross to its final resting place, was also Jewish, as well as many of the followers of Jesus. So if the movie were to try to demonize Jews, it would in effect be demonizing many of the persons who were part of the story, such as Jesus himself who was a Jew.
I am tired of reading articles who talk about how this is a blood libel for Jews, that it is full of bigotry or that it will provoke violence against Jews. If an average Christian person watched the film, I believe that he will be more connected to Jews after the movie reinforces the links between Judaism and Christianity, not the opposite. Jews are not the target of this movie, humanity is. This movie does not set out to blame the Jews at all. This is coming from a Jew. The movie might be very gory, and I think this is one of the reasons that some leftists have been influenced in some strange way to believe this violence inflicted on Jesus is somehow painted in the movie in a way which to say that Jews are the ones doing it. They are not. Sure some Jews and their leaders were responsible for asking the Roman governor to crucify Jesus. But Jews as a whole did not. Humankind was responsible for the death of Jesus and Jesus went willingly with the cross after learning of the Roman governor’s decision.
Now, I am not saying that this movie WILL NOT be used by hate and terrorist groups to spread their anti-Jewish propaganda. Of course it probably will, as does anything else that is produced. Anything can be used in harmful ways. Think of a needle. A needle can deliver medicine to a very sick person. That is a good thing. A needle, which is not clean, can also deliver the HIV virus to someone using it. But it is not the fault of the needle manufacturer is it? Here’s another example. Do you remember “Bert” from Sesame Street being used on Osama Bin Laden posters, which had slogans such as Death to Israel and Death to America? Should the company running Sesame Street be painted as an anti-Semitic organization, because one of its characters is being used by a hate movement? No. This is exactly the point I am trying to make with the Passion. I’m sure scenes from the movie might be used by terrorists or anti-Semitic groups in furthering their agenda. This is inevitable.
Another fear I was reading about coming from Jewish leaders was that this film will cause some Jews to convert to Christianity, trigger Jews to be less identified with their religion and maybe even result in some doubting their religion (Haaretz Daily Feb 25). As a Jew, I held on to my beliefs after the movie. I was not swayed any which way to Christianity’s tenant that Jesus was the Messiah. It was a very intense climax, have no doubt about it, but I did not gather the type of religious meaning that would influence me away from my religion.
I agree that those who have lesser or no beliefs may be swayed by the movie. But it is not the fault of the movie, rather it is the fault of the family the person was raised in, or the community the person was taking part in. Come to think of it, this movie might be good for the Jewish community, and may even spark a campaign in the near future by the Jewish leadership in the US that will seek to strengthen the faith and identity of Jews, a campaign which will fight assimilation, and cause Jews to become more passionate about their religion as they are passionate about Israel.
Again, I do not see this as having any basis against the Passion. In fact, these fears bring up evidence AGAINST those Jewish communities who are spreading this because they are basically saying that they have failed to lead their communities to be passionate about their own religion. Hopefully, it may spur the Jewish leadership for more positive action in bringing people back or closer to the values of their faith.
In conclusion I repeat that this film is not anti-Semitic. Many Jewish fears were exaggerated and were uncalled for. In fact, one could say the organizations did themselves a disservice by painting the movie as such, as more people because of their racket could actually look at the movie as blaming the Jews, people who were on the fence before the movie. So as a result they would be making false conclusions.
I believe this movie can bring Christians and Jews closer. I urge all Jews to watch it, if they want to clear their minds about the movie. Granted, it is very violent and bloody, but this is an integral part of the film which helps increase the focus on the main character, Jesus, and the meaning he brings to humanity, especially the Christian tradition today. Jews should make up their own minds about the movie. Please do not go to the movie if you intend on simply using it to satisfy your already concrete beliefs that you have read from some organization’s website or on some talk show.
Before the movie started, we received a small piece of paper, that successfully sends the Gibson’s message about the movie, “My intention in bringing it (the Passion) to the screen is to create a lasting work of art and engender serious thought among audiences of diverse faith backgrounds (or none) who have varying familiarity with this story.”
I don't know whether it will find much approved there but your writings are always welcome on my screen.
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