"The Passion Of The Christ"

Ah, no, that's NOT what I was thinking! The man should look more middle eastern, Mediterranean, you know. I think the claims that Jesus should be black is wrong. Judas Iscariot, maybe. Wasn't Judas of Ethiopian extraction of some sort?

 

I agree. I have heard about Mel's dad statements... .but Mel's dad is *not* Mel. Why anyone would criticize the son because of the actions of his father is beyond me.

I just learned about the date this movie will be shown in México... it'll be exactly 1 month from now. People are not fearing any anti-semitic feelings around here, though. Mostly, the biggest worry is the level of gore and violence.

 

For those who have seen it, at what age would you think this film is appropriate for children? The local paper has some people talking about taking their eight-year-olds.

 

Is this a "Black" ideal? I've never heard it mentioned/discussed from white or black Friends.

 

That's the way all self-appointed censors work and have always worked. It's filth, I don't need to see it to know it's filth, I just know it by the sound of it. Mind like a old bear trap deep in the backwoods -- rusted shut.

 

I definitely do not share all the same beliefs as my father so I can understand to some degree how Mel Gibson may feel. I respect my dad, but if I was a celebrity and he was making offensive public comments that went stongly against my own beliefs, I think I would have to say something. Mel could have said something like "I love and respect my father, but I do not agree with the statements he has made about the Holocaust." And THEN said "I don't want to talk about it further." His refusing to comment at all just seems to, as I said, give tacit approval.

 

Given Jamie's review above, I'd think the answer would be "no," if it were my eight year old...

Teenagers will probably love the gore. Whether it's appropriate for them may depend on how sheltered they are...

 

Hard question, it would depend on the child.

Sorry for such a useless evasive answer.

 

I guess it all depends on the person. I respect and love my father as I do with no man on this earth, and, if I was in Mel's shoes, I'd have done *exactly the same thing* he did.

Why?

Because I'm sure my father would do exactly the same... even if we disagreed, I think venting our differences to the media would not be a very nice thing to do. Some things are better kept in private, and I think that's what Mel's doing right now. He doesn't have to agree with his father - but he doesn't have to discuss private matters in public if he doesn't want to, either.

 

He did say just that...and that was enough for me

 

I won't be going to see the film. Mark Evanier (on his blog www.newsfromme.com) sums up completely my feelings:

"Reader Nat Hines is the latest of about eight folks to write and ask me if I've seen The Passion of the Christ and if so, what did I think of it? No, I haven't seen it. And since most of the reviews say, as did Roger Ebert, "This is the most violent film I have ever seen," I won't be going. A critic saying a movie is bad or good rarely has an impact on me but I don't want to see the most violent film anyone has ever seen. Even if it's brilliant."

 

There was a family behind me. Their son was around 10 and their daughter was around 8. Both are going to have a hard night. They looked semi-traumatized after the movie was over. It was hard for some of the adults to watch and is much too intense for young kids like that. I'd say 15 is okay. 12 to 14- We'll talk about it first. Anything younger and I'd have a problem being the one responsible for showing it to them, especially if they're religious. Depends on the child but most kids over 14 could probably handle it.

It is gory, almost bordering on gratuitous. What makes it worse is who's being tortured and the story being told. BTW, you can hear crying all the way through the movie. It's incredibly moving for most that are going to be seeing it.

 

I wouldn't say it's the most violent movie I've seen but I've had easier times watching some Faces of Death videos.

I think some of these reports are being exaggerated a bit because those that are reporting aren't the type that see violent flicks. Your average church goer hasn't ever seen Evil Dead II or Kill Bill. This may seem like the most violent movie ever because it is to them. There's much more gore and violence in Private Ryan or Schindler's List.


Do you think we're going to see other religions following suit and producing their own version of this movie? Might not be a bad thing actually.

 

It could also be interpreted as I refuse to comment because I disagree with him. Maybe his silence was an expression of disapproval of his fathers stance as well as the motive behind the question. I still think he sensed that he was being baited.

As Norm would say...
Peace

 

You probably won't respect him either if he calls his father crazy, nuts or ignorant. I don't see what repudiating one's father in public would accomplish. For one he won't be honoring his father. People make stupid statements all the time but it's not a crime however offensive the words are. Let Mel Gibson be Mel Gibson and Hutton Gibson be Hutton Gibson.

 

That will be your way of honoring your father. And I respect that. All I said was we shall respect Mel Gibson's way.

It's easy for us to say hypothetically what we would do if put in the same situation. I doubt that many would even have the courage to do what Mel Gibson is doing if they were him. Probably none of the controversy would even exist because The Passion wouldn't even have been made. (I'm talking hypothetically, too. )

I chose to reply otherwise my silence may be interpreted as tacit approval.

 

Amen.

 

A white actor playing Jesus (as usual) and a black actor as Judas? That would be another controversy in the making.

 

On a serious note, I did see an obituary today for Carl Anderson, the actor who portrayed Judas in the movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar. He died from leukemia at age 58.

Carl Anderson - Obituary

 

There was enough of a big shedo because the good cowboy always wore the white hat.

 

Then what's gonna happen if the traitor is played by a black guy?

By the way, please forgive my ignorance but what is a shedo? Latin is not my native tongue. Neither is Aramaic.

 

Hmmmm, (Gorts, I was not here when things got heated and removed, so I don't know what was written. I hope I do not cross the line with this post. If some thing does, just remove it. I have gone over it several times.)

Well, one shouldn't condemn a man because of the beliefs of his father. There are tons of examples in history where the son was nothing like the father. What Gibson's feelings are about his father are probably better left alone. I have not read/seen/heard everything Mel has said about his views on Jews or anything like that, but I am inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't believe what my father does about many things. Hey, Arnold Schwarzenegger's (sp?) father was a Neo-Nazi. Arnold does not believe what his father does.

Jesus, would most likely look like he was from the Mediterranean, I think. It's probably nit-pickey for some to argue how Jesus is represented in the movie. The majority of our US population IS Caucasian. Much of our dominant culture comes from northern and central Europe. It's only natural for people of a region to depict historical figures in their own images. Gibson, or whoever did the casting probably never even thought about the matter. On the other hand, many blacks believe that the young and future generations should have a proper sense of what he did look like. Jesus was not Caucasian. He was not African. He was something in between. This does remind me of an old "Good Times" episode where the character Michael, the black activist kid, wanted to replace a picture of the white Jesus on the living room wall with a picture that his brother, J.J. painted that was supposed to be a black Jesus. The mother protested. The show was dumb, but it was a serious, and thought-provoking subject. It's on the first season of the DVD set.

Violence, hmmmm, my answer for just how old a kid should be before being subjected to such high level of violence probably depends on the maturity level and emotional health of the kid. That's for the parents to determine, I guess. Some young kids in problem areas of our cities and towns are probably already used to seeing it outside their homes. While the level of violence in the movie does not bother me for being there, I am the kind of person who looks away from the screen when I see such intense stuff. I am no different from many of you. I do have my threshold.

The Bible? I believe that there is no one official version that holds the absolute truth. I believe that ALL versions have been altered in some way down through history. Things have been added, some subtracted. Some interpretations were formed in the middle ages and during the Renaissance. Heck, some words and their meanings were invented during this time! And, *I* believe all the interpretations, alterations were influenced by man-made religion in order to control the behavior of the population. I don't think we have all the pieces to the puzzle of history yet. But, we should always continue to look. This is what *I* believe, and is not fact. I hope I have not stepped on anyone's toes with this. We all have our beliefs, and beliefs cannot be argued.

From the clips I have seen of the movie on the news, I see some supernatural special effects type of stuff going on. That's stuff I don't dig. For me, it has to be real. For those who have seen the movie, does it have a lot of imagery?

 

BTW, if there is anyone who has a problem with this movie, and has the money and means to make their version, they should do it.

Methinks Hollywood will be more receptive to this type of movie now. $$$

 

Well folks just got back from seeing it an here's what I think; good not great. It has a lot of things going for it but ultimately it is nothing more then great because of Gibsons poor direction and some spotty editing. I think the biggest problem for me was how cartoonish the "bad guys" are from the soliders driving him to his death and even Satan himself. Some of the scenes shocked me but I was ripped right out of the moment by the constant hee-hawing of his persecutors. Also I think Gibsons really failed to capitalize on the great visuals that the story provides. The only shot that I really walked away with is the shot looking down at jesuses face at his death. The main preformers are excellent though especially the actor that plays Jesus.

 

For those who are interested, The Passion Of The Christ will be the subject of History vs. Hollywood on the History Channel, Saturday 10 PM ET/PT/9 PM CT. I checked the west coast show time on Dish Network and it's 7 PM and 11 PM (repeat), different from the listing on http://www.historychannel.com probably because HIST is not on time-shift on DISH. Check your own listing to be sure.