The Passion for the Homer

If you're not going to see The Passion of the Christ, at least read Times' A.O. Scott's review of it, because Scott begins by referring to the Simpsons episode with Mel Gibson:

There is a prophetic episode of "The Simpsons" in which the celebrity guest star Mel Gibson, directing and starring in a remake of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," enlists the help of Homer Simpson, who represents the public taste (or lack of it). Homer persuades Mr. Gibson to change the picture's ending, replacing James Stewart's populist tirade with an action sequence, a barrage of righteous gunfire that leaves the halls of Congress strewn with corpses. The audience flees the theater in disgust. I thought of Homer more than once, with an involuntary irreverence conditioned by many years of devotion to "The Simpsons," as Mr. Gibson presented his new movie, "The Passion of the Christ," to carefully selected preview audiences across the land, making a few last-minute cuts, and then taking to the airwaves to promote and defend the film.

The review goes on to pretty much pan The Passion and praise its technical parts (acting, cinematography); the review also makes want Gothamist to say, all over again, "A.O. Scott, will you be Gothamist's friend?"

Rotten Tomatoes on The Passion of the Christ: So far, rotten. But Roger Ebert gives it 4 stars, calling it "the most violent film I have ever seen." Hey, Newmarket Films, there's your blurb to get the teenage boys in the doors!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Arts & Entertainment on February 25, 2004 9:12 AM

Comments [rss]

marissa

Jack - finally saw the movie. Not nearly as gross as you said it would be. Sure, it's violent, but I've seen worse. Maybe you helped prepare me for it. I had a very hard time finding the anti-Semitism in it as well. Us idiots with our MPH have a hard time doing that I guess. Once again, I don't blames the Jews for the death of Jesus, even if they did in fact do it. It's like black people blaming whites today for slavery. It was all Prophesized in the bible that Jesus was going to be betrayed by his own people. So, what's the big deal?

Sterling

Jack -

After 9/11 I went out and bought a copy of the Koran, and have read a big chunk of it. I've read limited extracts of the Talmud, but have made no real study of it.

The reason I read the Koran is so that I could a) see for myself what it's really about and b) competently engage people in discussion.

See, when I don't know anything about the subject matter being discussed, I sit quietly and try to learn something. I don't go preaching about things I know nothing about.

You might want to try that sometime.

Sterling

Jack - Not only haven't you read the Bible, you haven't even read this thread. My first comment was my reaction to the film, which I saw at 1pm on Wednesday.

DrewBug

Come on Jack! I was not chastizing. I was agreeing.

DrewBug

Yet again, Jack you are missing my point. I'm not arguing about what is *in* the film, but whether it is valid to label the film crap because Gibson is crap. I take no issue with you saying the film is crap because you've seen, but you're not limiting it to that. When I see it perhaps I will agree that it is far too violent etc., but till then I reserve judgement.

DrewBug

How about a movie called "The Passion of the Jack" in which Jack faces the persecution of the pharisee DrewBug and others?

But to be serious, Honey, if I understand you, I think you are saying that this film is tantamount to the film equivalent of hate literature since it has been inspiring hate. And if this is so shouldn't it be banned? From the fact that you don't think so leads me to believe that you think it has some redeeming qualities. In other words it has the potential to inspire both good and bad. In this way it is like art in general and therefore the responsibility lies on the shoulders of both the filmmaker and the audience. Which I guess is your point?

honey

I repeat, in 15 years of living in this town, I never saw anti-semitic grafitti before Wednesday when the movie opened. Just a coincidence? Maybe, but judging from comments I have overheard in the last day or two, it really does appear that this film, if not spawning anti-semitism, is certainly emboldening those who already had those feelings--and that is a something that can be blamed on the filmmaker. Should the movie be banned?--of course not--but it's not unfair for people to point out that the movie is creating an atmosphere that makes people feel ok to let their anti-semitism out. Should those who dare to criticize mel's creation be called "insane"? It seems as if a new religion is springing up, one where Mel Gibson is the pope and a movie focused not on Jesus' message of love and forgiveness but on violence is the gospel. Makes me sick. That's why I put those "christians" in quotes-- if Mel's movie has now become a holy "text" for someone, they do not fit my definition of a christian.

DrewBug

What I am saying is that it is pointless to debate the merits of the film based upon the facts relating to the personal lives of the director and related individuals. Can't you see that any research I conduct relating to the Gibson family can not inherently support my argument? I take for granted that your sources are reliable, but they do not convince me that the film is without merit. Where I have been "lazy" is in not having gone to see the film for myself. You claim that the director's anti-semitic background necessitates that the film itself is anti-semitic, but not everyone who's seen it has found it so. I will see the film for myself and not take your advice that evil director equals evil film.

Sterling

One more thing, Jack - you just don't have any standing to make these complaints. If you're not a Christian, and you never bothered to even read the New Testament, then you've got no business butting your head in and telling Christians what they ought to believe, which is what you're doing.

As for Hutton Gibson - I'm sure if we put 85-year-old members of your family on television, they wouldn't say anything about politics, ethnicities or religions that would shock or offend.

Sterling

Jack - Arguing over whether there are "many" gospels or "four" is not semantics. It goes to the point of whether you know anything about the New Testament, and you clearly don't.

Your whole argument about the film not representing Jesus is a canard, because you don't care enough about what Jesus was about even to read the Biblical record.

marissa

Jack-

A perfectly healthy person did not have a heart attack from the movie, I'm sure there was something physically wrong with her. It's a f-ing movie! It's not like we are actually seeing this on the street.

So, are you saying you don't want people to have more faith in God?

Mel Gibson didn't lie about the violence. You act like it was some big surprise. Close your eyes occasionally if you can't handle it.

From what I've heard, it's not anti-semetic, but I will be the judge of that tomorrow when I go. People who believe that already hated Jews and want another reason to hate them.

Gibson and the other followers of the anti-2nd Vatican council are entitled to their opinions. I kinda wonder if that was the political thing to do shortly after WWII. I personally do not blame the Jews for his death. But I do understand if people want the Church back to the way it was. They're not holding a gun to anyone's head saying you must believe this or that.

If the Jews are so pissed about this, then they can make a movie and call it "The Crusades."

honey

Matthew 22:36-40

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love he Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Yesterday I was on a bus in Brooklyn on the way home and a woman standing next to me got a call on her cell phone. She said "yes, I saw it. Oh, I cried so much for my Lord. All i know is, the Jews did it. Yes sir, they killed Him."

Having been raised Catholic, I was taught that Jesus was about love and forgiveness, about reaching out to and protecting those that others would shun or stone and yet it seems that many people are getting a message of intolerance and even hate from this film.

honey

Matthew 22:36-40

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love he Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Yesterday I was on a bus in Brooklyn on the way home and a woman standing next to me got a call on her cell phone. She said "yes, I saw it. Oh, I cried so much for my Lord. All i know is, the Jews did it. Yes sir, they killed Him."

Having been raised Catholic, I was taught that Jesus was about love and forgiveness, about reaching out to and protecting those that others would shun or stone and yet it seems that many people are getting a message of intolerance and even hate from this film.

marissa

Jack -

I think you are insane. I can't believe you are that upset over a movie. Maybe Mel is just trying to show what he thinks really happened. We should see how brutal the death of Jesus was. If you're not Christian, I can how you won't give a damn, but why get so upset about it? If kids see a film full of blood, is it the end of the world for them? It wasn't for me when I was young.

And I do not care about Janet Jackson's boob coming out.

I also do not believe that women died from watching the movie, it was her time. The heart attack would've happened sooner or later.

If this movie gives people more faith in God, more power to them.

DrewBug

Jack, of course I changed my "tactic". Otherwise I would be guilty of believing only what I want to believe. You said your opinions are based on having seen the film. Fair enough; I did not pursue that angle. I'm sorry if that does not seem reasonable.

"If someone were to make a film that was racially charged against African Americans and his/her father dismissed the issues of slavery..."

Your above statement is true but is not relevant to the argument because "The Passion" does not claim that the holocaust did not happen.

Your urls don't upset me. I just found your energy and commitment to the facts commendable. It was also a kind of "rueful chuckle", if you will, about how you'll probably find something somewhere to discredit me.

DrewBug

Because I am Hutton Gibson! Kidding!

I think, Jack, if you reread what I wrote I did not in any way defend Gibson's father. And any defense of Mel was simply from your tactics of argument. I have no love for Gibson; I never said that he is a saint or better than me or even a good person. I'm just saying that you may think he is insane, but don't think he is insane because you think his father is. Just because Hutton is a holocaust denier doesn't mean Mel is as well (or perhaps he is and you will spout a url for that too!).

In general, what my point was, which I think you missed, is that some of the facts you are using to criticize a film are tenuous and peripheral to the argument. Stepping back and being completely honest, don't you think that criticizing a film because its director's father is a holocaust denier sounds somewhat ridiculous?

DrewBug

Jack, I don't have the energy to argue most of what you said because frankly I don't have the time to do the research. But one thing I want to ask you is why do you report (on more than one occasion) that Gibson's father was a holocaust denier? It has no bearing on the film or for that matter on him. Yes, it may have informed his viewpoint as all influences in one's life may, yet Gibson has clearly tried to transform himself, going as far as to become what some are calling a born-again Christian. What his father's influence is on him is on our part only a guess and you can not stigmatize a man based on a guess. Does man die for the sins of his father? (The clever biblical scholars amongst you will surely respond with Deut 24:16 and Ex 20:5.) I think this fact you wave around is simply an example of your flamboyant style of rhetoric and not at all relevant.

Sterling

Jack - I don't even really consider myself a Christian, although like 98% of the population of this country, I'm a "cultural Christian". I respect what Gibson has done - he's showed real guts all the way down with this. Is he nutty? I don't know, and don't see where it's relevant.

Four is "several" - I'd even give you "about a half dozen" - but it is not "many". And if you're not interested in arguing about this, why did you start being contentious in the first place? Do the research before opening your mouth.

Of course I would take someone under 18 to see this film. I wouldn't take a small child, but 12 and up? Sure.

marissa

Jack, everyone knew that "Passion" was going to be a violent movie, why did you go see it if you hate violence so much? And who is dragging their kids to go see it? If you are under 17 you need an adult with you anyway, which means your parent believes you are mature enough to watch it. From what I hear, Saving Private Ryan had more gore in it. If you can't handle violent movies, don't go. I also hear that if you think it's anti-semetic, then you are one of those people that feel Italians were betrayed by the film The Godfather or that people in the south are seen as racist rednecks from the movie Mississippi Burning. This is a movie about bringing peace and love everywhere.