dictation's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Passion of the Pedantic Everyone's yacking about The Passion of the Christ which as far as I can tell from the reviews I've read - and I read many today - is getting between one and two stars across the board. Rick Groen in the Globe and Mail has called it religious porn. He might have been more specific and called it "sadomasochism," as the evangelists appear to be in a frenzy of ecstacy about this movie. The praise of right-wing religious fanatics is reason enough to be suspicious, as they are typically hateful, narrow-minded and incapable of thinking beyond religious dogma. If a horror show is what it takes to make someone more of a Christian, and Christians have actually been saying the film has this effect on them, - and isn't it Mel's intent? - I find that more than a little alarming. But maybe the reason they are excited to have their noses rubbed in lashed, obviously latex, flesh is because they lack even a scrap of creative imagination. If two hours of beatings is what it takes to bring a Christian closer to God, what does that suggest about their religion? Inspiring fear and loathing is the religious fundamentalist's way. There's nothing more powerful and manipulative than sheer terror to keep the sheep herded nicely. For life. Or, at least, it used to be. But it must still be, because Vancouverites report seeing clerics taking very young children to see this film even though the R rating specifies "graphic, extreme violence." But the Church as always been about scaring and guilting children into being loyal followers. How many Catholics have you met who question the integrity of the Church but are afraid to leave it. And here we run into a few ironies. For if Christ died on the cross for "our sins," surely it has been proven time and again a waste. When hasn't the Catholic Church, for example, been vilely corrupt? It's practically going bankrupt from all the pedophile priest cases. And yet, although I'm not a Christian and don't regard Christ as "the saviour," I have enough respect and sense to believe that a holy man (who may or may not be religious) understands that human nature is hard-wired. The Christ wouldn't have expected our natures to change. Rather, by example he demonstrated the human capacity to transcend states and realize love. As a man, he must have experienced conflict, doubt and desire, otherwise how could he have been empathetic? He understood first hand the meaning of "They know not what they do," because he understood both the nature and the potential of man. It's why I'm drawn to Buddhism. It doesn't use a punitive approach because it's not seeking to enslave. It uses a loving approach because it recognizes that love - the divine - is present in everything. And yet, here's Mel, not the most accomplished actor or director in the world, and certainly not an accomplished thinker - he's a bit of a bull-headed he-man - shoving another Hollywood Jesus down our throats. Yanking heads to face the spectacle of an innocent's flesh being ripped from bone. It's insulting to the viewer, not because we're incapable of facing and even accounting for our violent natures, but because we're able to transcend them. Where else can hope exist but in the possibility of man to evolve. Why bother with forgiveness at all if this isn't fully possible? I refuse to be manipulated by some second rate Hollywood celebrity who is also this narrow minded. Christ died surrounded by other tortured and crucified men, all of them ordinary, some of them common criminals. His physical experience was therefore shared. What's more, plenty of innocent people were and continue to be tortured and murdered. Somehow this suffering and injustice isn't worthy of our attention. Even though we are "all God's children." Human beings continue to be violent and grotesque in their treatment of each other and religion is often used as the excuse for more of it. An innocent Iranian man died from a brutal whipping today. The basis for this killing was Islamic fundamentalism. What's changed? And what has Mel achieved? A two hour orgy of torture isn't going to inspire the God force in me. I know I would emerge from the theater feeling polluted. I'm not interested in being a voyeur and besides, horror movies are generally degrading and instructive of nothing. 7:11 p.m. - 2004-02-26 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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