GIBSON’S PASSION? :: Essays Papers

GIBSON’S PASSION? I grew up in a suburb outside of Chicago where there were lots of Jewish people and Jewish students that I went to school with. There wasn’t any religious discrimination at all between Christians, Catholics or Jews. Mel Gibson's new controversial movie, â€Å"The Passion of the Christ† portrayed the Jews in a negative way and not only stereotypes them again, as being mainly liable for the death of Christ, but even causes violence and breeds disgust towards them. This film will cause and outline how millions of Christian movie-goers should look upon Jews in the future, and this may destroy an important Jewish-Christian union that’s developed over the years, that bond of brotherhood and understanding. Historically, the beating and death of Jesus has been known by Christians as his â€Å"passion.† However, Mel Gibson’s movie â€Å"The Passion† is based on the Passion Plays during the Roman Empire, that were written specifically back then to incite and anger people against the Jews. Jews have been the victims of hatred by many groups over many generations. Persecution has been a way of life for the Jewish people since in every generation there have been those who felt that the Jews just â€Å"don’t fit it.† Cecil B. Demille, the famous director of â€Å"The Ten Commandments,† first directed the film â€Å"The King of Kings,† which was the first anti-Semitic movie that offended Jews, seemingly making them responsible for the death of Christ, rather than the Romans. Whether or not Demille meant harm to the Jews is unknown, but the film launched a wave of anti-Semitism. Historical movies such as â€Å"Schindler’s List† and â€Å"Gettysburg† are accurate interpretations of what really happened in history. Even biblical epics such as Franco Zeffirelli's â€Å"Jesus of Nazareth† and the hit Broadway musical â€Å"Jesus Christ Superstar† avoided anti-Semitism. A recent 2001 movie drama about Adolf Hitler as a young child called â€Å"Max† starring John Cusack, responded to the criticism the movie got and accepted input and changes from critics. With the good suggestions they received, it made for an even better film, and the public voice was heard. A year before â€Å"The Passion† was due to open in theatres, Jewish officials offered changes to the film, but these were rejected by Mel Gibson. â€Å"The Passion† isn’t the real story of Jesus Christ’s death, but rather Mel Gibson’s own interpretation of it. People, nevertheless, will watch â€Å"The Passion† and believe that it is the truth.