« About Me | Main | Life Lessons Through Liquor »
March 02, 2004
The Passion of the Barbershop 2
Barbershop 2 is not anti-semitic. That was one thing I was pretty sure of before I went to see it. And, upon watching the film, I was right.
When this past weekend rolled around, I seriously contemplated going to see Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. I mean, after all, I had spent the last year listening to, watching, and reading the comments of imbeciles WHO HADN'T EVEN SEEN THE FILM OR EVEN READ A SCREENPLAY and who decided that it was their duty to tell the world that the film was not only anti-semitic, but that Mel Gibson didn't paticularly care for Jews, and that he shared his father's vague-though-questionable views on, among other things, the Holocaust. I've often noticed in my lifetime that when people go out of their way to bash something that they know nothing about, the very thing they're bashing usually winds up having some merit. So, after months and months of witnessing this Mel bashing, I decided that I'd have to see the film, if only to see what all the fuss was about.
But as The Passion made it to theatres, my desire to see the film has increasingly dissolved as I've listened to, watched, or read many people's reactions to the film. Entire church congregations are replacing Sunday morning services with trips to see the film, and many people of faith are hoping that this film - one man's interpretaton of the crucifixion of Christ - will lead people to the Lord.
Why does it take a movie - and a selectively scripturally-faithful one, at that - to excite people about God? Why do so many folks who already believe in Christ feel the need to watch a movie like this? If their belief is truly living and breathing, why do they mindlessly flock to the theatres? Is there something in the film that they don't know already? And how do they reconcile Gibson's artistic choices when those choices might fly in the face of what they believe?
Of course, along with the film came the usual Passion-related merchandise, which only made me want to see the film even less. A particularly nauseous moment came when I learned of the most popular item: a 2-inch-long pewter nail pendant, meant to be a replica of the nails used in the Crucifixion. An estimated 75,000 nail pendants, which come harnessed to leather cords, have been sold so far. I humbly ask you, why do people always feel the need to "honor" sacred people, places, and events by buying mass-produced, exceedingly schmaltzy and downright cheap crap? Shouldn't the event, itself, be plenty of cause for remembrance? Do you really need a "Christian-y" souvenir, too? Does nothing fall out of reach of Hollywood's marketing arm?
I guess that's my ultimate point. The Passion is simply a film, and Mel Gibson chose to express his vision through the Hollywood machine. He could have written a book, painted a painting, or preached at a church. But that's not what he does. Gibson makes films - Hollywood films - and along with Hollywood comes exposure, merchandising, and controversy. For folks to view this film as Gospel truth is just as wrong as Gibson, himself, flying off the handle at criticism of himself, his father or the film; which is just as bad as my complaints about people buying Passion souvenirs. Neither Gibson, the filmgoers, or myself should expect too much from a movie.
As I stood outside the theatre last Saturday night, I couldn't have seen The Passion even if I'd wanted to. It was already sold out. So I decided to see Barbershop 2, instead. It was a good, funny film. And after this week of heavy thought and discussion, I needed a good, funny film. In fact, the only serious thought I had while watching Barbershop 2 was, "Should I laugh along with the black folks as the black folks in the movie make jokes about white folks, or will they crucify me?"
They didn't.
Man, that Cedric is hilarious.
Pulse Columns | By colrus | 03:51 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://chattablogs.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/9309
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference The Passion of the Barbershop 2:
