Mel Gibson's latest film, "The Passion of the Christ," has caused quite a stir since it first caught the attention of the Anti-Defamation League last June. Gibson's film, which he financed with nearly $30 million of his own money, will be released on Wednesday, the beginning of the Christian holy season of Lent.
"The Passion" portrays the last 12 hours of the life of Jesus Christ, leading up to the crucifixion.
The film's dialogue is entirely in Latin and Aramaic, languages that are historically accurate to the time, according to www.ThePassionoftheChrist.com.
Gibson's film has been a hot-button issue leading up to its release because some feel it blames Jews for the crucifixion of Christ. Gibson himself admits his film is violent but denies it being anti-Semitic.
New York Times writer Frank Rich implied that Gibson's father was a "Holocaust denier," to which Gibson responded in the New Yorker: "I want to kill [Rich]. I want his intestines on a stick. I want to kill his dog," according to WorldNetDaily, a conservative Web site (Gibson later made light of this statement in an interview on ABC's Primetime.)
Many AU students are deciding whether or not "The Passion" is something worth investing time and money in.
Junior Colin Barthel feels that the steps Gibson has taken to make his film accurate to Scripture makes it worth seeing.
"From what I've heard the film is incredibly historically accurate and I definitely plan to go see it," Barthel said.
Catie Small, secretary of the Catholic Student Association at AU, thinks the film should not be seen by everyone.
"I'm really interested in seeing 'The Passion,' especially since it's in Aramaic," Small explained. "However, I do think it's wrong that people are thinking of showing it to their children because it's a very violent view of what happened. I think Mel Gibson is a little over the top."
However, the CSA will be buying discounted group tickets for "The Passion," according to its vice president, Danielle Giusto.
The AU Jewish, Methodist and Catholic communities are all going to see the film, and afterward they will meet on campus to discuss it, according to Elizabeth Menscher, a freshman in Hillel, the center for Jewish life on campus.
Menscher is unsure about her feelings on the "The Passion."
"I am a bit worried about how the movie is going to portray the Jewish people because of the possibility of it stirring up anti-Semitic feelings among those who watch it," she said. "I have heard it is historically inaccurate, but I cannot judge the movie because I do not know much about Jesus' life. I am hoping that after the movie premieres, there will be some sort of commentary about the accuracy of the movie."
Gibson's camp is hoping the film will spark intellectual discussion among college students across the country. The goal of the website www.StudentsHavePassion.com is to encourage these discussions on college campuses, although some argue that inciting theological discussion isn't its primary intention.
"The first items on the Web page aren't discussion boards," said freshman Daniella Pagan. "They're things promoting the movie, like a place to buy tickets or e-mail friends to encourage them to buy tickets as well. It doesn't seem like it's a place that really encourages discussion as much as it's recruiting kids to do promotion."
AU Professor Gershon Greenberg - who specializes in modern Jewish philosophy, America and the Holy Land - declined to comment on the film.
But it will be hard to remain silent for long. There will be plenty for the AU community to discuss after "The Passion of the Christ" is released Wednesday.
[See the Thursday issue of The Eagle for a review.]
