The Passion of the Christ and implications for portrayals of violence in future movies.
A frequent criticism of movies by cultural conservatives is that they are “violent.” Now that most cultural conservatives embrace Mel Gibson’s new cinematic sensation, Passion of the Christ, their criticism of “movie violence” may be undercut. Passion depicts the torture and crucifixion of Jesus in extremely graphic detail.
(Sidebar: There is no such thing as “movie violence.” The violence portrayed in movies is simulated. When filming, special effects and camera tricks are used to suggest violence. Very little actual violence filmed is ever shown in entertainment features. During a boxing match scene, for example, actors might accidentally hit one another with force, and footage of that may be filmed. Yet lasting injuries are not meant to occur. Real violence on film usually only appears in news coverage.)
“Awe-inspiring” is Dr Robert Schuller’s description of Passion. (*) A cultural conservative, Schuller appears on the Crystal Cathedral/Hour of Power.
Would a cultural conservative say the same thing about a non-Christian film with similar levels of extremely graphic depictions of violence? Of course not. This provides an opening to antinomians and paleoliberals who will cry “Hypocrisy!” the next time a cultural conservative criticizes the pseudo violence of a movie.
One web site that reviews movies for their questionable content is Kids-in-Mind. (†) It gives Passion a rating of very high simulated violent content. It notes that Passion has no nudity, sexual content, or profanity. (‡)
That gives rise to a counterargument for cultural conservatives. They could say depictions of violence on screen are okay so long as the overall message is moral and the film does not have nudity, sexual content, or profanity. Thus Passion is acceptable but Pulp Fiction is not. (§) Liberals will continue to cry “Hypocrisy!” and a useless shouting match will ensue.
This could very well lead to several more rounds of raging shouting matches between TV talking heads, all of which I will try to avoid.
Movies are only visual and symbolic. Movies do not have great impact on matters of public affairs.
Update: 4 March 2004. John A Kalb adds insight. (**)