We talk about a "litmus test" all the time. When exposed to an acidic solution, blue litmus paper will become pink. Well, in this election season we've been handed several big bowls of steaming sulphuric. First up: Gibson's
The Passion of the Christ.
Even before this movie was released, the stereotypes were set: Christians would be moved, their faith deepened, and their fervor stoked; non-Christians would cry foul and point to the violence and potentially anti-semitic aspects of the film.
As a self-confessed liberal, it should come as no surprise that I found much to dislike in Gibson's work. As a Christian, Sunday School teacher, and father, I found even more not to like. Some of my problems with the film don't wander too far from what you've all heard by now: it's extremely violent, it's essentially plotless, the depiction of the relationship between Pilate and the Jews is off-kilter, and the Jews tend to be straight from Shylock central casting.
But all those problems are almost beside the point. This is a film written to be a litmus test. If you walked into this film with no concept of Jesus, you'd exit even more confused. The characters are worse than flat, they're a pencil-sketch; the barest curl of emotion here, ten seconds of flashback there. You'd exit the theater with no reaction except a shrug and maybe a "ewww."
But of course, you don't come into this movie with no concept of Jesus. No one does. In fact, most people who see it have very strong and specific feelings about Jesus.
There are few films with a more appropriate name. You don't see The Passion to become enlightened, you see it to become enraged.
Christians will emerge from this movie having seen a beloved figure maimed, humiliated, and broken. This is a film taylor made to foment dissent and solidify opinions into concrete.
Forget Roe v. Wade or even the FMA. Those are decisions made at a distance. This film will be the litmus test applied mouth to mouth, neighbor to neighbor. "Have you seen it?" "What did you think?" "Didn't you love it?"
Be careful how you answer. This film plays to the worst in us. It's going to burn up relationships and communities like salt in a raw wound. Like acid.
