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| "By his stripes we are healed": Jim Caviezel as Jesus Christ in Gibson's gory "Passion" play. |
by Andy Nowicki
Twelve years ago, at the inception of the 2004 Lenten season, Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ was released into theaters worldwide. Passion had already attained notoriety due to a concerted media campaign—led by the Anti-Defamation League’s Abe Foxman as well as other assorted “usual suspects”—to condemn the violent, gory New Testament drama as “anti-Semitic.”
Passion’s overwhelming success at the box office provoked hand-wringing aplenty, as well as some brow-furrowing puzzlement, from the chattering classes. Judging from its content, one never would have thought that the film would hold such mass appeal. Nevertheless, anomalous circumstances predominated, leaving cultural critics scratching their heads, befuddled by what would prove to be the cinematic sensation of the "oughts" decade.
Passion’s overwhelming success at the box office provoked hand-wringing aplenty, as well as some brow-furrowing puzzlement, from the chattering classes. Judging from its content, one never would have thought that the film would hold such mass appeal. Nevertheless, anomalous circumstances predominated, leaving cultural critics scratching their heads, befuddled by what would prove to be the cinematic sensation of the "oughts" decade.
