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The Passion of Myth, the Crucible of Belief
by Intrepid
For all our fellow-Garglers who have not seen Carlos' updated Review (August, 2004) of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, he has re-entered it as comment #8 in the comments section to my Newslog item, "Eat your heart out, Leni Riefenstahl!" I read & re-read this Review two days ago by following Simon's directions. And it was something like following the yellow brick road to the land of OZ, in every sense of what OZ has come to represent in our pop-culture. For it does symbolize the mythical place and the prison of our own making. So, within the context of the mythical and the self-imposed, one may attempt an interchange ("fascinating" or not) on what may be perceived as anti-Semitism in THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST.
I should like to say at the outset that after reading the updated review, I was left with more questions than answers--of myself and of "faith," itself. Indeed, I am now challenged in my belief that this film is cruelly flawed. But what compels me still to hold on to that belief is a subtle (though sadistic) theme meandering throughout that plays to historic, stereotypical assumptions of the Eternal Jew as, if not "Christ killer", then at least, killer-enabler. Carlos sees it as the spirit of evil ascribed to Romans, women, children--Jew and Gentile, one and all--in their violence, cruelty and their laughter. But I see something else allotted only to Jews. I see sly malevolence in the display of stubborn, narrow judgment--against Jesus that finally forces the hand of Rome--in the Jewish High Priests of the Temple and their influence over the Jewish mob.
In the portrayal of Caiaphas we witness dogma unleashed: blind, cunning, unfeeling and most of all, unrelenting reaction that sways the mob and compels authority. This is the burden of The Law without the mercy and forgiveness of "God's love". This is the arrogance and intolerance of the Eternal Jew as perceived by 2000 years of Christianity. And I found no counterbalance in this film to offset the stereotype of Jewish mercilessness that condemned Jesus to his cross. Without that counterbalance prominent in every rendering of the Jesus/Messiah myth, there will never be a bridge between Christians and Jews that can withstand the tragic weight of history.
Stereotypical assumptions are so woven into the fabric of Western Civilization, so ingrained into 2000 years of shared Judeo-Christian culture and ethic, that they're like a fuse, or a light, within our collective historic memory, to lead us or damn us.
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