Mel and the Jews: Random Thoughts on a Cultural Phenomenon

This was originally posted by Edward Britton on 2-28-04 in his Yahoo Group Underground_Economy@yahoogroups.com (linked below).

Mel and the Jews: Random Thoughts on a Cultural Phenomenon
Edward Britton
2-28-2004

I don't know what it is about Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion Of The Christ, that's got the old-guard liberal establishment in such an abject snit, but I've concluded the movie has got to be good on the basis of that fact alone. And if liberals were irritated before, imagine how they'll feel to wake up Monday morning to discover that Mel's dramatic endeavor will have raked in an astounding 117 MILLION dollars* over the weekend--an unprecedented haul for motion pictures in this genre!

I have the following tidbits to satisfy the curiosity of those who may not have been privy to some of the more interesting details/history behind the making of Mel's movie: Mel sank 25 million of his own money into the project because he was unable to find financial backing anywhere else.

Mel Gibson, an actor, director and producer with otherwise impeccable credentials in Tinsel Town, couldn't find a production/distribution company willing to pony up the requisite cash, and damn near had to bribe Icon Productions just to take over the logistics. Nobody expected the movie to do much better than one of those tired old foreign flicks that debut in back alley theaters in the artsy fartsy sections of town.

This was when Honest Abe Foxman of the ADL got involved, and rocketed Mel's otherwise obscure period piece to the centermost position on everybody's radar screen. That's right, if you ever wondered what made the movie such a big deal, it wasn't the Pope's pronouncements regarding the faithfulness-to-fact of Mel's retelling of the crucifixion story, it
was the Jews over at ADL moaning about the movie's non-existent "anti-Semitism." Think about that for a moment: an arguably militant yet unquestionably leftist Jewish organization making an otherwise obscure movie about the crucifixion a blockbuster hit. Life's cup just overflows with irony.

I suspect that Gibson kisses a picture of Abraham Foxman every time he makes a bank deposit. If success is the best revenge, then surely God has blessed old Mel with overwhelming success in the forms of a record-setting box office take, and thousands of enraged secularist pantywaists. That's not a bad return on one's investment even if we were to include the months of editorial abuse, bordering on libel, from people not intellectually worthy of licking Gibson's boots.

I don't know when I'll ever see Mel's version of The Passion (I've vacillated between seeing it, not seeing it, and being downright scared to see it), but one thing's for certain: cultural phenomena like this movie have a tendency to force people to pick, literally, the side of the "force" with which they will ally themselves. I am of the belief that, in this case, he's on the right side. I am also certain that he and I both are exceedingly proud of the enemies we keep. They are as much of a statement of who we are as Mel's controversial enterprise is about his faith.

* http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=daily&id=passionofthechrist.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Edward ><+>

Wanna see real terrorism? Just 'hole up' in a 'compound' somewhere in rural Texas while publicly asserting your rights under the first ten amendments to the Constitution. You'll have terrorists coming out of your ass.

http://www.global-connector.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Underground_Economy/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/reality_pump
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WinMX2003
____________________________________________________________

-----
Got comments? Email me, dammit!