Trust the Art, Not the Artist

On December 8, with the release of Apocalypto, ticket sales will judge how damaging Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic outburst this past summer was for his reputation as an actor, a filmmaker, and yes, a self-professed Christian.

As someone who values safety, it doesn't sound far-fetched to believe that his drunk driving could have been far more catastrophic to society than any anti-Semitic rant. Is it possible that we are missing the big picture?

Hollywood doesn't have a great reputation to begin with. But Shannen Doherty, Keanu Reeves, and (most notably) Andy Dick have all been convicted of a DUI. I could go on all day naming celebrities who have been convicted of DUI if I really wanted to. Rather than face the seriousness of the crime itself, we allowed media satire to get the best of us.

According to the Center for Disease Control, 16,694 people in the U.S. died in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes in 2004. That same year, 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. Legalizing marijuana won't improve these statistics, nor will ignoring them help.

Now that I have addressed the real problem, it grants me permission to critique Mel's personal and professional life.

Abraham H. Foxman, the National Director for the Anti-Defamation League had "serious concerns" about Mel Gibson's film depicting the crucifixion that would become The Passion of the Christ. He went public with his worries that anti-Semitism would breed as a result of a high-profile director portraying first-century Orthodox Jews as barbarians. He even wrote Mel a personal letter, begging him either to modify the film, or to halt the project altogether.

"Passion plays have an infamous history of leading to hatred, violence and even death of Jews," he writes. "Given your talent and celebrity, how you depict the death of Jesus will have widespread influence on people's ideas, attitudes and behavior towards Jews today."

Mel did very little to fine-tune the bloodbath. His most notable act of self-censorship was taking the subtitles - but not the Aramaic dialogue - out of the "Blood Curse," in reference to Matthew 27:24-25.

To quote the NIV of The Bible, Matthew 27:24-25,

"When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. 'I am innocent of this man's blood,' he [Pontius Pilate] said. 'It is your responsibility!' All the people answered, 'Let his blood be on us and on our children!'"

Some believe the "Blood Curse" should be taken literally as an explanation as to why Jews in particular have suffered from the longest hatred known to man - anti-Semitism.

With that said, does citing Matthew 27:24-25 make Mel Gibson an anti-Semite? No. But it does not exonerate him from the charges, either.

Most reasonable people would agree that the media frenzy over The Passion of the Christ helped Mel more than it hurt him. While much of the Jewish community showed resentment, Rabbi Daniel Lapin and Michael Medved - both Orthoddox Jews - backed the film.

Pope John Paul II offered few words, but needn't elaborate - "It is as it was."

In 2004, The Passion became the eighth highest-grossing film in history, grossing $611,899,420 worldwide. Not bad for a movie that endured endless attacks from the press. Mel owes much of his success to the Christian community, many of whom had not been to a theater in years.

Mel had the world in the palm of his hands. Until recently, millions would not only defend the film, but Mel from apparent character assassinations. That all changed when he spouted out on his anti-Semitic outburst. Would the DUI alone hurt his career? Sure. But the charges of anti-Semitism had been given credibility at last. Mel wasn't your ordinary "sinner."

But should Mel's outrageous behavior tie in with his work? Not exactly.

The Passion of the Christ should continue to have a special place in the heart of its audience. The film changed lives, hearts, and minds, but not as Mr. Foxman predicted. What critics like David Denby and Lou Lumenick fail to acknowledge is that there were Christians, Muslims, and Jews in the cast. Egyptians were not lynched as a result of The Ten Commandments, and neither were Jews as a result of The Passion.

Through the art of film, Christians received a deeper understanding of their spiritual beliefs - more specifically, how brutal was the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. In a secular perspective, the film is a hellish bloodbath, when religions are supposed to teach us to love one another. In a Christian perspective, the entire film is about a man who loved us enough to endure every beating to save mankind from its sin.

The very title of this piece is based on a quote from Bruce Springsteen - "Trust the art, not the artist." While it may be naive to defend Mel's tirade, the film should not be reduced to a nuisance as a result. Rather, Mel might want to turn back to what inspired the film in the first place.