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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A Vanderbilt Divinity School professor says that
a four-decade trend of the cinematic "countercultural Jesus" may be
interrupted by the release of actor Mel Gibson’s take on the
crucifixion story, The Passion of the Christ.
Susan Bond, assistant professor of homiletics at Vanderbilt Divinity
School, studies film interpretations of the Jesus tale. This spring,
students taking her Jesus in Film course will incorporate the Feb. 25
release of The Passion of the Christ into their studies.
"In general, Jesus has been getting more and more countercultural in
films," Bond said. "It started in 1961 with King of Kings. Jesus in
that film was (actor) Jeffrey Hunter. His Sermon on the Mount was more
like a ’60s love-in than the solemn gathering of previous movies. He
was a peacenik Jesus, sympathetic to the masses being oppressed by
Roman rule.
"Hunter didn’t look like a priest or a holy man. He looked like a hippie."
Students in the class will also consider how the story was told in
films including Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus of Montreal and The
Greatest Story Ever Told.
"I think it’s critical for preachers and local pastors to pay
attention to cultural trends and be in on the conversation," Bond said.
"We look for how the films present Jesus as an interpreter of things
like race, class, politics, sexuality and faith."
Bond says that the Gibson film will continue a trend toward
acceptance that a point of view is being presented, instead of
objective history. Since historians in Jesus’ time weren’t keeping
track of him, the four Gospels are considered by most scholars to be
varied interpretations of the life of Jesus.
"It makes sense, as people become more and more self-conscious about
movie spin and more suspicious about history and particularly religious
history, that we get movies that are aware of and fess up to the fact
that they have some sort of bias," Bond said.
Gibson’s Jesus is shaping up as a "more traditional model Jesus," Bond said.
"Its focus on the horrible abuse involved in crucifixion is
telling," she said." My first impression is that this may be the
difference between Catholic and Protestant understandings of the Jesus
story. For many Catholics, the whole idea of the suffering of Jesus is
more significant than it may be in general to Protestants.
"By and large, the Jesus films have been very Protestant."
Other things to watch for in Gibson’s film are whether it adheres to
the events of one Gospel or mixes elements of all four. If and how it
depicts the expulsion of the moneychangers from the Temple, The Last
Supper and resurrection are also key.
Bond says the trend has been to depict the resurrection in vague
ways that don’t insist that it was the resuscitation of a corpse.
"It’s the theological payoff of the story, but people are really
uncomfortable with miraculous stuff like that," Bond said. "Usually,
the movies that won’t show you the resurrection won’t show you Jesus
walking on water or doing miracles. The assumption there is that people
are too modern to accept that."
Bond and her students will also be on the lookout for how women and
Jews are portrayed in The Passion of the Christ. The latter has been
the source of much speculation.
"This usually shows up in delight about Jesus’ trial and execution,"
Bond said. "But even if there’s not a horrible trial scene, it can be
more subtle. Sometimes the hook-nosed, shifty-eyed, money-orientated
and deceitful Jewish caricature turns up."
Christians should be glad that the Jesus story will get this level
of attention because of Gibson’s film regardless of his viewpoint, Bond
said. Films about Jesus have not traditionally been strong box office
performers, and so producers have become more unlikely to attempt them.
"They raise theological questions," Bond said. "Whether it’s a beach
bum Jesus, a meek Boy Scout variety or a mad socialist Jesus, the
movies can be turned into an opportunity for people to talk about it.
All press is good press."
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
Jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu