Should Children watch "the Passion"???

[OneAccord]

I just read an interesting review in Newsweek on the Passion, and the critic expressed some of the same concerns I have about the film.

Here is the review:

So What's the Good News?

The debate over 'The Passion' may be less harsh than the film

Philippe Antonello

'The Passion': James Caviezel gives an eloquent physical performance, but he has little opportunity to show the Messiah's spiritual charisma

By David Ansen

NewsweekMarch 1 issue - I have no doubt that Mel Gibson loves Jesus. From the evidence of "The Passion of the Christ," however, what he seems to love as much is the cinematic depiction of flayed, severed, swollen, scarred flesh and rivulets of spilled blood, the crack of bashed bones and the groans of someone enduring the ultimate physical agony. This peculiar, deeply personal expression of the filmmaker's faith is a far cry from the sentimental, pious depictions of Christ that popular culture has often served up. Relentlessly savage, "The Passion" plays like the Gospel according to the Marquis de Sade. The film that has been getting rapturous advance raves from evangelical Christians turns out to be an R-rated inspirational movie no child can, or should, see. To these secular eyes at least, Gibson's movie is more likely to inspire nightmares than devotion.

It's the sadism, not the alleged anti-Semitism, that is most striking. (For the record, I don't think Gibson is anti-Semitic; but those inclined toward bigotry could easily find fuel for their fire here.) There's always been a pronounced streak of sadomasochism and martyrdom running through Gibson's movies, both as an actor and as a filmmaker. The Oscar-winning "Braveheart" reveled in decapitations and disembowelments, not to mention the spectacle of Gibson himself, as the Scottish warrior hero, impaled on a cross. In "Mad Max," the "Lethal Weapon" movies, "Ransom" and "Signs" (where he's a cleric who's lost his faith), the Gibson hero is pummeled and persecuted, driven to suicidal extremes. From these pop passion plays to the Passion itself is a logical progression; it gives rise to the suspicion that on some unconscious level "The Passion of the Christ" is, for Gibson, autobiography.

With the exception of a few brief flashbacks, "The Passion" focuses on the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. We first glimpse Jesus (James Caviezel) racked with fear, praying in a mist-shrouded Gethsemane, where he is tempted by Satan, depicted here as a pale, hooded, androgynous woman who might have stepped out of an Ingmar Bergman movie. (In the subtitled film, the actors speak Aramaic and Latin.) Gibson's iconography is wildly eclectic: at various moments his images call to mind the paintings of Caravaggio (the grotesque cherubs who hound Judas to suicide), grisly 15th- and 16th-century paintings of the Crucifixion and Pieta, and such horror movies as "The Exorcist" and "Jacob's Ladder." When Jesus is arrested by the Jewish high priest Caiaphas's men, a fight breaks out: Peter slices off the ear of a soldier and, for the first of many times, Gibson switches to slow motion, inviting us to linger on the physical abuse and humiliation.

There is real power in Gibson's filmmaking: he knows how to work an audience over. The dark, queasy strength of the images

[nebula]

This peculiar, deeply personal expression of the filmmaker's faith is a far cry from the sentimental, pious depictions of Christ that popular culture has often served up.

Good!

(I don't believe "the sentimental, pious depictions of Christ that popular culture has often served up" shows the true Him, anyway.)

[Work in Progress]

I can't believe you posted this, you must have been reading my mind.

Today in church, a sign-up paper was passed around for a group trip to see the movie next Saturday. My husband's eyes lit up, and he signed us up. Immediately, my 13 (next month) year old son asked to go. I had big reservations about it because of this very thing. I already have a problem with him viewing senseless, graphic violence (ala 'terminator'), but I had heard that the movie brings out severe feelings in some and I just didn't know if it was appropriate for an almost-13 year old. It's not just violence - I have no problem with him knowing exactly what was done to his Savior, it's just that I'm afraid.........I can't really put my finger on it. I know full well that, once something is in the mind, it is there forever.......I just don't know whether or not I should allow him to go. We put his name down, and they went and purchased the tickets today, but I still don't know.......your post has me leaning towards "no"...........

[eric]

Well I have seen several movie productions depicting the crucifiction of Jesus and all of them affected me to the point of tears, but this one by Gibson is really something else. I agree with OA that it is more likely to give young children nightmares than bring home the truth and the reason why Christ Had to die so brutally. I think it has been given an R16 rating by our N.Z. censors, which is fair enough as far as i"m concerned. I only hope it has the desired effect on the general public that some christians believe it will and as someone pointed out in a different thread, JESUS is on nearly everyones lips, which in itself cant be a bad thing.

[OneAccord]

WIP:

I would suggest that you not sign him up for the first viewing, and see it for yourself and then decide if it's appropriate for him.I'm sure there will be other opportunities for him to see it.

My littlest is 4 and there's no way I would allow her to see this movie. In fact, I am having trouble with standing in line at the grocery store and having the cover of Time and Newsweek showing these horribly bloody pictures of Jesus where she can see them. It's a very startling image for one her age.

I also have a 13 yo son (today is his birthday in fact) and he has already unfortuantely been exposed to a lot of violent images in video games and movies at friend's houses and elsewhere, so he's a bit more de-sensitized and could probably handle it, but I'm not sure what conclusions he would draw up, would he be revolted and distressed as he should be, would it cause him to love Jesus more, would it give him nightmares, would he get some perverse pleasure in watching it, I have to say I honestly don't know.

I have a 16 yo daughter as well, and I'm not so sure it would benefit her either to have those images imprinted in her mind at this time. Would she really equate this with His love?

We've seen several other Jesus movies, and most have a pretty gory cross scene, so we've watched the nails being driven in before, but apparently this movie takes it to the edge and beyond in graphic images.

[nebula]

Not that I'm a parent or anything - but trying to put myself in the shoes of a child . . . .

I wouldn't put any blanket statements on should or should not. It depends on the child. What has the child proven him/herself to handle? How well would the child understand what was going on?

As for teenagers - I personally believe teenagers are mentally developed enough to understand what is going on and make their own decision - at least at the high school age.

I know where I was with the Lord at that age, and I would have hated it if my parents had decided for me that I couldn't handle it.

I don't know if the children have seen the other versions of Christ's crucifiction, but their reaction to one of those could be a good acid test for seeing worse, maybe?

Just a thought.

[ted]

Happy birthday, Son of One!!

t.

[Andrew007]

I wasn't worried about seeing the movie myself until this thread popped up. So I went to the website and veiwed the teasers.... from what is shown in the teasers, it doesn't look that bad at all. Now I just think that article is completely blowing it out of porportion. I think, like Nebula, it depends on the child, and how much the parent wants to try and keep their children from seeing violence, ect. You cannot make your children live in a box.

[Guest yod]

a small child DEFINITELY should not go.

[tsth]

Ok, here's my thought. How about all you that go and see it this upcoming week. Give us a report in regard to kids, AFTER you have seen it. I'm not planning to go on opening day anyway, so would you share what you think after you've seen it?

Thanks!

In His Love,

Suzanne