New Perspectives on Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ: Review Essay

Abstract

New Perspectives on Mel Gibson's of Christ: Review Essay Ann W. Astell Purdue University Mel Gibson's Bible: Religion, Popular Culture, and of Christ, edited by Timothy K. Beal and Tod Linafelt. Afterlives of Bible 1. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006. 208 pp. 11 illustrations. Paperback edition, $16.00. Mel Gibson's Passion: Controversy, and Its Implications, edited by Zev Garber. Supplements in Jewish Studies 1. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2006. 192 pp. $14.95. A blockbuster in theaters, Mel Gibson's of Christ is also an academic phenomenon, in part because of well publicized (and now litigious) criticism of screenplay by biblical scholars, theologians, and historians of religion-a criticism that began months before film's release on Ash Wednesday, February 25, 2004. Since then at least seven volumes of scholarly essays concerning film have appeared-five of them published in 2004. This review addresses two most recent edited collections: Mel Gibson's edited by Timothy K. Beal and Tod Linafelt, and Mel Gibson's Passion, edited by Zev Garber. Both titles inaugurate a book series. Mel Gibson's is first volume in Shofar Supplements in Jewish Studies, a series dedicated to pedagogical materials, for which Zev Garber is general editor. Mel Gibson's Bible is first volume in 'Afterlives of Bible, a series devoted to studying the rich and complex histories of Jewish and Christian biblical literature (p. 4), for which Beal and Linafelt serve as general editors. Together they stand as notable, signatory works that set a model and pose an agenda for subsequent volumes in their respective series. Each volume has a three-part division and an impressive group of contributors. Mel Gibson's Bible begins with The as Interpretation, with essays by Jack Miles, George M. Smiga, Tod Linafelt, Vincent J. Miller, Bruce Chilton, John Dominic Crossan, Jane Schaberg, and Mark D. Jordan and Kent L. Brintnall-all of which analyze and interpret primarily in relation to its religious sources (p. 6). Part 2 focuses on ethical and theological implications of Passion's particular presentation of Christian Gospel (p. 6). Paula Fredriksen, Susannah Heschel, Richard L. Rubenstein, Margaret R. Miles, Mark Douglas, and Mark C. Taylor contribute essays to this section. Finally, Part 3 explores film as a popular cultural-religious phenomenon (p. 7) and includes reflections by Thomas J.J. Altizer, Amy Hollywood, William G. Little, Jose Marquez, Jody Enders, Robert M. Franklin, and Timothy K. Beal. Section 1 of Mel Gibson's Passion, entitled Reflections on Film, includes a miscellany of essays by Irving Greenberg (reprinted from Commonweal), Penny Wheeler, Yvonne Kozlovsky-Golan, Bruce Zuckerman, Klaus Hodl, and Richard Holdredge. Section 2 follows with essays focused on Scriptural Jesus and Gibson's Passion by Peter Haas, Zev Garber, Gordon D. Young, S. Scott Bartchy (reprinted from Pastoral Psychology), Louis H. Feldman, and Jacob Neusner. In third section, nine authors-Gordon R. Mork, Samuel Edelman and Carol Edelman, John T. Pawlikowski, Richard Libowitz, James F. Moore, Steven Leonard Jacobs, Stuart D. Robertson, and Joseph A. Edelheit-comment on film from perspective of Diversity and Dialogue. Mel Gibson's includes a useful bibliography and an index. Advance reviews of of Christ stirred fear that film would intensify prejudice against Jews, blamed historically as Christ-killers, and actually incite antisemitic violence. Two years after its release, contributors to these volumes must honestly admit that no such fall-out resulted. In fact, according to a national poll of 1,003 adults conducted by Gary Tobin (cited in essay by Edelman and Edelman in MGP, p. …