The Passion

What is the deal with The Passion anyways? Personally, I don't want to pay $7.00 to see a guy flogged for 2 hours, but I think that the ADL and Simon Weisenthal Center, organizations which I respect, should be spending their time fighting real anti-semitism, rather than a religious movie which most critics, including Conservative Judaism, agree is not anti-semetic. In Saudi Arabia, they ban Jewish people from getting Visas to enter the country. Now that is real anti-semitism. In Egypt, the state sponsored television ran a miniseries on "The Elders of Zion," a book which claims Jews conspire to conquer the world. That is anti-semitism. From what I've heard, "The Passion" bends backwards to shy away from blaming the Jews. I hope that now that it is out I hope the controversy is put to rest.

I am not going to give the movie a free pass on violence however. I do not necessarily blame the movie for being violent, but idiot audience members who think seeing it is part of their children's religious education. Roger Ebert, who has seen thousands of movies over the years, said that "The Passion" was the most violent and gory one he has ever seen. I see pictures on CNN of children waiting in line to see it. This is unacceptable. From what i've heard, the Movie is boarderline NC-17. Parents should know much better, especially since it has an R rating already.