Some wonder about ‘Passion’ money’s fate
Steven Spielberg donated profits from the ‘Schindler’s List’ DVD to the Shoah Foundation.
Since its debut on Ash Wednesday, “The Passion of the Christ” has become a cultural phenomenon, despite its extremely graphic violence.
And it has been the source of debate between friends, families and strangers. I had the privilege of witnessing a minor row between a mother and daughter regarding the movie, over beliefs that are better off kept private.
Debates between myself and my best friend over the movie and what its director was trying to accomplish have been spirited, to put it mildly.
And I’ve had the pleasure of talking to Richard, a priest in the Northeast Ohio area (and, no, Richard isn’t his real name and I won’t say which city he resides in so I can respect his privacy on this issue).
Richard isn’t the typical priest I’ve run across during this passion play. In fact, there would be some who would consider him to be sacrilegious. Why? Because he’s a Catholic priest, yet he fully recognizes the shortcomings of his church and religion in general and how out of tune much of it is.
Richard didn’t encourage his congregation to rush out and see “The Passion of the Christ,” making him one of the few clergy that I am aware of who didn’t. In fact, in our conversations, it was fairly evident that he was ignoring Mel Gibson’s movie.
But as the grosses came in and it became obvious that Gibson would reap a windfall from “The Passion,” Richard made a very interesting statement to me: “I’m curious to see what he’s going to do with all of that money.”
Indeed. A Wall Street Journal story reported last week that Gibson stands to make $350 million in personal profits from “The Passion of the Christ.” The report also suggests that is a conservative estimate given that there’s still the international box office, which often surpasses domestic grosses, and home video sales to consider. (The domestic gross so far is more than $268 million.)
That’s a lot of money to make on the darker side of a story that in other forms has offered more in the way of hope and faith than it did in Gibson’s film. Having seen “The Passion of the Christ” twice, I can tell you that watching Jesus of Nazareth beaten to a bloody pulp two days in a row was no thrill and I realize that was Gibson’s goal.
However, he also missed the fundamental point of the story of Jesus: faith, hope and charity. Faith that there is something more powerful and wiser than ourselves. Hope that humans will eventually rise above the pettiness that still causes us to wage war with one another or discount one another simply because of our belief system.
Above all, Jesus was about charity and love, helping other people. He fed the hungry and clothed the naked. Gibson would be wise to remember that when he’s counting the money that is surely pouring in now that “The Passion of the Christ” has reigned as the top movie in the country.
He would be prudent to consider what another of his Hollywood colleagues did with money he made from a tragic story that deserved to be told.
Steven Spielberg recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the release of “Schindler’s List” by releasing it to DVD. Spielberg didn’t take a nickel of the profits from that film. Instead, he directed the profits (which he considered blood money, according to one recent interview) into the Shoah Foundation, an organization dedicated to remembering the Jewish Holocaust and using it to educate all people about the evils of bigotry and racism, a logical and compassionate use of the money.
Christians are fond of asking “What would Jesus do?” Perhaps those who plunked down their hard-earned cash should ask “What should Mel do?”
For me, the answer is clear. Considering his claims of God moving him to make the movie, perhaps he could move Gibson to donate a significant portion of the profits to legitimate charities. The last time I checked, there were still hungry to feed and poor people to clothe and shelter.
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George M. Thomas: gmthomasthebeaconjournal.com
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(c) 2004, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).
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AP-NY-03-25-04 1106EST
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