All this talk about "The Passion" -- we FELL FOR IT, PEOPLE!!

[Bake]

Just like the media wanted us to. Instead of working for the defeat of the Boy King, we have allowed ourselves to fall for the Big Trap of the wingnuts! We have taken our eyes off the prize, because (a) the non-Christians among us feel compelled to trot out their pet arguments, (b) the Christians among us feel compelled to defend ourselves, and (c) the media told us it mattered.

IT'S JUST A MOVIE, PEOPLE! Eyes on the prize, fercryinoutloud!!

Bake

[Coventina]

1. "Talk About The Passion"

Okay, now I have to go find my REM CDs.....
:D

[catzies]

8. GMTA Coventina!

LOL! Murmur's around here somewhere... :P

[PVnRT]

2. Ding ding ding ding

Congratulations to all of you who bought hook, line, and sinker into the media hype around this. Good work.

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. You're exactly right!

I completely forgot that I have no ability to see more than one issue at a time. What a stupid moron I was! While I was talking about "The Passion", I completely forgot all of the other important issues!

Thank you so much for reminding me what an idiot I am. :eyes:

[PVnRT]

5. The point is

there is controversy about this movie simply because the media is doing everything they can to hype it up. Before all of this began, I seem to remember hearing it might get play in a few large markets, but not much else - now it's everywhere, because that's all the media wants to talk about.

It's a movie. It will bring down civilization. If it is anti-Semitic, or anti-whatever, then don't go see it. I'm not.

[Pale Blue Dot]

7. Wow. Now get it!

I feel that the movie is controversial because the media told me to, not because of my own personal values and beliefs that I have been building for 35 years! What a dupe I am!

Please quit while you're ahead.

[PVnRT]

9. Would you have even heard of it

without the media hype?

And spare me the snide fucking comments, I'm really not in the mood to take anyone's shit today.

[Pale Blue Dot]

12. Yes. I am a film fan and heard of this film a long time ago.

I'm not in the mood for anyone to tell me what I should or should not be paying attention to and caring about, so I guess we're even.

[BurtWorm]

4. Damn! What was I thinking about, talking about what is all over the media!

What a tool I've been! :evilfrown:

[bluedeminredstate]

6. It was front page

above the fold in the Richmond paper this morning. A big old picture of Christ with his crown of thorns and blood oozing down his face.

Mel Gibson is one sly MF... He's so "victimized" that he'll probably only make a 500% return on his investment.

[tom_paine]

10. Well said, bake!

Though I'm not sure EVERY story that comes to the fore is a carefully crafted Rovian Distraction.

Just like I'm sure that of Wellstone, Carnahan, Kennedy Jr, Heinz, and Tower, at least ONE of the plane crashes was actually an accident.

Perhaps even two of them.

[chookie]

11. I never once wavered

I am proud to say that I have never wavered my attention from Michael Jackson, in spite of all the media blitz highlighting Mel. Heaven knows I have taken a lot of heat here at DU, trying to get people to remember that MJ is the only important story in the world today, and that the election and world crises are just sideshows. /sarcasm off

"It's just a movie. "

So was "Triumph of the Will".

Given that fundamentalism is a global movement which has a dramatic effect on current events, and that the current occupation of the White House in a dominionist, and his most loyal base is evangelicals -- gee, is it really so irrelevant to be interested in the social phenomenon of this film?

[bowens43]

13. It this is their 'Big Trap' then we have nothing to worry about.....

Not everything is an evil conspiracy by the media to defeat the forces of good.The movie is controversial, it will be discussed. No big deal.

Did it really distract you or anyone you know to the point that you forgot about the presidential election?

[Bake]

18. Judging by the number of threads, somebody was distracted!

It fills up the Lounge AND GD. It gets the non-Christians here riled up against the Christians and vice versa. The threads have HUNDREDS of responses.

And Bush's TANG "service", WMD, lies, etc. are OFF the front pages and the cable channels. I had to hunt all over the tube last night just to get results of the Dem primaries/caucuses!

So you tell me. Between "The Passion" and gay marriage, neither of which is going to bring down civilization as we know it, what else is in the news?

By the way, does anybody know if we've lost more Americans in Iraq in the last few days?

Bake

[Sparkle]

14. I disagree.

After this movie has been out for a couple of weeks, we won't hear that much about it anymore. There are a lot of Americans that don't bother with movies.

[vi5]

15. That was a nice dismissal of non-believers....

We get "pet arguments" and you have to defend yourself? Sorry but as a non-believe I feel more like I"m defending myself day in and day out. It cuts both ways, so your dismissal is not particularly appreciated.

I don't think it's the non-believers that are getting worked up over this movie. It's the press which is giving it relentless coverage and all the people who keep asking me if I"m going to see it.

I'd say the believers are just as much responsible for a big deal being made out of this movie.

[Bake]

20. I'm sorry if you thought it was a dismissal

It wasn't. I've read some of the threads. I tried to read all of them until they just overwhelmed the forums. Very few of them have been defending Mel or his movie. The ones that have, have quickly turned into the expected flame-fests. I don't think I've even posted in any of the threads, although I could be mistaken--I might have, early on. Clearly, the official line around here is that the movie is evil, antisemitic, anti-intellectual, and everything else bad.

It may BE a bad movie. I don't really care. I've also tried to avoid all the "religion is bad" threads that have popped up too. But don't act like Christians have nothing to feel "defensive" about around here.

Bake

[vi5]

21. Not nothing to be defensive about but....

...but if you want to compare the number of things in real life and in politics and in day to day discussions that I as a non-believer have to defend myself against or have to put up with endless discussions of, versus what a christian has to put up with on a message board for liberals with just 39,000 members then I'll take that comparison any day.

My point was that what non-believers stand for are just "pet arguments" but what christians had were "defending themselves". I would imagine you would justifiably bejust as upset if I said something about your "pet fairy tales" or "your nice little stories" wouldn't you?

[Bake]

22. Let me rephrase "pet arguments"

Because I do not intend that as a dismissive term. What I mean are the standard arguments that come up -- some of which have merit and have been discussed for literally hundreds of years and will continue to be discussed, and some of which are just flame bait. I try to have the utmost respect for the opinions of others, as long as I feel that respect is reciprocal.

Obviously, I offended you by the use of the term "pet argument." For that, I sincerely apologize. I did not intend it to be dismissive.

My first philosophy class in college used a text entitled The Enduring Questions. What I referred to as "standard arguments" are indeed the enduring questions of the present debate, and there are good people on both sides of these questions.

What I don't back down from is my assertion that the current "craze" of threads about this movie is a waste of bandwidth and energy that can better be spent on removing Smirk from the White House.

Bake

[vi5]

25. Understood, and an apology in return.....

Lately with religion popping up in places that I feel it shouldn't I have become very defensive. I come from a devout Christian family who I love and who are amazing. So I am not anti-christian at all.

[stopbush]

16. There's plenty of hours in the day to walk and chew gum...

at different times.

Besides, the media wasn't exactly 24/7 on Mel's movie. Last week's earth-shattering story revolved around Carrie Bradshaw's fate on Sex in the City.

Who says there's a dearth of hard news?

[LynneSin]

17. Like an Ann Coulter Book on the NYTimes - Passion is being BULKED (+)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=529&e=1&u=/ap/20040225/ap_en_mo/film_the_passion

An estimated 6,000 people filled all 20 auditoriums at a Cinemark theater in this Dallas suburb to watch the film. All the tickets had been bought and donated by a local churchgoer

There was also an article in my local paper yesterday about how a local church was buying out showings of the movie and giving the tickets away for those who want to see it.

So it will be a best seller, but is it a best seller because folks want to see the movie or folks will see the movie because they can get a free ticket???

[proud patriot]

19. I happen to agree wholeheartedly

:thumbsup:

[Kamika]

23. Gibson is a master of publicity

Only Salman Rushdie beats him in that departement

[Screaming Lord Byron]

26. I think you're going to have to explain that remark, young lady.

[Kamika]

29. Ok

He makes a small statement like how ppl are going to hell, it gets blown up, everyone discusses it. Ofcourse ppl will then discuss his new movie. = They go and see it because he got tons and tons and tons of free publicity.

Same thing with Salman in the satanic verses.. he created such a stir so he became super famous..


Salman wouldnt have been known to the general public today if Iran hadn't issued a fatwa, and if it wasn't for Mel's one or two statements / together with rumors of anti semitism only the religious ppl would go see the passion

[Screaming Lord Byron]

30. OK, but I don't think Salman was looking for that kind of publicity.

And there'll be no Fatwa for Mel.
I suspect Salman Rushdie would rather have not become famous, what with the 24 hour police guard, ten years in hiding and so on.

[Kamika]

31. I don't know

I believe it was planned .. by both

[ScreamingMeemie]

24. I didn't.

I honestly have not read or listened to one review,editorial, news report on this subject. I only see it here and rarely click on it. It's entertainment, and I'm only into entertainment gossip...like Bennifer...hehehehehehehe ;)

[terrya]

27. When Mel does a remake of "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken"...

THEN I'll get excited!

:-)

Terry

[DinahMoeHum]

28. I dunno, the reviews are coming in, and so far, it looks as if. . .

this movie SUCKS A BIG ONE.

Move right along, nothing to see. . .


:evilfrown: