Delia Views - Mel Gibson's "The Passion" / Part 1

In the absence of live Delia sightings - plus some of us have to work and therefore cannot keep a Delia-watch - I thought I'd start posting Her Hotness' various writings, in no particular order other than how Yahoo! or Google returns them. Of course, like any dedicated, faithful Delian Scholar, I would try my best to interpret her discourse and try to sound deep.

One of the first articles that I came across was her commentary on Mel Gibson's "The Passion" - I chose this article because I didn't really have to think much and my head kinda hurts right now.

Date: 2004-02-19

Viewing the Finished "Passion"
Brutal, but Not Gratuitous
By Delia Gallagher ROME, FEB 19, 2004 (Zenit.org)


I must admit, I was not chomping at the bit to see Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion of the Christ."

For one, I had heard it was violent, and I cannot stomach violence. Then, I already knew the story and its ending; and all of the pre-release polemics, far from inciting my curiosity, made me feel already fed-up with the film.

But then the call came: an invitation to a private pre-release screening of the final version. Well, we all know, calls must be answered. And that is how I ended up, on Valentine's Day, at the movies with Jesus.

So: it is very violent. It was almost too much to bear. My overriding impression was: What horror! I forced myself to keep my eyes on the screen as the Roman soldiers' steel-hooked whips ripped into the flesh of a writhing Jesus, handcuffed to a marble block, leaving him after perhaps a half-hour of nonstop scourging, a mess of slashes oozing scarlet blood and yellow pus; chunks of his skin spattered on the white granite floor and on the faces of his drunken and mad torturers. All this before he had even been condemned to death.

A listless Jesus, hair matted with blood and one eye fully shut from the beatings, is then covered with a red haircloth digging into the fresh wounds, a crown of spiked thorns crammed into his bloodied head and taken before Pilate and the crowd for the famous "Crucify him!" scene.

Jesus is so completely physically reduced at this point that if one didn't know the story, one would expect him to die right there. The coming crucifixion, one thinks, will almost be a relief.

Is the violence exaggerated? Probably so. Is it a defensible use of artistic license? Yes, I think.

Any Catholic who has sat through years of annual memorials of the Stations of the Cross and three-hour-long Good Friday services with readings from the passion, will surely never have meditated on the suffering of Jesus in quite this way. The violence may be excessive but it is not gratuitous.

To Be Continued...

The first thing that strikes me is ... Delia got to see the movie... for free. Now, I don't know how much movie tickets cost in Rome, but if you're in the US, it could be a pretty sum. By the time you pay for your popcorn, soda, Goobers - I'd spend Valentine's Day watching Passion for free as well. She was silent, however, on the inclusion of snacks but I guess it's a mystery for future Delian Scholars to discover.

Delia started her analysis with how much she hates violence... and then described in full, gory detail scenes which we can now only assume were seen reluctantly and probably through half-pried fingers covering her eyes. Despite her self-proclaimed dislike of violence, it is of utmost importance to note that Delia sanctioned its use for this film in a very strong, singular tone that leaves no room for misinterpretation: "Is the violence exaggerated? Probably so. Is it a defensible use of artistic license? Yes, I think."

And she uttered those now famous words: "The violence may be excessive but it is not gratuitous." Future Delian Scholars will continue to ponder the impact of this statement, and debate the meaning of the word "gratuitous". While "excessive" and "gratuitious" seem like an oxymoron when used in the same sentence, we can presume that Delia was overwhelmed by now - with the blood, Jim Caviezel's makeup, the free movie pass without good, old gooey, buttery American popcorn??? - that she somehow justified excess with the license to exceed.

Huh?

Given the highly sensitive and difficult nature of Delia Gallagher's thesis and my headache, I believe that this analysis warrants a continuation.