Abstract
Gibson’s film extends a long tradition of Euro-American passion plays and martyr dramas, related also to the ritual sacrifice of “god-actors” in other cultures. Yet, the extreme violence of this popular religious movie involves the devotional dangers of cinematic sadomasochism and melodramatic paranoia, with Jews, Romans, and devils as villainous stereotypes–as well as the potential value of tragic catharsis–on a vast scale for today’s mass-media audience, especially in the post-9/11 context.
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Mark Pizzato is Associate Professor of Theatre at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His publications include Edges of Loss: From Modern Drama to Postmodern Theory (Michigan, 1998) and Theatres of Human Sacrifice: From Ancient Ritual to Screen Violence (SUNY, 2004).
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Pizzato, M. A Post-9/11 Passion: Review of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. Pastoral Psychol 53, 371–376 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-005-2064-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-005-2064-5