Anti-Semite?

Mel Gibson's Apocalypto came out on top this past weekend, making $15 million in box office sales.

Mel Gibson came out on top again as well.

I don't know if Mel Gibson's an anti-Semite and I don't really care. If he is, that sucks; but I try not to let my opinion of an entertainer's personal life dictate my view of their work. I don't care much when someone says that Russell Crowe threw a phone or Sean Penn hit a reporter. If I were hounded all day by obnoxious reporters I'd probably hit one too.

When Mel Gibson released Braveheart eleven years ago, he proved he could direct and produce a succesful movie. So he did it again in 2004 with The Passion of the Christ. The Passion created a big uproar before it was even released: Gibson was accused of inflaming anti-semitism, and in blaming Jews for the death of Christ.

The thing is the New Testament does blame a group of Jews for Christ's death. You can't really blame The Passion for bringing it up, without also blaming the New Testament. And then you can't leave it out of the movie since it's critical to the crucifixion story. [Note: there were some valid concerns brought up about the portrayal of the Jews in the movie as well--but I think they were secondary to this main concern about Christ's death.] Possibly because of this uproar Gibson had a difficult time finding a distributor.

I think Gibson has cut his ties with the media groups...many of which are run or financed by Jewish individuals or firms. I think these people love the fact that Gibson made anti-semitic remarks while intoxicated. I think these people are not going to let the public forget it. Is Mel Gibson an anti-semite? Maybe...(I've a few thoughts about what makes an anti-semite. More to come in my next entry.) Did Mel Gibson make The Passion due to his anti-semitism? Doubtful.

Am I interested in seeing Apocalypto? Heck yeah.