The War on Mel Gibson: The Media Vs. the Passion

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but limited
Review: This book will mainly be of interest to the evangelical Christian who has been irritated by the media attacks on Mel Gibson's movie, attacks motivated largely by political fear of the so-called "religious right" and by anti-Christian sentiments (where "Christian" is used to refer to orthodox, evangelical, and traditional Christians, as opposed to the more socially acceptable liberal Christians).

The book will do nothing, I believe, to persuade the person who did not like The Passion or who despises evangelical Christianity. For most readers, who already accept the author's premise, the book may serve as little more than a means of catharsis and a call to action.

The author spends a great deal of time quoting negative reviews of the movie, explaining the political and religious assumptions behind those reviews, and dismissing the arguments they contain. He does not mount a thorough artistic defense of the movie, or spend a great deal of time explaining why it is worthy of admiration (though there are scattered references to its virtues, including its powerful use of symbolism). The author also discusses Hollywood in general, the role of the boycott, and films of the past with positive or negative attitudes towards Christianity.

The book relies rather heavily on the writings of other religious and political thinkers, such as Rabbi Lapin and Michael Medved, and he quotes large portions of the latter's Hollywood vs. America. In other words, the author largely regurgitates (often through direct quotation) the arguments of others who have already expressed similar ideas in better ways.

North does make two rather interesting points, however, both of which appear in his conclusion. First, he demonstrates one example of the old Bible adage "you reap what you sow": Hollywood has spent years pushing a message of moral relativism, and now it must contend with a generation that does not consider it wrong to download intellectual property (including music and movies) from the internet without paying. He also tells Christians something they need to hear--that we have a "moral obligation before God to be the best" at every aspect of culture. The author is right to say that too many Christians have surrendered the realm of culture to the secular humanists, instead of producing great art and literature inspired by Christianity.

All in all, though I agree more or less with the author's assessment of The Passion and the motives of most of those who attacked it, I don't think the book had much to offer. Although occasionally interesting, it was a bit disjointed, a bit polemic, and a bit unoriginal. Finally, the prominent placement of a website URL at the bottom of absolutely every page was rather annoying.