John Whitehead's Commentary
Gibson's "Passion" Falls Flat
Mel Gibson's controversial movie, The Passion of the Christ, which supposedly chronicled the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus, became the eighth-highest-grossing domestic film of all time. Much of that success can be attributed to the fervent support of churches and evangelical Christians, many of whom labeled the movie one of the greatest evangelistic tools in history.
The last film before The Passion to have any evangelistic impact was, surprisingly, The Exorcist. As it crept into theaters in early 1974 with little, if any, fanfare (the studio that produced it only placed it in a few cities), audience hysteria amazed even those who worked on the film. Within weeks of the first public screenings, word of mouth increased ticket sales as stories circulated of fainting, vomiting, heart attacks, miscarriages and religious conversions.
What gave The Exorcist such an impact was the era in which it was made. The western world was in the grips of the death of God movement. Several years before in April 1966, Time magazine's cover asked "Is God Dead?" And The Exorcist, which focused on the ultimate evil of demonic possession, shocked audiences into seeing evil as a true reality. To escape such evil, some even reached out to God.
The Passion likewise touches on evil but mainly focuses on the torture Christ endured on the way to the cross. Some viewers felt that there was such an emphasis on violence that the "why" of Christ's suffering was lost mostly in the gore. This is due in part to the fact that Gibson filmed The Passion in the traditional mode of the horror film, replete with excessive violence and demonic monsters.
The times are now much different than when The Exorcist riveted viewers. There is little strength to the death of God theology anymore. In fact, the great majority of Americans say they believe in God, with virtually every politician these days claiming to be a born-again Christian. Due in part to the success of Christian evangelical churches, New Age and other religions in gaining a more public exposure in American society, there is an openness toward religion that did not exist in 1974. Thus, the emphasis on violence and references to evil in The Passion did not shock the masses that saw the film. Is it any wonder, then, that The Passion of the Christ should pass not with a bang, but a whimper?
That is the conclusion of a recent study conducted by the Barna Research Group, the gold standard in data about U.S. Protestant Christians. This is quite startling when one considers that nearly one out of every three adults in the United States (31%) claimed to have seen The Passion. According to Barna, approximately 36 million adults who saw the movie were "born again" Christians, while an additional 31 million were not. And the film viewers generally gave the movie a high quality rating.
Despite this, overall only one out of ten viewers of The Passion (10%) indicated that they had changed some aspect of their religious beliefs and practices in response to the movie. Among the most startling outcomes drawn from the research is the apparent absence of a direct evangelistic impact by the movie. Despite marketing campaigns that labeled the movie the "greatest evangelistic tool" of our era, "less than one-tenth of one percent of those who saw the film," the Barna study concludes, "stated that they made a profession of faith or accepted Jesus Christ as their savior in reaction to the film's content."
Equally surprising, due to the great push the film received in evangelical churches, was the lack of impact on people's determination to engage in evangelism or "soul winning." Again from the Barna study: "Less than one-half of one percent of the audience said they were motivated to be more active in sharing their faith in Christ with others as a result of having seen the movie."
George Barna, the director of the research, explained why The Passion eventually fell flat: "Immediate reaction to the movie seemed to be quite intense, but people's memories are short and are easily redirected in a media-saturated, fast-paced culture like ours. The typical adult had already watched another six movies at the time of the survey interview, not including dozens of hours of television programs they had also watched."
One of the lessons from this situation, according to Barna, is that a major cultural impact or social and/or personal transformation is not likely to result from a one-time exposure to a specific media product. "In an environment in which people spend more than 40 hours each week absorbing a range of messages from multiple media," notes Barna, "it is rare that a single media experience will radically reorient someone's life. The greatest impact through media seems to come from constant exposure to a consistent message that is well-presented and is personally meaningful or useful."
The fact of the matter is that The Passion was generally well received by those who saw it. And the film obviously caused some to pause and think more in terms of personal religious values. However, America is the land of constant entertainment distractions--whether in the form of movies, television or politics. Indeed, within hours those who had seen The Passion were exposed to a myriad of competing messages that immediately began to diminish the effect of what they had just seen about the life of Christ. Such is the sad state of modern culture.
The last film before The Passion to have any evangelistic impact was, surprisingly, The Exorcist. As it crept into theaters in early 1974 with little, if any, fanfare (the studio that produced it only placed it in a few cities), audience hysteria amazed even those who worked on the film. Within weeks of the first public screenings, word of mouth increased ticket sales as stories circulated of fainting, vomiting, heart attacks, miscarriages and religious conversions.
What gave The Exorcist such an impact was the era in which it was made. The western world was in the grips of the death of God movement. Several years before in April 1966, Time magazine's cover asked "Is God Dead?" And The Exorcist, which focused on the ultimate evil of demonic possession, shocked audiences into seeing evil as a true reality. To escape such evil, some even reached out to God.
The Passion likewise touches on evil but mainly focuses on the torture Christ endured on the way to the cross. Some viewers felt that there was such an emphasis on violence that the "why" of Christ's suffering was lost mostly in the gore. This is due in part to the fact that Gibson filmed The Passion in the traditional mode of the horror film, replete with excessive violence and demonic monsters.
The times are now much different than when The Exorcist riveted viewers. There is little strength to the death of God theology anymore. In fact, the great majority of Americans say they believe in God, with virtually every politician these days claiming to be a born-again Christian. Due in part to the success of Christian evangelical churches, New Age and other religions in gaining a more public exposure in American society, there is an openness toward religion that did not exist in 1974. Thus, the emphasis on violence and references to evil in The Passion did not shock the masses that saw the film. Is it any wonder, then, that The Passion of the Christ should pass not with a bang, but a whimper?
That is the conclusion of a recent study conducted by the Barna Research Group, the gold standard in data about U.S. Protestant Christians. This is quite startling when one considers that nearly one out of every three adults in the United States (31%) claimed to have seen The Passion. According to Barna, approximately 36 million adults who saw the movie were "born again" Christians, while an additional 31 million were not. And the film viewers generally gave the movie a high quality rating.
Despite this, overall only one out of ten viewers of The Passion (10%) indicated that they had changed some aspect of their religious beliefs and practices in response to the movie. Among the most startling outcomes drawn from the research is the apparent absence of a direct evangelistic impact by the movie. Despite marketing campaigns that labeled the movie the "greatest evangelistic tool" of our era, "less than one-tenth of one percent of those who saw the film," the Barna study concludes, "stated that they made a profession of faith or accepted Jesus Christ as their savior in reaction to the film's content."
Equally surprising, due to the great push the film received in evangelical churches, was the lack of impact on people's determination to engage in evangelism or "soul winning." Again from the Barna study: "Less than one-half of one percent of the audience said they were motivated to be more active in sharing their faith in Christ with others as a result of having seen the movie."
George Barna, the director of the research, explained why The Passion eventually fell flat: "Immediate reaction to the movie seemed to be quite intense, but people's memories are short and are easily redirected in a media-saturated, fast-paced culture like ours. The typical adult had already watched another six movies at the time of the survey interview, not including dozens of hours of television programs they had also watched."
One of the lessons from this situation, according to Barna, is that a major cultural impact or social and/or personal transformation is not likely to result from a one-time exposure to a specific media product. "In an environment in which people spend more than 40 hours each week absorbing a range of messages from multiple media," notes Barna, "it is rare that a single media experience will radically reorient someone's life. The greatest impact through media seems to come from constant exposure to a consistent message that is well-presented and is personally meaningful or useful."
The fact of the matter is that The Passion was generally well received by those who saw it. And the film obviously caused some to pause and think more in terms of personal religious values. However, America is the land of constant entertainment distractions--whether in the form of movies, television or politics. Indeed, within hours those who had seen The Passion were exposed to a myriad of competing messages that immediately began to diminish the effect of what they had just seen about the life of Christ. Such is the sad state of modern culture.
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
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