Sociology: Mass Media

Prior to 2004 actor, Mel Gibson was mostly known for his cinematic performances in Braveheart, The Patriot, the Lethal Weapon series, along with a countless other film appearances. But in the past few months, the anticipation of Gibson's independent film, The Passion of the Christ, has become the subject of controversy in several different communities and realms of society. Mel Gibson has become known as an ultra-conservative, devout, "by the book", Roman Catholic who went against a predominantly Jewish run Hollywood in the hopes to produce a film about the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life. Many felt that the movie was going to cause outrage across the country and outside the United States due to the possibility of it being interpreted as having an anti-Semitic nature. Fortunately for Gibson, controversy, when depicted through the media, also produces interest, and as a result his Passion was able to become a success, in if at nothing else, a financial aspect. Gibson invested a substantial portion of his money into this project, making it a colossal sized "independent film". Through the media and his celebrity status he was able to raise support and excitement for his project. It is interesting to delve into the different media sources to see what "news" they chose to report in regards to the movie. The movie itself, is a form of media, that the public is able to become totally immersed in the project. Many of the sources give reviews, reactions, and side stories about how the movie has influenced the public. All of these aspects help to stir up the popularity of the movie as well as help the media outlet produce more sales. Everyone loves controversy, thus they flock to newspapers, televisions, and online periodicals to find out what all the "fuss" is all about. It is interesting to see how the Media form of the film itself, and also the other media sources that have latched on to its success, have influenced the public.

To begin, it is important to look at the reasons this movie is put out in the first place. As an ultra-conservative Roman Catholic, Mel Gibson appears to want to depict his own personal views of how the judgment, suffering, and death and resurrection of Jesus happened as he has researched it. He cannot merely make an entire movie for free, thus he must market his product. Unfortunately in this case though, his product is religion. Gibson is able to use his celebrity status in order to do television and radio appearances to promote his product, as well as build an official website dedicated to his product. So, do we really have to go to church to receive a ritual or experience, or can it be packaged into a two and a half hour entertainment, movie going experience to gain a profit? Looking at Gibson's website, www.thepassionofthechrist.com, we see how Gibson uses this media outlet to promote his film. The website contains no information on the life of Christ, links to other religious websites, or any other type of in-depth religious aspects. One would think if Gibson's main goal was to use the media for the purpose of educating people on this even of Jesus' life through the media, these things would be included. Instead, if you are to peruse this website, you will be able to find out how to purchase The Passion of the Christ Soundtrack, purchase The Passion of the Christ tickets online, purchase your official Passion poster, or purchase several other "officially licensed products for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (www.thepassionofthechrist.com)." When looking at what this media website is doing, it is important to remember that this is not a website promoting another Batman movie. This is a movie that takes a serious nature involving millions and millions of people's faith in a higher form of being, as well as firm beliefs that are held deep within people's hearts. It is understandable that Mel Gibson put a lot of his own personal money into the making of this film, but he appears to walk a fine ethical line in using media sources to turn a profit with this specific type of movie. These types of things are a prime example of how media is sometimes able to corrupt what are often sacred aspects of some culture's lives. Thanks to this film, we can now buy replica nails on a leather thong for $12.99, described on the sales website www.catholicsupply.com as "The Passion of Christ Nail Pendant Women/Children".

It seems that this form of movie media has even been able to be used as a substitute, or enhancement, of religious rituals. The Passion of the Christ earned an estimated seventeen million dollars this year during Holy Week, which was an increase of sixty-one percent from previous weekend it showed (New York Times). Many Christian people used this media form during the holy week to reflect and refresh their memories on the death and crucifixion of their savior. This movie is not your typical, "call your girlfriend up, pick her up at six, buy a large Coke and some popcorn, and watch a flick" type of movie that people go to see though. Leaving the movie, you may notice that when it finishes and everyone gets out of their seats, there is an eerie silence throughout the theatre. While people file out to their cars, it almost seems as though they are all members of a funeral procession. The walk out of the theatre shares a unique resemblance with the way in which people tend to respectively walk out of a church service. When looking at this, we see that Gibson has managed to make a ritual type of film that has appeal to the masses. In total, as of that weekend, the movie had made over 354.8 million dollars, which ranks it in the top 10 for highest grossing films of all time. The Passion served as a ritual experience for many movie going spectators, as it seemed they went to the movie more as a type of church service, then for the entertainment value of going to the movies. Gibson can be credited with using this form of movie media to bring about a new, modern way of which we celebrate our faiths and spiritual beliefs.

Remember though, he does this while making a tidy profit through his movie. The Passion photography book that was released is still is on the New York Times nonfiction best-seller list (New York Times). Also, the soundtrack, and other jewelry items are said to be selling well. Newsweek magazine notes that Gibson has revolutionized the movie media industry with what he's done. Because he invested a lot of his money, financing entirely the thirty million dollar project, with its success he is receiving a substantial amount of profits. Now that he was able to successfully make his own movie, this very well could set a new trend of big names celebrities such as Julia Roberts or Tom Cruise to make their own movies, so they to could generate more