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The tiresome black-and-white knee-jerk reactions on this board give the typical blockheaded conservative a run for his/her money.
Just because one is a fiscal conservative doesn't mean one is a social conservative, etc., etc., etc.
Gibson is a pre-Vatican II Catholic with pretty strict beliefs along these lines, but he's not an economic thug or a racist or many other things that fall into the conservative camp.
See the movie "Conspiracy Theory" some time.
He praised Michael Moore for "Fahrenheit 911", much to the addle-headed confusion and outrage of reactionaries everywhere.
On most social issues, he's quite a liberal, and this is consistent with a lot of the traditional stances of the Catholic Church in this country. (Remember, he WAS born in the United States.)
To dismiss him as an actor is not only unfair, it's incorrect. To do so is to suggest that he's just playing the crowd for cynical gain and either doesn't truly believe in anything or is willing to lie to cover his true intents. Nothing could be further from the truth.
This guy, for all his many faults, stands up and says what he believes and doesn't shy away from most of it. He also puts his money where his mouth is; "The Passion of the Christ" was completely funded out of his own personal money, so for him to reap a HUGE windfall of profit is to his credit.
I personally hate the movie because it portrays anyone who doesn't believe in Jesus as a grotesquery, either mentally deficient, drunk, evil, greedy or just plain icky. This I find to be childish dismissal of anyone who disagrees and a form of dangerous bigotry. I also dislike the movie because it's not about anything; it's merely a travelogue of the events at the time, not addressing any reason for any of it. It's also a masochistic and sadistic bit of grand guignol spectacle. I also dislike religion, so that's a big issue. The point of the movie is that he went through such excruciating pain for us that we should fall at his feet in obedience. That's a crock. If you believe he's God Jr., then he knows he's immortal; the real agony of torture is the fear of death, crippling or disfigurement. God Jr. wouldn't have any such fears; he knows he's immortal. Big damned deal; he didn't do dick.
Nonetheless, he made the movie he wanted to, and stuck to his guns.
Yes, he's a difficult mix of beliefs, but when it comes to social and economic fair play, he's got a good heart and should be recognized for it. He's also an important player, and should be recognized as such.
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