March 17, 2005

Expert: Violent passion dramas distort biblical accounts

As Easter approaches, a Purdue University historian says people who watch Mel Gibson's passion play film should be careful that its violent portrayal of Christ's death does not distort their attitudes.

"'The Passion of the Christ' is a benchmark for portrayal of Jesus' passion, his suffering, during his last week on earth," says Gordon R. Mork, a professor of history and Jewish studies who has studied anti-Semitic messages in passion plays. "As people watch and talk about various performances of the passion drama, Mel Gibson's film will spark discussion for many years to come about how passion dramas should be done or how they should not be done."

The Gibson film was rereleased on March 11.

"From a historian's perspective, one of the dangers of the film 'The Passion of the Christ' is that people may jump to the conclusion that the brutal motion picture is true in every detail," Mork says. "If you read the Gospels, you get a different picture. Jesus did suffer and die, but the lurid details Gibson presents came from the visions of a German nun, Sister Emmerich, who lived 1,800 years after the events themselves."

Mork, who has written several articles on the subject and presented his work at interfaith conferences, has compared the film with the published account of the nun's visions, as well as with the Bible. The way Gibson portrays the violent death of Christ follows the nun's vision more than the Bible. For example, the film's violent whipping of Jesus is mentioned with a few words in the Gospels, but the nun's description continues for several pages in what Mork calls "vicious detail."

"I became interested in the film because of the concern about its anti-Jewish orientations," Mork says. "There can be a connection between anti-Semitic messages and violence. The more vivid you make the suffering, the more likely you are to blame the Jews."

Although controversy surrounded "The Passion of the Christ" before it was released a year ago, Mork says there is no evidence that the movie created any outbreaks of anti-Semitic violence.

"But an underlying message of hate and contempt for Jews may still remain," he says.

Mork, whose area of academic expertise is German history, also can talk about his study of the Passion Play at Oberammergau, Germany, where plays portraying Jesus' suffering have been performed for centuries.

CONTACT: Mork, (765) 494-4138, gmork@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: A publication-quality photograph of Gordon R. Mork is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/++Mugshots/mork.g04.jpeg.

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