The American Spectator

p> LOSING IT AT A MOVIE br> Re: James Bowman’s review of The Passion of the Christ , Shawn Macomber’s Ash Wednesday at the Movies and Jeremy Lott’s The Passion and the Fury : /p>

I have since my late teens had the notion that movie critics exist in some altered state of consciousness that perceives the world quite differently than the average person. Now I am relatively certain that it is true. James Bowman’s review of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ was the confirmation.

While the change in the artistic depiction of the crucified Christ that occurred in or about the 13th century is interesting relative to art history, it by no means is indicative of the relative accuracy of either form. It does, however, provide a launching pad for Bowman’s true purpose which is an attack on Mel Gibson and his cinematic portrayal of historical events.

Thankfully, Mr. Gibson is more in tune with the people who saw the movie with Shawn Macomber, and with myself, than with the intellectual elite referred to in Jeremy Lott’s article from Wednesday. Lott hit bull’s-eye with the following:

In truth, The Passion shows the divide between this country’s elites and commoners more starkly than anything I’ve seen in my lifetime. There is a real demographic difference between those who form the U.S.’s cognitive elite and everybody else. The elites, including journalists, tend overwhelmingly to be secular — non-churchgoers with little previous experience with organized religion. The rabble, on the other hand, consistently score at the top or near the top in every index of religious observance. In matters religious, the two literally do not speak the same language. If most journalists didn’t focus on the anti-Semitism angle, they wouldn’t know what else to say.

Which is a shame because they appear to be missing out on a genuine cultural phenomenon. Shea describes the excitement and the furor surrounding The Passion’s release as a “rather remarkable moment in American culture” — this critic’s nomination for understatement of the year.”

p>I would respectfully suggest that Mr. Bowman come out of the movie house into the daylight once in a while, and maybe even go to church, preferably out here in the red part of the country.