Some of my friends from the old days decided to make a movie to remind us all about what Easter Sunday is really about: the celebration of Christ’s resurrection.

Being Jewish and thus skeptical that Jesus truly was/is the physical incarnation of God in whom alone I can find salvation, I have somewhat of an ingrained hostility to movies that try to “revive the spirit of the season” regardless of what season that may be. That said, I was not offended by Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ which I felt was a fairly accurate if not particularly important film (although I was tickled by Gibson’s suggestion that Jesus was not only the son of God, but that he also invented the table…)

Still, I understand why Jesus films are so popular: they remind us all – Jew, Christian, Muslim, Pagan and Athiest – of just how fundamentally relevant Jesus’ 2000 year-old-teachings remain for us today. The problem is, most Jesus films lack imagination, creativity or what I consider to be true spiritual convictions. Traditionally Christ is always portrayed as a distant, intangible figure who somehow lacks both the qualities I associate with humanity (humor, desire, a libido) and the characteristics of an all powerful god. Rather, the Hollywood Jesus lives a self-fulfilling prophesy of martyrdom defined by bipolar mood-swings and sporadic miracles. In short, Jesus films are generally marketed to an audience that has already established a solid foundation in Jesus and developed a so-called “personal relationship.”

Generally speaking Jesus films are always placed in a strictly Biblical context and are designed for believers – not uncommitted admirers like myself. Which is why I appreciate Jesus: Identity Theft Victim so much. Granted: it’s short, somewhat irreverent, ridiculous and seemingly deprived of any moral foundation. But it also seeks to place Jesus’ significance within a modern context, which in our digitalized downsized celebrity obsessed world, proves to be somewhat difficult. I don’t think the ancient Israelites truly understood the significance of Christ’s place in hunan history. And as we approach Easter 2008, it’s hard to imagine that we’ve come much closer.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 20th, 2008 at 11:07 pm and is filed under Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.