"Marc Phillips" wrote in message
...
ScottW said:
Tell me again how this country is headed in the right direction.
Explain to me why we should judge the direction of the country
on box office returns?
This film has earned $50 million in its first two days. It will go
down
probably as one of the biggest box-office hits of all time.
A marketing coup.
But even if it does. Big deal. What movie is it gonna displace?
LotRs? Star Wars? or Sound of Music?
I'm not sure of the relevance of your argument. Let's face it, "The
Passion of
the Christ" is a very unique film, perhaps the most unique film of our
generation.
I just don't put much relevance into what's currently hot in the
entertainment
world to bear any real significance on the direction of society.
The Passion may be a record box office draw but porn was still the first
real money maker on the internet. Which one is more significant on the
direction of our society?
Its sole purpose is to make people feel awful about what happened
to Jesus, and how much he suffered for us. Bringing up other movies is
comparing apples and oranges. People who are seeing this are not just
going to
the movies. There are people who are seeing this who haven't been to a
movie
theatre in years. Churches are organizing field trips for their entire
congregations. There is a concerted effort to REQUIRE Christians to see
this
movie as an act of faith. Can you say the same about the Lord of the
Rings?
I've only read some of the media hype but I haven't experienced any such
thing.
No one has called or knocked on my door.
I found it. Titanic. Kind of surprising.
http://movieweb.com/movies/box_office/alltime.php
What was the message then? I see 2 Star Wars
in the top 4 and 2 LotR's moving up in the top ten.
And it's little
more than a snuff film, with Jesus as the victim. You don't think
that's
a
reflection of our society?
Only in how gullible people are for a controversy and
slick marketing.
Scott, have you seen it? I have, and it's an oppressive experience. You
might
have a different viewpoint if you did.
Wouldn't I then be just another one of the masses
leading America in the wrong direction?
How many people are seeing the film just to understand
what the controversy is all about? I assume that is why
you went.
If we judge the direction of America
based on anything Hollywood does, I think we would be sadly
mistaken. 3 Months ago we were lining up for Return of the King.
What direction were we headed then?
We wanted to be entertained. Now we want to be punished.
Maybe this weekend. Next weekend it will be
a horror flick on top of the charts. The pendulum always swings.
Actually, people are seeing this over and over again. They're watching
it,
walking out, and walking back in for the very next showing.
Not at our local theatre. All prime time shows are sold out
hours in advance so repeat viewing isn't an option unless you
plan for it. Even so, repeat viewing would mean a significant
overestimate on the number of people who are actually
going to see it.
That's generally
how a movie gets to the $200 million mark, or the $300 million mark. Or
more.
Let's see where it goes.
Beyond the "box office" smash headlines I'm not hearing unanimous
positive reviews. Lots of people finding the violence over the top,
theologians complaining about departure from scripture and glossing
over the resurrection which was the real event that made Christianity.
I heard one guy complaining, without resurrection, Christ is just
another great man who died a horrible death. The movie treated the
resurrection as an afterthought in his mind.
My gut feel is this thing won't sustain it's run like RotK. But we shall
see.
ScottW