Abstract

It's Easter: He Is Recut

The article discusses the possibility that the Christian right is becoming mainstream in the United States. The kinder, gentler version of Mel Gibson's biblical blood fest, which has hit the cineplex in time for the Easter season, is called "The Passion Recut." Perhaps because they are reluctant to seem like the liberals they are, most mainstream critics have ignored "The Passion's" political agenda. But the film is a very effective social tract. In Gibson's gospel the theme of persecution and retribution is front and center, as it is for the religious right. Indeed, "The Passion of the Christ" served as a template for the U.S. President George W. Bush campaign. NBC will broadcast "Revelations," a based on the book of the same name. If this trend takes hold, it could help normalize the values of the Christian right by making them cool.