The Oscars have boycotted one of the most beloved movies in the history of cinema for political reasons. Boycott them.

The movies nominated for best picture are Sideways, Million Dollar Baby, Finding Neverland, The Aviator, and Ray. Conspicuously excluded from nominations in all major categories was The Passion. While Hollywood has no problem celebrating movies that insult Christianity (The Last Temptation of Christ), it refuses even to recognize artistic works that take a decidedly more traditional view of Jesus Christ.

I don't think I can boycott something I hadn't planned on watching. Perhaps indifference makes a stronger statement anyway.

Despite being a Christian, I don't find the Last Temptation insulting. I don't think that it is accurate, but if you ignore things like Jesus saying "my sins", Dafoe gives the closest portrayal of how I have seen Jesus since I began reading the Gospels. This was a guy that would look you in the face and piss you off.

And I've always been put off by the Spike Lee type of complaints: "I should have been nonimated" or "I should have won". You're dealing with opinions. So despite that I thought The Passion a phenomenal movie--and decidedly artful, I cannot immitate that kind of annoying behavior.

I'm quite sure that to the people of Hollywood, The Passion was not that great of a movie. I'm quite sure that even if I told them the effective metaphor of the rotting donkey carcass, that still wouldn't get the depth (and sometimes strangeness) of the choices that Mel made for this movie.

My view: The Passion will be remembered; Who knows what will happen to this year's Oscar winner. If the Passion is not remembered over that one, then I'm wrong.

Plus, everybody in Hollywood should have seen that Christians will go to movies. There's a market there.

The best revenge is living well. Mel Gibson got his message across, and I would say, he is living quite well. Who cares about the Hollywood elite?

True, Sea King, the critics didn't really get "Passion." In the local paper, the reviewer took the movie to task for not showing "the rest of Jesus' life and message," as if the movie had actually been called "The Life of the Christ." Another reviewer questioned why Mel Gibson does a lot of scenes where he gets beat down and linked those scenes to the violence done to Christ in this film: "He must have a psychological need for this sort of thing," or some such bilge. I could go on, but you all certainly have a bunch of examples of your own.

As for Hollywood? Ben-Hur won 11 Oscars; as recently as 1966, A Man for All Seasons won Best Picture and Best Actor. Just saying, is all...

A Man for All Seasons!! Now that was a movie--Thank you, Mr. Robert Bolt.

Dan,

I'm getting a "questionable content" notice and it's not letting me send my comment. What's the policy regarding this...are their certain words you can't say...like Sado-Masichism?

Do you expect anything less coming from Hollyweird? They embrace movies about child molesters(The Woodsman), another child molester(Kinsey) and of course Howard Hughes. This goes to show you that Hollyweird has put its favorite 2 subjects up for awards, itself and enigmatic sick weirdos. I knew all along that The Passion wasnt going to get any awards, but what can I say Fahrenheit 9/11 didnt get any nods. So I guess it works both ways.

Dan, good post. However, Hollywood is free to boycott what they choose. We are free to see the snub for what we think it is. Living in this free society we all are granted the right to be wrong.

Of course, I have not paid to see a film in the theater for about 5 years.

Now might be a good time Dan to discuss what I said about the Passion a few months ago. When many were expecting "Farenheit 9/11" to elect John Kerry, I told you that I beleived that the Passion had a greater impact on the outcome. Many cited family values as their exit poll reason for their vote. Well, I can't think of any movie that slapped people in the face and made them take a cold look at their own values.

The Passion was Mel's interpretation of the last few days of Jesus. I think that Mel purposefully made it that graphic to shock many into taking that look in the mirror. I can tell you that the film was instrumental in my wife's conversion; it planted a seed.

All of that being said, this is just my opinion.

I still have no plans to go to the movies at this time.

Be well,

Sponge

Boycott the Oscars because Mel has already. If the Oscars represent Hollywood, then Mel has made his boycott clear by conceiving, financing, casting, and producing this movie and so should any fan of this movie. Furthermore, Mel has opted out of the running by not oging through the regular campaigning and jockeying that goes along with Oscar consideration. The consolation is that this is the number one movie of the year and the Oscars are a prize for runner up. Boycott the Oscars, and protest by buying a video/DVD from a link on this or your favourite website and watch it on February 27, 2005, the night of the Oscars.

Oscars....what Oscars? Nice work Mel.

I haven't watched the Oscars for years, since they gave best picture to that nihilist homosexual agitprop American Beauty a while back.

Hollywood used to be o.k. and the Oscars as well b/c the town used to care about artistic value and American cultural sensibilities. Alas, their vanity and sexual dysfunction has done the city in now and they can only celebrate that which makes them feel normal by validating their inability to control their impulses and live a responsible life.

Good idea to watch the Passion instead of the Oscars.

Let's put things in perspective: Citizen Kane, quite arguably the greatest movie ever made, was nominated for eight - count 'em - EIGHT Academy Awards. It won the award for Best Screenplay. That's it. Thanks to William Randolph Hearst's monopoly on the media, boos were heard every time Citizen Kane was referred to that night.

Now The Passion was nominated for cinematography, make-up, and original score. It really would not have been fair to include it in the best picture category, or to include Mel Gibson in the best director category. We're comparing apples and oranges. Most of the films nominated are actually good films; The Passion is just a different thing altogether.

That is a weak comparison Davey. Citizen Kane was extremely innovative and so was a very important film but it is totally ridiculous to call that film the greatest of all time or anywhere close to it. It is actually not all that great of a movie. You may think it is "quite arguably" the greatest ever but let's hear an argument for that claim, I say it is clearly not. Of course, every intro film course and every film buff hipster swoons about that movie but they only make themselves look the fool in doing so.

As for the Passion it is much more reasonable to argue that that is the greatest film ever made, I will make that argument if desired. Comparing it to the other films nominated is unfair . . . to the other films. Whereas Passion is an iconic and permanent piece of high western art the other films nominated are terribly forgettable.

The Academy took their stand long ago not to celebrate real artistic achievement and instead to promote those celebrities they think will make them the most money as well as those films which promote their cultural agenda.

It wouldn't have mattered if Mel had given more "back story", as some of the more ridiculous reviews cited as hurting the movie. Even if he had, they would have likely demanded a complete reading of the book of Isaiah to put the film in "context." Or some other bull*&%^...

Gee Brian, my point was that even wonderfully artistic films like Kane and Passion (notice I didn't say one was better than the other; again, apples and oranges) are snubbed for other films that are great, but just don't compare. If you want to argue that The Passion of the Christ is the greatest film of all time - greater than Citizen Kane - that's your prerogative. It is my experience, however, that most people do not say that purely objectively, but because they are already religious. If you want to read a balanced review, check out Roger Ebert's.

I can't stand these ideologues who claim that the biggest travesty is how the Academy seems to boycott any movie with pro-religous overtones. This is nothing compared to the ill will the Oscars have against any movie with C*#t in the title. Do you know how many people were banking on movies like "The C*#t of Monte Christo" to take home an Oscar? Do you ? Cry me a river, "The Passion of the Christ."

Eli: there are women who read this site and there are Christians who read this site, but you seem hell bent on insulting them both as crudely as possible. Your goal was to get Pro-Passion people po'd??? Well, this might be the best revenge: I'll pray for you.

Did you even see the Passion? Skip the porn tonight and rent it. You'll see a difference of artistic acheivement.

All I have to say is "when Shakesspeare in Love" beat out Saving Private Ryan for the best picture oscar back in 98, thats when I stopped watching the oscars. The only one I caught on TV was last years, because of Return of the King of course. But this year, theres too many "sick" movies out there that have been nominated. The only thing they are missing is a movie with full blown homo-sexuality ie. "Philadelphia".

And Clint Eastwood will probably not win anything because of his political views.

Didn't Clint Eastwood run for office as a Democrat Allen ?

Eastwood is a Republican. Read this article from Newsmax.com about what he said about Michael Moore.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/1/13/114320.shtml

Look, the movie was bad. And homo-haters are just people who fear change. Look people, Jesus was a huge change b/w the old and new testiments.... so live in the latter losers!

Commandments Bush has broken:

1. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." gee, Halliburton and Enron were gods in his eyes!

2. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." hmmmmm, Bush does use "God" to pass a lot of bogus laws!

3. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them."
Again, cowtow to the doller!

4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Well he does go to Camp David a lot.....

5. "Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long."
Gee didn't he ignore his daddy's advice for the tsunami relief!?

6. "Thou shalt not kill." TELL THAT TO THE IRAQIS BITCHES

7. "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Have you seen his wife? I'd be tappin monica before her!

8. "Thou shalt not steal." Man, he steals my tax break...

9. "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." Saying Iraq had WMDs was kinda false witness..

10. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's." So what's with him "coveting" and repoing the poor guy!

Real Christians vote left!