Biblical Movie Versus Biblical Story

The process of translating a book tarradiddle into film is known as Film or Movie Adaptation. Movie alteration gives meaning and flavor to the stories that are confined in books. It is basically spoon-feeding a viewer of scenes and images in contrast to the tedious imaging demanded of the reader in the scripted accounts. What is observable in Movie Adaptation is that there are an obvious similarities and differences with written accounts.Primarily, the reason is due to the fact that written accounts are too dour to fit into the usual time runs or that although the topic was interesting, it lacked entertaining scenes that would draw a crowd of modern viewers or does not evoked the human body of emotion that is expected of such a situation or incident. That is why stories taken form books oftentimes were not literally translated into films. history revision until now must be done carefully and with a degree of discretion especially involving historic events.Fictional stories ba tch be easily manipulated but true stories should father to the truth (Dudley 95). The Biblical impression the Passion of the Christ based on the historical crucifixion of Christ, true to its nature as an adaptation, had similarities and differences from the written account. Similarities and differences can be observed on the personality and characters of the Biblical figures as well as depicting or delivery of certain scenes. II. Discussion A. Similarities 1. Biblical CharactersThe most heavy(a) Biblical characters visualized in the film are saviour, bloody shame and Mary Magdalene, Jewish religious leaders, Roman soldiers and Pilate. In the gospels, Jesus is presented as a humble, loving, gentle and forgiving person whose origin is both divine and human. He was born for the sole purpose of dying on the cross for mans salvation (Thompson 1085). In other words, the defining moment of his life is his death through with(predicate) the crucifixion. Mel Gibsons movie The Passi on of the Christ strictly adheres to the Biblical personality and character of Christ.Christs is never perk upn as vindictive in spite of the abuses and insults heaped upon him by the persecuting Jews and Romans. His love and compassion goes forth freely as he asks God to pardon them for according to him they do not know what they were doing. He humbly accepted his cruel fate at the hands of his creation.. His love for Mary was extraordinarily communicated through his eyes. But what the movie had enforced in Jesus character was his unbelievable restraint in the midst of angry mobs.His refusal to speak, to call the angels of heaven to save him, or to his divine powers to smite his accusers was very admirable and worth emulating. Another prominent figure of the story is Mary, Jesus Mother. The Biblical movie coincided with the written presentation of Mary as a devoted, sacrificing and loving mother, pure and simple at heart. Her compassion and anguish at the plight of his Son and he r willingness to bear to the will of God can make a viewer appreciate Mary more than in the movie. Alongside Mary was the devoted Mary Magdalene whose penitent heart showed forth in the movie.Another prominent character from which the fashionable washing of hands idiomatic expression is taken (signifying a persons way of removing guilt or mesh of an action or decision) is Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. Like the Bible Pilate is portrayed as a cowardly, fearful man who cannot stand up to his convictions (Thompson 1019). The last separates to mystify made a deep impact in the movie are the persecuting Jewish religious leaders and the Roman guards. They can be described as the blatant antagonist of the story (Satan is the prime antagonist but his wicked ways were more subtle).The Jewish leaders and the Jews were portrayed as a group of men hungry to see Jesus crucified. These vengeful and hateful attitudes are faithful to the description of the Bible. The Bible clearly said that they even prefer to see Barabas free, the notoriously convicted thief, than to let Jesus escape the crucifixion. Portraying Jews in such a manner arose protest from the other races, especially the Jews, declaring that it has anti-Semitic undertones (Carroll 2004). The Roman soldiers on the other hand were also seen to as cruel.Although not directly involved with Jewish skirmishes on religious matters, they were also eager to take part in the vicious carnage. Some of them however showed signs of a tender side. 3. Dialogues and Setting The entire movie was devoted to the last-place hours of Jesus on earth. It began with his prayer in the tend at Gethsemane, his stop at dawn upon the betrayal of Judas, to his being brought before the Jewish Sanhedrin, his look before Pilate, his agony on the way to cross and in conclusion his crucifixion. Generally, these scenes are faithful to the Biblical account.Some dialogues spoken fits the biblical statements, such as Jesus words Father forgive them for they do no know what they do , as well as the dialogues of Jesus and his disciples during the last supper and many others. The whipping of Jesus on the way to the cross, his being nailed in it between the two convicted thieves , the plaster cast of lots of the Roman soldiers are also found in the Bible. The way Jesus was being scourged and bloodied invoke mans deepest sympathy or sagacity for his suffering and passion for humanity.The bible even said that due to flogging he was so deformed that he does not resemble like a Man(Thompson 714 ). B. Differences Although the Biblical movie has many similarities with the Biblical story, it also had many obvious differences. Many people whitethorn argue that the addition of such a scene may be excused as Hollywoods chaste liberties for the purpose of expanding the Biblical text or widening the confines of the story in order to draw more appreciation and understanding of the topic on hand. 1. Portrayal of the crucifixion .The movie was focused on the final hours of Jesus, from dawn to third oclock in the afternoon when Christs died. The agony and gouge on the way to the cross and Christs eventual crucifixion was shown in a vivid, horrifying detail flesh come off after whipping, Christs hand was stretch beyond limit when nailed on the cross, constant whipping from beginning to end of the journey, a bloodied Christs keep falling off, and a nailed Christ was turned flat on the domain with such forceful brutality sending a cloud of dust in the air.It was the first time that such a bloody and cruel portrayal of Christs crucifixion ever hit the big screen. Though the Bible did mention whipping and nailing, it did not evoke the same imagery of torture as seen on the movie. The movie seems to be too brutal and full of bloodshed( Carroll 2007). One reason perhaps is because the Bible did not exactly offer a detailed account of such event while the main focus of the movie was the crucifixion itself. The pr oblem may be due to the fact that it was easier more to picture what really occurred on screen than on paper.In other words, the emotion of the moment is easily communicated and understood through the big screen. There is a possibleness that such forms of cruelty are experienced by Jesus in the hands of the Roman soldiers for Roman soldiers are known to be cruel executioners (Perry 98). What the movie was trying to achieve though is that the viewer will appreciate what Jesus did for them, and not to treat Jesus crucifixion as just another historical event of his life. 2. Scenes not found in the Bible.There are countless scenes not found in the Bible. Some of the notable scenes are Jesus crushing the ophidian with his foot in the Garden of Gethsemane. This scene can never be found in the Bible (Thompson 1017). The significance of the serpent could be that since it is a popular symbol of Satan, it signifies that Satanic influences are near, ever ready to dissuade Jesus from fulfill ing his supreme mission of dying in the cross . When Jesus crushed the serpents feet, it means that he was victorious over the devil.The scene may help the viewer to realize how hard it must have been for Christ to surrender to the will of the Father with regards to the way he was going to die. A sensitive reader may then appreciate how strong and noble Christs really was. Satan , in the form of a beautiful woman, did came to tempt Jesus to forego his mission in saving men for she argued that it was a nitty-gritty too hard to bear for a single man. Both the conversation and satanic appearance in the Garden were not recorded in the Bible. What is trouble in that scene (and in many scenes afterwards) however is that Satan was represented by a beautiful woman.Nowhere in the Bible is Satan portrayed as such though he may appear as Angel of Light It would have been more realistic and religiously fitting if Satan was portrayed as a male. The scenes on the way to the cross were full of i ncidents that can never be read in the Bible. For instance, Mary and the traditional Veronica wiping the introduce of Jesus with a fresh linen handed to them by the wife of Pilate. Although not found in the Bible, this is clearly an accepted tradition in the life of Christ by the Catholic Church.According to traditional Catholic stories the face of Jesus became imprinted in the linen and was then preserved( . The female Satan also kept coming into court on the way to crucifixion, obviously taunting Mary. Another scene worth mentioning is that Jesus met Mary on the way to the cross. This is not mentioned in the Bible, nor was it implied that she was there at all. Biblical account tells of the appearance of Mary at a later time, when she stood at the foot of the cross of Jesus with the disciple John at her side.The arrest and trial of Jesus happened so fast so that probably Mary did not arrive until Jesus reached Golgotha. In the light of this argument, the much earlier appearance of Mary is a clear deviation of the Biblical account and may not be considered as Hollywood artistic liberties. In the movie the nailing of Jesus on the cross was very brutal wherein the Roman soldiers stretched his hand beyond its limits to match the hole on the cross so that his arms was literally broken. out from that, Jesus and his cross was turned together in order to hammer the protruding nail at the back of the cross.It was a very pitiful and irritative sight indeed. What was notable and sickening is that amidst that scene is a bird, probably a vulture that plucked the eye of the crucified men. III. Contribution of Movie Adaptation to Biblical Story In the movie the passion of the Christ, the reader was brought into a live and detailed enactment of the sufferings of Christ during crucifixion. Some scenes were added to draw a heightened emotional response which the handler or the creator of the story believed was originally present in the situation( Dudley 95).But since the m ovie is based on the Bible which is believed to be the inerrant Word of God, certain scenes not mentioned in the Bible should not be included unless strongly implied, because they may bring confusion or disrespect to the faith from which it was based. Also, Jesus is indeed a historical figure whose events mentioned in the Bible truly occurred so that truth is essential to the movie. III. Conclusion The Biblical movie The Passion of the Christ revolves around the final hours of Christ based on the Biblical story.Naturally, since it was derived from the Bible, it depicts scene mentioned in the Biblical account. However, some scenes were added that can be classified as Hollywoods artistic liberties. In some scenes, particularly the nailing of Christ where his hand was stretched beyond its limitation so that it crunched or when the cross from which he was nailed was turned upside down so that Jesus was beneath the cross, the reader cannot help but appreciate what Jesus did. In other wor ds, that scene evokes the rightful emotion of gratitude for what Christ did for men.However, some scenes may not be rightfully expanded but actually deviates from truth like when Satan appeared as a beautiful temptress. Work Cited 1. Dudley Louise and Austin Faricy. The Humanities. new(a) York MacGraw-Hill, 1973. 2. Carroll, James l. An obscene portrayal of Christs Passion. Globe Newspaper Company. February 2004. Retrieved November 9, 2007 from http//www. boston. com/ae/movies/articles/2004/02/24/an_obscene_portrayal_of_christs_passion/? page=2 3. Perry, Marvin. A History of the World. New York Houghton-Mifflin Company, 1988. 4. Thompson, Frank Charles. The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible. Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1983.