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Passion movie is accurate representation
To the Editor,
I am writing in response to the letter “Passion Movie Borders Pornographic" that was printed in the March 4 edition of The Sylva Herald.
After viewing the movie myself, I can't believe that anyone would look at this movie with pornographic views. Mel Gibson only brought to the screen what is told in the Gospels.
As for the question of “Whose reality?" this film portrays, it was and still is today the reality of Jesus Christ.
Christ's suffering and pain and ultimate death was done out of love for mankind. He loved us so much that he was willing to be beaten and crucified to save us from sin.
I am not saying that the movie is not violent and graphic, but what Jesus went through was violent. Sitting in the theater, I saw men, women and teens sobbing.
This movie brings reality to many about what Christ suffered. I would recommend this movie to anyone. It has deepened my faith and I am sure it has deepened the faith of many who saw it.
Allison Moss Espinal
Glenville
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Graphic portrayal is necessary in Passion of The Christ
To the Editor,
I would like to comment on a recent letter published in your "Letters to the Editor" section. The letter dealt with the movie The Passion of The Christ.
In my opinion, this movie could be called a lot of things, but pornographic is not one of them. I would imagine that some folks might have nightmares over the thought of the images brought forth by the movie - images that made them think of the guilt and shame of their role in the crucifixion of Christ.
I am one of those people. I believe, as Mel Gibson tried to express, that we all hold accountability in the events that led to the cross.
The writer of the letter indicated that the intent might have been to stimulate the imagination of the reader or viewer. I would agree with that opinion. I believe that the strength of the film is that it causes some of us to begin the process of picturing the true horror that was the torture and death of Christ. That moment in time in human history was graphically brutal and it is important that we be reminded of that. It allows our minds to ponder the enormous love and sacrifice that Jesus gave during his brief time as a human and the love and grace that He shares with us today. That moment in time was graphically beautiful and it is important that we be reminded of that.
The writer seemed worried that the only message that children would come away with a sense that it is "fun" to hurt bound people or living things. I have talked to children who saw the film and their response to the film was despair that anyone would be treated like Jesus was. They didn't see anything funny about it.
I, too, am concerned about our children. I am concerned that they won't see the need for realizing their part in what Mel Gibson portrays vividly in The Passion of The Christ. I think we all owe it to them to share the message in the movie, which was taken primarily from the Holy Scriptures. Whether or not a child sees the movie is a decision every parent must decide. I would suggest if you have a concern, a parent should go see it before they take their child. I respect the writer's right to opinion. I just thought you might appreciate another viewpoint.
Robert Jumper
Clyde
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Christians 'need' to see Passion
To the Editor:
One of the first reviews I read of The Passion of the Christ was from film critic, Lisa Schwarzbaum. Her thoughts are echoed by many when she calls it a "gaudily tormented, pornographically blood-drenched, anything but literal interpretation of the last 12 hours of Jesus' life." She even makes mention of Gibson's supposed "homoerotic fascination with the sight of a handsome male body undergoing torture." "Good Christians," she writes, "don't need to see this movie."
Did you get all that? Critics have figured out the real reason Mel Gibson made this film. It's all about his homoerotic, self-obsessed sadomasochistic fetishes. Good, church-going people don't need to be confronted with these images.
In the words of singer Don MacLean, "They didn't listen, they're not listening still. Perhaps they never will…"
I'm a Christian believer, and I've seen this film. So, speaking as a man who is not ashamed to say that he loves Christ, let me tell this to Mel Gibson. Thank you. Thank you for showing the world exactly what our God endured for us, what was necessary for our redemption, and how much we are loved.
This is not a movie. It does not "entertain" you. This is a work of art. It edifies you. This is a work that all Christians need to see.
Yes, I said "need" to see. Christians today desperately need to see this. We need the blood. We need the gore. We need to see the suffering, the agony. We say we believe in Jesus Christ, who suffered, died on the cross for our sins and rose again. But we don't really understand what that means. We've fallen asleep, and we need to be waked up, even if that means shaking us violently.
St. Paul said, "I resolved to know nothing … except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Cor 2:2). St. Augustine wrote that "We are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song." But there is no Easter without Good Friday. The Resurrection means nothing without the Passion.
Watching this movie, one realizes that at any time during His suffering, Christ could have said, "enough!" (as people who are walking out of this movie are saying). Mary even wonders at one point in the film when her son will choose to end this. But He never did. He endured it - all of it - out of love for us. "See, Mother," Jesus tells the weeping Mary, "I make all things new." This is how God loves.
I'm aware that many will see this movie as nothing but a slasher film. They just won't get it. But this is not a film that you can "get." This is a film that "gets" you, if you let it. And many just don't want to be "gotten." They are too comfortable, sleepwalking through life carrying "Do Not Disturb" signs. This move isn't about Christ, they tell themselves. It's about Mel Gibson and his ego, his fetishes. It's not about me. It doesn't ask anything of me.
They tell themselves this so they can sleep better at night. With The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson is trying to shake us awake. The question is, are you ready to exchange your dreams for reality?
Matthew Newsome
Sylva
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Commissioners failing to preserve residents' sense of community
To the Editor:
What would it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul?
I know an old fellow that lives on 30 acres of the prettiest land you might ever see. He's lived there all his life, and he can remember the stories his father and his grandfather told about the place. He loves his place. He likes to visit along the creek, and he knows just about everybody nearby.
The other day he received his tax assessment and, according to Jackson County, he's a rich man. His land is worth twice what it was four years ago, and the old fellow will probably pay a lot more in taxes next year.
But he lives on a fixed income and doesn't have any more money - all this newfound wealth can bring him is complications.
Four years ago when taxes went way up, he thought about selling out. But the thought of leaving the land he was raised on scared him. Now he's pretty sure he'll have to sell. The thought of the money the county says he ought to get isn't much comfort when he compares it to what he'll lose.
Probably a lot of folks here are wondering what the future holds. Sure, some may be calculating what these newfound riches might bring, but I expect more are wondering what will become of their homeplace.
How many are concerned about the future of their communities and wonder if their children can make it here?
In the end, our commissioners might lower the tax rate a few pennies, but that won't begin to lessen the burden for those whose assessments rise 30, 50 or a 100 percent. Our politicians point to the new facilities they've constructed and to the importance of rising revenues for progress and growth.
But will the newest and most modern schools, libraries and government offices comfort those who can no longer afford to live here? When they are driven from the coves into apartments and trailer parks, will they look at those facilities with increasing civic pride or with sadness for what's been lost?
When the day comes that the average fellow can't get into the woods for all the gates and private estates, will parks and greenways be sufficient compensation?
Perhaps the only thing constant is change, but must we sell our souls at the altar of progress? Are rising property values so important to increasing government revenues that we must sacrifice our communities?
From Balsam to Cashiers, traditional communities are being uprooted and threatened. Often our political, business and education leaders' plans for economic development and growth are dependent upon attracting people and capital from outside the county and are conceived not to benefit existing residents but at their expense.
Who will live in the new exclusive communities in Balsam and Bear Lake? Who will pay for those communities' services and infrastructure? One look at the new assessments answers that question.
Change may be inevitable but that doesn't mean our political leaders can't take steps to ease our burden. They are addicted to the rising revenues created by rising property values, and they will argue that you are better off because your land is worth more.
But it's a lie.
Local politicians suddenly seem to have discovered there might be a problem. Their promise to be revenue neutral sounds good, but it will give little relief to those hardest hit by revaluation. Commissioners have known about the potential consequences but have done nothing to help us adapt and adjust. They have failed to lobby Raleigh for more equitable assessment procedures. They have failed to lobby for programs like homestead exemptions that would equalize the playing field for full-time and part-time residents. They have failed to hold the institutions and corporations who profit from unsustainable growth accountable for the costs they impose on the rest of us.
Even in their newest pronouncement it is clear commissioners are committed to promoting and relying on the type of growth that has created this situation. Their reaction is politically calculated to appease citizen anger; it lacks conviction and commitment and ducks responsibility for past failures.
For all their new offices and facilities, for all their study groups and consultants, for increasing the tax base and bringing in new folks, they have failed at the most important task they have.
They have failed to protect and sustain our existing communities. All the growth, development and profit in the world cannot replace the simple value of security and comfort found in community.
Mark Jamison
Cullowhee
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Youth see far worse than Passion violence
To the Editor,
A recent letter to the editor criticized Mel Gibson's new film, The Passion of The Christ. In the letter, the author, Carolyn Rauch, accuses Gibson of expanding on the Gospel accounts that speak of the beating that Jesus received. She goes as far as to say that the film's portrayal of the brutal flogging "verges on the pornographic" and that "it shows youth that it is fun to whip a tied-down living thing until it is near death."
I have read the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Also, I have twice viewed The Passion, once alone and once together with a church group, and it was just as powerful, in a good way, the second time as it was the first. It is from these viewings and the reading of the Gospels that I have formed my opinion, not on the prevalent hearsay that has accompanied the film's release. I strongly urge all to read the Gospels and to view the film in its entirety. Any film critic worth his salt must view the whole picture before expressing a credible opinion.
The King James Version of the Holy Bible reads, "Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him" (John 19:1). Scourging is defined as "severely flogging." This is not to be confused with whipping used for disciplining a child. Many are used to a candy-coated version of what Jesus endured, but the facts are undeniable. During the first century A.D., the Romans controlled Israel with an iron fist. The term "cruel and unusual punishment" was not in their repertoire. The goal was not to reform, but to publicly torture and humiliate.
It is hard for me to grasp from where Rauch conceives the idea that the film might send a "pornographic" message, and I saw nothing to make me think for even a moment that it would be "fun" to cruelly beat a person. On the contrary, the Roman soldiers' pleasure in carrying out the horrible acts made it all the more despicable. I regret that Rauch walked out of the theater, because I feel she missed the best part, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, my Lord and savior.
The Passion is rated R for a reason - it contains the graphic violence of the suffering that Jesus did endure. I agree with the recommendation of the theater that viewers under the age of 17 be accompanied by a parent. However, I believe that the youth of America are being exposed to far worse every day through other movies, TV and video games that expose them to violence, sexual content and language that is outrageous.
I cannot object to a man producing a film that portrays the truth of the Gospels. This may be the only avenue for many to receive the message of the Gospels. To assume any ulterior motive by Mel Gibson is not justified. The Passion is one of the most accurate dramatizations of any writing that I have ever seen. The film is as it was.
Brandon Lewis
Sylva
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North Shore descendants want road to be built
To the Editor,
I am writing in response to William Lyons' letter regarding the building of the North Shore Road. I want the road to be built. My parents lived out most of their lives in the North Shore area of Fontana Lake in Swain County. I also lived 18 years of my life there.
The Fontana Dam was being built because of World War II, and the decision was made by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Department of the Interior to force the people out of the area.
I agree with Mr. Lyons on one point, that my parents and the other property owners were cheated. Assessors for the TVA came in, walked around a while and wrote out an estimate for the property. Many people refused to accept the price offered, for it was small indeed. They were told that they could take it to the legal system. That was useless because the property was taken under the condemnation process. The government said they would give the property owners a written contract to build the North Shore Road all the way through the area when the war was over. That was one of the TVA's biggest selling points when taking over the property.
The contract to build the road is with the property owners, not the Swain County commissioners. The commissioners were paid $450,000 for the old N.C. 288, but there are no records of what happened to it.
In my opinion, the only people who have a legal contract with the government are the descendants of the people who owned property in that area in 1943 when the agreement was made.
My parents and ancestors who settled at North Shore in 1804 would not appreciate Mr. Lyons' insinuations that they were an ignorant bunch of hillbillies who were unable to survive anywhere but on their own land. I am one of those hillbillies, Mr. Lyons, as are many people in Swain and Jackson counties. Are you aware of the process that relatives have to go through just to visit the gravesites of their loved ones? They are loaded on to a ferry, taken across the lake to the nearest point of access, and dropped off to make their own way to the cemeteries. This is difficult for the elderly like myself, considering that there are 28 cemeteries in the area.
I would like for the public to have access to one of the most beautiful places in North Carolina. I believe that the North Shore Road would be a huge asset to the N.C. side of the park and have a huge impact on tourism in Swain and Jackson counties. Perhaps a scenic bus tour around the Fontana Loop could be coordinated with the Great Smoky Mountain Railway's train ride from Dillsboro to Bryson City. I would like to see a heritage center built at Proctor on Hazel Creek to inform the public of the history of the area.
The National Park Service wants input from North Shore descendants on this issue. Comment sheets are available to be filled out. For more information, call the North Shore Association in Bryson City.
Coolidge Brooks
Whittier
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