Mel Gibson: man vs. movie star

Note: Link contains profanity – Mel Gibson clears up that mystery about whether he’s an anti-Semite. By Timothy Noah

Well, this is really disappointing on a few levels. Gibson made some unmistakably anti-Semitic remarks while being arrested for DUI. I’m sure the media and blogosphere will be covering this way more than is necessary, and anything I say will most likely be repetitive, but hey … there are only about 3 people who read this thing, and I gotta go with the assumption that they are all hermits who get all their information from me. That’s pretty much the only belief that keeps me writing this stuff.

So Gibson was “outed”. He has also apologized, but let’s face it: the genie is out of the bottle. In some ways, I’m glad it happened. Primarily because the truth got out, and I believe that’s always a good thing. On the other hand, it will inevitably reignite and (this is the unfortunate part) distort some fires that had died down significantly. I’m thinking specifically of the controversy surrounding Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ.

Before its release, that movie was being loudly criticized by some as anti-Semitic for its depiction of the role of Jewish leaders in the crucifixion of Jesus. Others saw it as an accurate depiction of the facts as presented in the Bible. The movie came out, some people boycotted, some continued to claim anti-Semitism, but most of the voices I heard who actually waited to see the movie before making up their mind said that while they could see how it would make some people nervous, they didn’t see the anti-Semitism themselves. And after a few months, things died down.

At the time though, much was made of Gibson’s father’s beliefs, which themselves were anti-Semitic. Gibson wisely distanced himself without completely denying that he shared his father’s views (including that the Holocost never happened). Now that it appears that he does in fact share at least some of those views, I think the controversy will reassert itself and the “anti-Semite” viewpoint will now have the added ammunition that the movie must be anti-Semitic because an anti-Semite made it. That is a complete logical fallacy, but that rarely stops people from making those kinds of statements.

Other than that argument resurfacing, we now have the question of whether Gibson can continue to work in the wake of his outburst. I’m not sure he can, in any significant way. I’m not even sure he should. I agree with Bryce Zabel’s take that he’ll probably continue to be around, but in a much diminished capacity. And that’s a shame, from an entertainment consumer’s perspective. He has created extremely memorable roles and movies over the years – some of my favorites – and has developed a very likable public persona. He is a very talented actor, and it’s a shame that his real life hatred will now cast a shadow over everything he has, or will, accomplish in the entertainment world.

It’s in some ways the exact opposite of what’s happening to J. Michael Straczynski (see previous post). While JMS’s work has gained in esteem due to the context-changing event in his life, esteem for Gibson’s work will most likely plummet in the wake of this change in context.

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