April 1, 2004

IT'S BROUGHT LOW BETTER REGIMES:

Pirated copies of Gibson movie stir Chinese: Film has 'struck a heavy blow against atheism' in communist land (WorldNetDaily.com, April 1, 2004)

Christians in China believe their communist government won't show "The Passion of the Christ," but pirated copies of the film on Jesus' suffering and death are playing to small gatherings throughout the country.

The private viewings with poorly made DVD copies and Chinese subtitles are accompanied by prayer gatherings and questions by young agnostics who want to know more about Christian faith, reports UCAN, the Union of Catholic Asian News in Hong Kong.

"The Passion" has "struck a heavy blow against atheism," says one Chinese youth. A Catholic priest in the underground church said he was so moved by the film he plans to show it to parishioners on Good Friday, April 9, the day commemorating Jesus' crucifixion, UCAN reported.

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 1, 2004 9:23 AM
Comments

Given the money Gibson has made, if he reasonably takes care of everyone involved, he should just print-up a quadrillion DVD's and throw 'em to the winds.

The man could change the world.

(South Park WAS pretty funny, though.)

Posted by: Andrew X at April 1, 2004 10:28 AM

Shh, don't tell Jack Valenti about this. He'll threaten to sue and say it's bankrupting his industry.

Posted by: kevin whited at April 1, 2004 10:29 AM

It's a big hit in the Arab world too.

Posted by: M Ali Choudhury at April 1, 2004 11:14 AM

And that's one of the consequences of working outside the studio system - the film belongs to Gibson, and he can do anything he wants with it.

What if copies are given to churches,or missionaries, or bulk through the mail? What if it ISN'T issued on DVD, but reissued in theaters every Easter, or every seven years the way Disney used to do? What if it's offered as a free download on a Web site, or if Gibson makes no effort to stop the film from being posted on BitTorrent or other sites (anything to get more viewers)? And Gibson has this freedom thanks to Hollywood having no interest. The stone that the builders rejected...

The precedent (and potential) this has shown for independent filmmakers, of all stripes, is immense. Michael Moore and Kevin Smith have done the same thing before this, built an audience from scratch with unlikely subject matter, but Gibson's name value and the assumed controversy have made this the biggest independent film of all time; Gibson could now get mainstream financing for his proposed Maccabee film, but won't need to. When all this plays out, it could be the largest contribution any one person has made to a cause he believes it - barring, naturally, the Man he has chronicled.

Posted by: John Barrett Jr. at April 1, 2004 11:19 AM

Ali -- That really doesn't comfort me, somehow.

Posted by: David Cohen at April 1, 2004 3:41 PM

The Christian community in China is heavily persecuted, and it is totally ignored by the media and world opinion.

Gibson's DVD samizdat will be passed around in backstreets and viewed in secret in small groups in homes.

Posted by: Gideon at April 1, 2004 4:32 PM

Marxism vs christianity? Forget about it. That the cross the romans made Jesus carry would one day overlook their capital says it all, think pontius pilate saw that one coming?

Communism's tired, criminal, failed old creed is already almost dead in china. Though I'm an atheist I'm keen to see Jesus kick some ass in the land of Mao.

As for islam? Invade, kill leaders, convert to christianity. Works for me.

Posted by: Amos at April 2, 2004 10:29 PM
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