Mel's movie

You may remember that I previously discussed the nature of the anti-Semitism that is likely to emanate from such films as Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, namely, a more "attitudinal" change that would eventually condone various kinds of violence, including those against liberals generally as well as Jews.

There have been, as noted then, at least a couple of incidents in the Denver area that suggest this violence is taking concrete form -- though it must be noted that since then, things have remained fairly quiet. However, a report in today's Washington Post makes clear that the film has in fact affected attitudes about Jews in America:

The percentage of Americans who say Jews were responsible for Christ's death is rising, particularly among blacks and young people, according to a nationwide poll taken since the release of Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ."

The poll released yesterday by the Pew Research Center in Washington is the first statistical evidence that the movie's box-office success may be associated with an increase in anti-Jewish feeling, although social scientists cautioned that cause and effect are not clear.

... The increase was especially pronounced among two groups. The portion of people younger than 30 who say Jews were responsible for killing Jesus has approximately tripled, from 10 percent in 1997 to 34 percent today. The portion of African Americans who hold that view has doubled, from 21 percent to 42 percent.

The original report from Pew makes for fascinating reading:

The increasing sense among some groups that Jews were responsible for Christ's death comes amid controversy over the Mel Gibson movie "The Passion of the Christ." A relatively large proportion of people who have seen the movie (36%) feel Jews were responsible for Christ's death. However, this is also the case among people who plan to see the movie (29%), suggesting people who are drawn to this movie may be predisposed to this opinion more than others. By comparison, just 17% of those who have no plans to see the movie believe that Jews were responsible for Christ's death.

Also noteworthy: Evangelical Protestants are easily the film's biggest audience, constituting 25 percent of those who've seen the film (compared to 20 percent for Catholics and only 11 percent for mainline Protestants).

In the meantime, the final word on The Passion may belong to South Park, which satirized the film as cultural event hilariously in last week's episode:

Kyle finally sees "The Passion" and is forced to admit Cartman has been right all along. Meanwhile many of the film's hardcore fans band together under Cartman's leadership to carry out its message.

Cartman, for those interested, dons Nazi regalia and persuades the South Park townsfolk to march down Main Street chanting for the elimination of Jews in German.

In the meantime, Stan and Kenny go to the movie and reach the same conclusion I did: "That movie sucked." They travel to Malibu to get their $18 back from Mel Gibson himself, only to discover that, as the episode's final line puts it, "Mel Gibson is a wacko loser asshole."

In a career full of amazingly offensive (yet still hilarious) satires, it's one of the most vicious -- and funniest -- South Park episodes yet.