” The Passion of the Jew ” is the third episode of the eighth season and the 114th overall episode of the American animated series South Park , originally broadcast on Comedy Centralon March 31, 2004. It was written and directed by Trey Parker , who, along with fellow series co-creator Matt Stone , most of the characters in the episode. “The Passion of the Jew” is a satirical critic of the media discourse and controversy surrounding Mel Gibson’s 2004 film, The Passion of the Christ .
In the episode, Kyle finally sees the blockbuster movie The Passion of the Christ and admits that Cartman has been right about the Jewish people all along. After Stan and Kenny see the movie, they angrily pursue Mel Gibson to get their money back.
Plot
The boys are playing Star Trek in Cartman’s mother’s new minivan and, as usual, the anti-Semitic Cartman gives Kyle a hard time about his Jewish heritage. Cartman dares Kyle to watch The Passion of the Christ , the box office success of which Cartman quotes as proof that everybody hates the Jews. Kyle sees the film and is horrified by its violent depiction of how Jesus was tortured and crucified. Kyle feels intense guilt and has nightmares in which he and other Jews laugh while killing Jesus. He tells Cartman that he was “right all along” about the Jews; overjoyed, Cartman prays to a poster of The Passion’s director Mel Gibsonand vows to dedicate his life to promoting the film and “organizing [ing] the masses … to do thy bidding”. Meanwhile, Stan and Kenny watch The Passion and hate it. Declaring it a ” snuff movie “, they claim their $ 18 back from the theater, but are told that they can only get their money back from Gibson.
Attempting to contact Gibson, Stan and Kenny on the Mel Gibson Fan Club-Cartman, who is going to be the movie, but lets slip that Gibson lives in Malibu . Stan and Kenny make their way there. Meanwhile Cartman dresses in a brown Hitler -esque uniform and hosts a fan club meeting in his backyard. The attendees-have Gathered to celebrate The Passion , qui They Say Helped Them rediscover Christianity. Cartman suggests that each of them waited for the movie before they begin to see the ” cleansing ” -the fan club members obliviously agree.
When Stan and Kenny reach Gibson’s house, the director rambles, straps himself to a rack wearing only underwear and says That no matter how much torture They _him_ he will never Their refund money. When the boys insist that they just want their money back, Gibson chases them around the house with a gun, at the Looney Tunes . Stan and Kenny take $ 18 from Gibson’s wallet and leave on a bus home. Gibson, wearing face paint from Braveheart , chases them in the tanker truck from Mad Max 2 , screaming ” Qapla”! “And” Gimme back my money! “Back in South Park, Kyle talks to Father Maxi about his issues regarding Jesus and the guilt he has been feeling since Gibson’s film. Father Maxi points out that the Passion was originally a play used to stir up anti-Semitism, but says Kyle seizes on Father Maxi’s statement that “Christianity is about atonement ” and says he now understands what he should do.
At another fan club rally outside the South Park theater, Cartman shouts hateful slogans in German and gives the wait lines to shout back; mistaking the German for the Aramaic spoken in The Passion , They happily do so and join Cartman in goose-stepping through South Park shouting anti-Semitic slogans. Meanwhile, Kyle Suggests At His synagogue que la Jewish community shoulds apologize for Jesus’ crucifixion, prompting uproar in the congregation. The rabbi tries to calm the situation, saying “we live in a rational community, and everybody knows this is just a movie”, but just then Cartman and his parade pass the synagogue.
Horrified, the rabbi and congregation go to the theater and demand that they stop showing The Passion . Their argument with Cartman and his followers is interrupted by the arrival of the chase truck-Gibson crashes into the theater, destroying it. When he emerges unscathed, Cartman rushes to worship him, but Gibson ignores him, rambling, smears his own excrement on a building, much to the astonishment of Kyle and the fan club members. Stan says that Christians should follow Jesus’ teachings and not focus on how he died; the fans agree and disperse, much to Cartman’s dismay. Kyle says he feels better about his Jewishness after hearing Stan’s speech and seeing Gibson, who defecates on Cartman’s face and runs off whooping.
Reception
The New York Times’ Virginia Heffernan praised the episode, writing “Depending on whom you asked, that episode, ‘The Passion of the Jew,’ proved that the show’s still got it or that it’s made a comeback or that it’s better than ever. In any case, it was good. ” [1] It was also praised by the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish newspaper The Jewish Daily Forward , which called it “perhaps the most critical biting of ‘The Passion’ to date.” [2]
DVD releases
Besides Appearing on the South Park Complete eighth season DVD set, “Passion of the Jew” est disponible as a standalone DVD release (qui Was released on DVD le même day que le DVD of the Passion of the Christ Was released) with two bonus episodes: season six’s ” Red Hot Catholic Love ” and season seven’s ” Christian Rock Hard “.
References
- Jump up^ Virginia Heffernan (April 28, 2004). “Critic’s Notebook; What? Morals in ‘South Park’?” . The New York Times .
- Jump up^ Max Gross. ” ‘ The Passion of the Christ’ Antisemitism Fuels – on ‘South Park ‘ ” . The Jewish Daily Forward .