Skip to main content

McPassion: Now at a computer near you

Now, I'm a bit slow sometimes, so I didn't know this one was coming until I read Christianity Today's The McPassion of the Filmmaker. What is it? The McPassion is a four-minute short film by Rik Swartzwelder, a young filmmaker who "didn't like the way The Passion of The Christ was pitched from pulpits a couple of years ago, and he feels like the church has gotten way too cozy with the idea of marketing Hollywood movies. So he responded the best way he knows how: He made a movie about it."

The film is available online for the next 40 days (well, sort of). Responses have been mixed. Some see it as "blasphemous and sacrilegious", and some as "a New Testament equivalent of an Old Testament prophecy challenging the idolatry of the church in embracing the world in its commercialization." After watching it, I can see both sides on this one. After reading CT's article (which I highly recommend you do even if you don't watch it, but especially if you do), I get what he's trying to do. Did he go too far? Cross the line? Probably. I was uncomfortable. But maybe that's his point. (Hint: if you decide to watch it, don't click away when the credits start near the end.)