Associate Professor of Religious Studies Steve Humphries-Brooks was quoted in a The New York Times article (2/21/04) about the upcoming Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ. In the article "What Did Jesus Really Look Like," Humphries-Brooks said that while public furor in the United States "has always been over the 'authenticity' of the Hollywood Jesus, the overlooked issue is really what this Jesus says about America, where we are and where we are going." The article goes on to note: "...Mr. Gibson's 'Passion' can be seen as another round in a more than century-old battle to assure Americans that Jesus was a manly savior and that real men could be good Christians. Mr. Gibson's Jesus is a kind of 'triumphant action hero,' in Mr. Humphries-Brooks words, who can represent a tough-minded America for tough times." Humphries-Brooks teaches a course at Hamilton, "The Celluloid Savior," which explores the image of Jesus in movies.
The Times article also was published in the Arizona Republic and the Edmonton Journal (Canada).
