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What's up with the ugly baby (in The Passion)?
http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/news/040301-passion.html ^
| Mar 1, 04
| Mark Moring
Posted on 03/01/2004 9:51:06 PM PST by churchillbuff
What's Up With the Ugly Baby? Everyone's asking about the Passion scene where Satan is carrying a hideous infant. by Mark Moring | posted 03/01/04
"Please explain the symbolism in the scene showing Satan holding a bald baby. Thank you."
That's just one of dozens of e-mails we've received in the last few days, asking about a surreal scene in The Passion of The Christ where Satan is showing cradling a hideous baby who looks like he's about 40 years old.
The scene occurs during the flogging of Christ. Satan is passing through a crowd of onlookers, cradling an infant in his arms. The baby turns to face the camera, revealing a sinister infant, creeping out audiences everywhere.
We took your questions straight to the source, e-mailing Mel Gibson's publicist for an answer.
When asked why he portrayed Satan—an androgynous, almost beautiful being played by Rosalinda Celentano—the way he did, Gibson replied: "I believe the Devil is real, but I don't believe he shows up too often with horns and smoke and a forked tail. The devil is smarter than that. Evil is alluring, attractive. It looks almost normal, almost good—but not quite.
"That's what I tried to do with the Devil in the film. The actor's face is symmetric, beautiful in a certain sense, but not completely. For example, we shaved her eyebrows. Then we shot her almost in slow motion so you don't see her blink—that's not normal. We dubbed in a man's voice in Gethsemane even though the actor is a woman … That's what evil is about, taking something that's good and twisting it a little bit."
But what about the ugly baby?
"Again," said Gibson, "it's evil distorting what's good. What is more tender and beautiful than a mother and a child? So the Devil takes that and distorts it just a little bit. Instead of a normal mother and child you have an androgynous figure holding a 40-year-old 'baby' with hair on his back. It is weird, it is shocking, it's almost too much—just like turning Jesus over to continue scourging him on his chest is shocking and almost too much, which is the exact moment when this appearance of the Devil and the baby takes place."
TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: androgynous; christianity; evil; genderneutral; gibson; mockinggod; neithermaleorfemale; passion; satan
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To: churchillbuff
The baby might have been a metaphor for original sin.
2
posted on
03/01/2004 9:54:09 PM PST
by
goldensky
To: churchillbuff
I didn't notice that the baby had hair on his back. And someone here mentioned that after Jesus' death on the cross Satan started screaming and looked like James Carvile. When I saw that scene in the movie all I could think of was James Carvile going nuts.
3
posted on
03/01/2004 9:54:22 PM PST
by
CzarNicky
(The problem with bad ideas is that they seemed like good ideas at the time.)
To: wardaddy; My2Cents
You've seen the Passion, how did you take this scene?
4
posted on
03/01/2004 9:54:33 PM PST
by
onyx
(Kerry' s a Veteran, but so were Lee Harvey Oswald, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Timothy McVeigh)
To: churchillbuff
To: churchillbuff
Who is that demon baby? Your answer is right here:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0549591/
To: churchillbuff
When I first saw it, I thought it was the Devil's way of mocking Mary and Jesus--the Devil holding his baby--the anti-Christ. The Devil was a great effect in the movie. Really made you think.
To: churchillbuff
The Devil mocking Madonna and Child.
To: RightWingAtheist
I don't want to go there, just give him a name!! =o)
9
posted on
03/01/2004 9:58:31 PM PST
by
GeronL
(http://www.ArmorforCongress.com......................Send a Freeper to Congress!)
To: Mike Darancette
The Devil mocking Madonna and Child. That's what I thought as well.
10
posted on
03/01/2004 9:59:02 PM PST
by
nutmeg
To: CzarNicky
When I saw that scene in the movie all I could think of was James Carvile going nuts.Hee, hee. Maybe it's a preview of what James Carville's demeanor will be on November 3, 2004.
To: churchillbuff
Looks like a satanic version of "mini me".
12
posted on
03/01/2004 10:00:25 PM PST
by
tame
(Are you willing to do for the truth what leftists are willing to do for a lie?)
To: CzarNicky
Did the baby have a trash can over his head?
To: RightWingAtheist
I couldn't find a pic on that site.
14
posted on
03/01/2004 10:02:52 PM PST
by
TheSpottedOwl
(Until Kofi Annan rides the Jerusalem RTD....nothing will change.)
To: Licensed-To-Carry
he should have
15
posted on
03/01/2004 10:04:02 PM PST
by
CzarNicky
(The problem with bad ideas is that they seemed like good ideas at the time.)
To: churchillbuff
I've only seen stills from the movie, but I think Gibson got Satan exactly right - he looks exactly like a corrupted angel.
To: churchillbuff
"...40-year-old 'baby' with hair on his back..."Was it Rocky Balboa's kid from "Rocky II"?
17
posted on
03/01/2004 10:04:25 PM PST
by
Luis Gonzalez
(Unless the world is made safe for Democracy, Democracy won't be safe in the world.)
To: GeronL
OK. The actor playing the baby is a midget named Davide Moratta, who has previously played other "demon children" in Italian horror films, most notably "Creepers", which was one of the first starring roles for Jennifer Connelly.
To: RightWingAtheist
Sorry, that's David MAROTTA
To: churchillbuff
The baby is Andy Rooney.
Qwinn
20
posted on
03/01/2004 10:06:10 PM PST
by
Qwinn
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