Mel Gibson's antisemitic remarks and public controversy

Public Relations and Society

Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic remarks

Mel Gibson is well-known for his history of discriminating diverse communities and what is even more concerning is that his record of insults seems to be recurring with a relatively increased frequency. During recent years he was very open with regard to opinions he had about particular races and ethnicities. Even with the fact that he is known to have put across aggressive behavior toward women and that he discriminated African-Americans, his anti-Semitic remarks are probably among his worst behaviors up to this moment. Realizing the position he put himself in as a consequence of expressing his beliefs concerning Jewish people, Gibson performed a wide range of strategies in an attempt to be forgiven.

The Hollywood actor is a very controversial personality and most stories regarding him are owed to the fact that he seems to have a very bad temper. The fact that he is a public person does not seem to stop him from getting actively involved in activities that both damage his image and affect society as a whole.

One of Gibson's films, The Passion of the Christ, is considered by many to be a direct reference to the actor/director's anti-Semitic beliefs. "The film presents very graphic scenes of Jesus being mercilessly tortured and beaten by the Romans and its portrayal of the Jewish priests and other visual representations were said by some critics to be referenced to the classical visual history of anti-Semitism." (Roman 344) While one might be inclined to believe that anti-Semitic remarks may eventually be forgotten, it is difficult and almost impossible for someone to simply ignore the impact that this particular film had on the world. Even with this, Gibson's emphasize on the fact that the motion picture is actually true to the Bible brings on several more concerning issues regarding religion in general. The actor practically shifted attention from himself by addressing his inspiration as Christianity itself -- this partly succeeded in helping his public image when considering that individuals wanting to criticize the film's anti-Semite character would have to attack Christianity and would thus engage in a more complex and complicated discussion.

Gibson was approached by a police officer and arrested as a consequence of driving under the influence of alcohol. Infuriated with the situation he was in, he proceeded to make a series of insulting remarks with regard to Jewish individuals. The actor told the police officer "the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world" (Mel Gibson Apologizes for Tirade After Arrest) when realizing that the law enforcement agent would not allow him to drive home.

Realizing the fact that his attitudes were especially hurtful, Gibson went through great efforts with the purpose to recover his image. According to him, "there is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark." (Gibson in Mel Gibson Seeks Forgiveness From Jews) In the same interview he highlighted the fact that he had a complex understanding of the impact of his words and that he, as a public person, felt that he has the mission to inspire people to do positive things rather than to put across ideas that directly insulted particular groups or individuals.

Gibson appears to have put this story behind him today and actually wants the rest of the world to do the same. From his perspective, people should simply accept the fact that he changed and that his struggle to apologize to the Jewish community should be taken into account each time someone attempts to reprimand him for his background.

Gary Oldman's involvement in the controversy is especially intriguing, as the actor brought attention to Gibson's remarks by attempting to say that there is really nothing abnormal with someone behaving like this. Oldman tried to criticize the masses and the media in particular by saying that whoever believes Gibson to have done something wrong is actually a hypocrite. This further contributes to highlighting Gibson's anti-Semitic nature when considering that his acquaintances appear to support him. This type of support is surprising because it is not aimed at helping the world forgive Gibson -- it actually reinforces the belief that what he did was very hurtful and that some people failed to learn something from the incident.