llabrword Review of Jesus Was a Commie

Jesus Was a Commie (2011)

A controversial account of Jesus' relation to modern-day society.

[8/10 · 7 November 2011]

In this short film, Matthew Modine expresses his comparisons between the social and moral teachings and ideals that Jesus expressed and the mechanism in which they may be construed into a hypothetical political state today. However, there are two conflicts that Modine had to take into consideration. Firstly, there can be no direct assimilation between Jesus and politics, especially since communism and socialism did not exist in his time. Secondly, the comparison should not lead one to believe that we should strive to create a global state that is politically and economically equal. Our innate, human corruption and sin will never allow humanity to sustain such a Utopian-like setting. Therefore, even though he distances his ideology from that of Stalin and Mao in an effort to separate himself from the negative connotations that follow communism and socialism, his use of Christology in accordance with his own theology forms a concrete representation of Jesus' ministry in context to modern-day politics. This illustrates the flaws that exist in current governing systems around the world, even though some of these issues cannot be worked out due to human imperfection. In conclusion, the film controversially and tactfully combines the life of Jesus with a facet of politics that is known for its lack of efficiency as well as its corruption through those that find their way to the top. The title is provocative and the issues are well dealt with. A09160061