Spitting on jesus

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Dpoc41

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From Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on the fourth episode of this season’s Netflix program, “House of Cards”:

I would like to ask those who receive our news releases to contact Jonathan Friedland, VP, Corporate Communications at Netflix, and ask him to explain why the character who plays the president of the United States, Frank Underwood, found it necessary to spit on the face of Jesus and then knock the crucifix to the floor, smashing it to bits.

You may also want to ask whether they have any plans to spit into the face of Muhammad, or the mother of Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings.

Contact: jofriedland@netflix.com
 
Robin Wright is one of the stars of House of Cards. I guess it’s just as well that some actresses I have had crushes on aren’t in show business any longer. sigh
 
This is why I don’t watch any of these ‘soap opera’ TV shows. 😛
 
truetofaith said:
This is why I don’t watch any of these ‘soap opera’ TV shows. 😛
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Yes, its hard to find anything non-offensive on tv anymore, theres even an advert with two men kissing on uk tv at the moment :takethat:
 
The god of this world hath blinded them. Simple as that.
 
Within the context of the House of Cards series, the action of spitting on the face of Jesus’ image and breaking the crucifix was not a commentary on the divinity of Jesus. Rather, it was a commentary on the evil of the main character, Francis Underwood.

That said, if I were an actor, I would have to draw the line at actions like that, even if I were only playing a part. I had a similar skin-crawling reaction to the scene in Shogun where Anjin-san’s samurai had to tread a crucifix underfoot to prove that they weren’t Christian. And I wasn’t even Catholic at that time.
 
Oh, my goodness!

I’m not familiar with this series. But I’d suggest not only writing and complaining about the scene(s) in question but also no longer watching the show. and if you do continue watching it, not buying the products advertised by the series sponsors.
 
Dpoc41 said:
From Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on the fourth episode of this season’s Netflix program, “House of Cards”:

I would like to ask those who receive our news releases to contact Jonathan Friedland, VP, Corporate Communications at Netflix, and ask him to explain why the character who plays the president of the United States, Frank Underwood, found it necessary to spit on the face of Jesus and then knock the crucifix to the floor, smashing it to bits.

You may also want to ask whether they have any plans to spit into the face of Muhammad, or the mother of Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings.

Contact: jofriedland@netflix.com
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Christian’s do not worship statutes or idols. What someone does in a fictional movie to a statute or crucifix is irrelevant to my faith.
 
DaddyGirl said:
The spitting is very in keeping with his character–he also urinated on his father’s grave in one episode, and more of this ilk.
And you can tell by that scene that they are trying to make this character look somewhat evil, so the scene is very, very effective and symbolic.

But Bill D. of “The Catholic League” does *not *have his facts correct.
Did he even see the episode, I wonder?

First of all, the character does spit…but we aren’t exactly sure where it lands because we cannot see Jesus’s face when he does it and we don’t see where it lands because the camera is shooting from behind/below the statue, and Jesus’s face is also in the shadows.

Second…the character then feels badly about the spitting, and takes out a handkerchief and begins to wipe off the statue where he spit…and it is his attempt to wipe that accidentally makes the statue, which is not affixed strongly, fall over and break.

I find it odd that he asks if they have plans to have a character spit into the face of Muhammad.
This is not a game of tit-for-tat.
Since this character hails from the bible belt in South Carolina, it makes historical, geographical, factual and chronological sense that Christianity would be the religion he may have grown up with, not Islam.
His character went into the church in this scene ostensibly to pray.

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Donohue is hit or miss. His organization is like the ADL. It has a good purpose - responding to offensiveness and intolerance - but can tend to be over-sensitive. Despite its slightly overturned sensitivity, I am glad it exists.

As for spitting on the crucifix itself, it’s an extreme and provocative act, but I’m more interested in why it’s depicted. Like rape or murder, if it’s done to demonstrate the baseness of human character, then it’s dealing with something that does happen and I can’t fault the show or its creators. The act is still offensive, of course. Just like rape and murder are still offensive. Similarly, if it’s done gratuitously or to cater to people who get some satisfaction in seeing that sort of thing, then I will surely fault the show/creators.
 
😦 How awful! Though can’t say I’m surprised. :rolleyes: This is why I watch DVDs mostly.
 
DaddyGirl said:
The spitting is very in keeping with his character–he also urinated on his father’s grave in one episode, and more of this ilk.
And you can tell by that scene that they are trying to make this character look somewhat evil, so the scene is very, very effective and symbolic.

But Bill D. of “The Catholic League” does *not *have his facts correct.
Did he even see the episode, I wonder?

First of all, the character does spit…but we aren’t exactly sure where it lands because we cannot see Jesus’s face when he does it and we don’t see where it lands because the camera is shooting from behind/below the statue, and Jesus’s face is also in the shadows.

Second…the character then feels badly about the spitting, and takes out a handkerchief and begins to wipe off the statue where he spit…and it is his attempt to wipe that accidentally makes the statue, which is not affixed strongly, fall over and break.

I find it odd that he asks if they have plans to have a character spit into the face of Muhammad.
This is not a game of tit-for-tat.
Since this character hails from the bible belt in South Carolina, it makes historical, geographical, factual and chronological sense that Christianity would be the religion he may have grown up with, not Islam.
His character went into the church in this scene ostensibly to pray.

.
Click to expand...
👍 This is what I saw in the episode too, that the falling of the statue was not his intention, and he was trying to wipe it off after he spit. Actually, I sort of took it as a sign from God even, or at least karma that the statue fell - it was large and fell right towards him very shortly after he spit on it.

The show makes it very clear that he’s not exactly a character to try to model ourselves after - he is ruthless and cutthroat and does whatever he needs to do in order to accomplish his goals for himself. I don’t think many would watch this show and think that he’s intended to be a role model in any way, shape, or form.

This whole scene showed some internal struggle the character was having - went to church to have a conversation with the priest and get some advice, then we could see his frustration when he didn’t seem to get the answer he was hoping for, then he became angry, and this happened. I don’t think that reflects back on the actor or writers and their views, just a way to show what was going on with the character at the time.
 
AnnieHall said:
👍 This is what I saw in the episode too, that the falling of the statue was not his intention, and he was trying to wipe it off after he spit. Actually, I sort of took it as a sign from God even, or at least karma that the statue fell - it was large and fell right towards him very shortly after he spit on it.

The show makes it very clear that he’s not exactly a character to try to model ourselves after - he is ruthless and cutthroat and does whatever he needs to do in order to accomplish his goals for himself. I don’t think many would watch this show and think that he’s intended to be a role model in any way, shape, or form.

This whole scene showed some internal struggle the character was having - went to church to have a conversation with the priest and get some advice, then we could see his frustration when he didn’t seem to get the answer he was hoping for, then he became angry, and this happened. I don’t think that reflects back on the actor or writers and their views, just a way to show what was going on with the character at the time.
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Exactly.

We should be very careful when it comes to attributing things that happen in a fictional drama. Sometimes a bad word or action is just part of the story.
 
AnnieHall said:
👍 This is what I saw in the episode too, that the falling of the statue was not his intention, and he was trying to wipe it off after he spit. Actually, I sort of took it as a sign from God even, or at least karma that the statue fell - it was large and fell right towards him very shortly after he spit on it.

The show makes it very clear that he’s not exactly a character to try to model ourselves after - he is ruthless and cutthroat and does whatever he needs to do in order to accomplish his goals for himself. I don’t think many would watch this show and think that he’s intended to be a role model in any way, shape, or form.

This whole scene showed some internal struggle the character was having - went to church to have a conversation with the priest and get some advice, then we could see his frustration when he didn’t seem to get the answer he was hoping for, then he became angry, and this happened. I don’t think that reflects back on the actor or writers and their views, just a way to show what was going on with the character at the time.
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I have to agree that it is in keeping with Francis Underwood’s character that he spits on the statue. He is a ruthless, immoral person who killed his way into being president. He has a great disregard for morality. He is a sinful person.

Sometimes it frustrates me that some people in this forum take the actions of characters in television series, movies and literature in face value and don’t even try to look for the qualities of the character that would set of a context for his or her actions. And sometimes they would judge an entire television show based on how much sex and violence it has. It’s kind of a superficial judgment.

Why is it that people try so hard to look at role models in TV and film even though not every T show or movie is intended for children? If every TV show or movie has to have at least a “moral lesson” in it then it would be too didactic and you’ll end up with low quality (for example, most evangelical Christian movies). Sometimes a work of art has to reflect the sinfulness of man and the effect of original sin for it to have a moral message. Sometimes it has to reflect life and reality rather than an ideal for it to be true art.
 
The way the statue smashed I don’t think it was a real iconic stature of Christ, just a prop. But still, I can understand the offense.

Underwood is an evil character with few peers and this was just one illustration of it.

One might also look at the wreckage he has made of the lives of all those who ally themselves with him.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they later depict him as THE antichrist.
 
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