When beautiful people get religion

Twenty years ago, People Magazine selected Mel Gibson as their first "Sexiest Man Alive." Of course in the last couple of years, the sexy has been traded in for controversial because of his The Passion of the Christ, in which he put forth his version of the crucifixion in order for those who wanted to to experience at gut level the death of their Savior. Was this an "evangelical" film? I'd say no because it was not intended to convert people to Christianity or even to Gibson's strict version of Catholicism. He was not evangelizing but instead made a film for Christians designed to give them an intense experience of an event they hold sacred. Perhaps it didn't succeed with every Christian, but this is the lens through which it must be viewed, in my opinion. However, there was no shortage of people who were so outraged by the very existance of this film (well, and that it was huge success), and just I don't understand why.

Fifteen years ago, People Magazine selected Tom Cruise as their "Sexiest Man Alive." Seven or eight years ago, I greatly reconsidered my views on Tom Cruise. It started with how I was so surprised at how I liked Jerry Maguire. Then there was the slow building eerieness of Eyes Wide Shut, and that he took the supporting role of Frank T.J. Mackey in the excellent Magnolia. While I had some problems with Vanilla Sky, I did not think they were Cruise's fault, and Minority Report was pretty cool. The guy can do good work and can find great films to be in. (The Last Samurai or Collateral are both unseen by me at this writing.)

However, with all the recent publicity regarding his upcoming blockbuster and recent engagement and appearance on Oprah, the matinee idol has been getting on my nerves lately. I feel like I'm alone in this though. This morning it occurred to me though that Cruise's popularity should be completely unjustified because he consistantly engages in one of the most unpardonable sins in today's society: he proselytizes. I don't know about his first marriage to Mimi Rogers, but if I remember correctly, a factor in the ending of his marriage to Nicole Kidman was that she had second thoughts about her conversion from Catholocism to Scientology. Also, didn't his relationship with Penelope Cruz end because she would not convert to Scientology? I saw recent reports that new fiancee Katie Holmes converted to Scientology. The guy forces his women to convert to his religion. Where are the people who were up in arms about Gibson's film? Is this not worse than making a film of your beliefs? Today's IMDb Movie/TV News cites reports that Scarlett Johansson pulled out of Mission: Impossible because Cruise tried to convert her to Scientology. His proselytizing has seeped from his personal life into the workplace. Isn't this the US? Don't we lambaste people for doing that?