The pull of controversy

I agree in full about the whole controversy=money concept. Where there is controversy, there is press and media hype, and where there is media hype there are people there to see just what all the fuss is about. One example of this theory was a few years back (I think it was in 2004), and was centered around a movie that was to be released; "The Passion of the Christ."
According to this news clip that I found,

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/22/earlyshow/leisure/boxoffice/main595101.shtml,

much of the controversy stemmed from the film's visually graphic and violent scenes, from the fact that it was a religious story, from the Pope's reaction to it, and also from some critics saying that the film was anti-Semitic. The news clip also mentioned how many of those critics who were criticizing the film hadn't actually seen it.

"The Passion of the Christ" was released as an independent film. Usually when films are independent, they don't get as much publicity or money. Yet, for this film, this was not the case. Because of all of the controversy the media and press were making over it, people came to see it not only because of their religious affiliation, but also because they wanted to see what what was so controversial. Mel Gibson (the film's creator) must've known this too. Not once did he try to reason with the press about how his movie wasn't graphic or anti-Semitic. He just let the controversy take its course, bringing in more viewers all the while, because where there's controversy, there's money.