|
|
|
|
HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 12/15/2006 : 12:15:14
|
This is from "Is 'Apocalypto' Pornography?" a review in Archaeology by Traci Ardren, who has studied the Classical Mayans for over 20 years.
A key quote: quote:
. . .
But I find the visual appeal of the film one of the most disturbing aspects of "Apocalypto." The jungles of Veracruz and Costa Rica have never looked better, the masked priests on the temple jump right off a Classic Maya vase, and the people are gorgeous. The fact that this film was made in Mexico and filmed in the Yucatec Maya language coupled with its visual appeal makes it all the more dangerous. It looks authentic; viewers will be captivated by the crazy, exotic mess of the city and the howler monkeys in the jungle. And who really cares that the Maya were not living in cities when the Spanish arrived? Yes, Gibson includes the arrival of clearly Christian missionaries (these guys are too clean to be conquistadors) in the last five minutes of the story (in the real world the Spanish arrived 300 years after the last Maya city was abandoned). It is one of the few calm moments in an otherwise aggressively paced film. The message? The end is near and the savior has come. Gibson's efforts at authenticity of location and language might, for some viewers, mask his blatantly colonial message that the Maya needed saving because they were rotten at the core.
. . .
|
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
|
|
beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2006 : 02:55:11 [Permalink]
|
| Interesting since Gibson comes from a country that even more recently than we, felt the need to 'save' the Aboriginal children. |
 |
|
|
HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2006 : 03:18:09 [Permalink]
|
quote:
Originally posted by beskeptigal
Interesting since Gibson comes from a country that even more recently than we, felt the need to 'save' the Aboriginal children.
Yup, and the more I think on it, the more I'm certain that the "colonialism" word, ofter used as hyperbole, is dead-on accurate in describing Gibson's intent, so long as one considers the religious and moral-superiority elements of colonialism.
Hope to hear from folks here who see it, though. I have not. I hesitate to contribute to Mel's crusade by buying a ticket. Plus, my daughter probably wouldn't want to take me to it (I'd need the transportation) as she can be very strong in her boycotts. (She wants to avoid the new James Bond films simply because she thinks it's unconscionable that the lead actor is apparently somewhat thuggish, rather than debonair. Having read all the Ian Fleming books, I see Bond as both.)
The theatrical preview of Apocalypto, which I did see, is jaw-droppingly exciting, and the visuals of the Classical Mayan world in it are wondrous. Too bad Gibson didn't make it a boring bad movie, eh? He apparently got his "they needed Christ" message across strongly.
I hate it when the bad guys are smart!
|
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Topic Locked
