VivirLatino

HA! mel can suck it.

i actually did see apocalypto- going in prepared to be offended and horrified, but knowing i needed to see it to be able to criticize it (plus a friend's mom gave us the cash- so technically it wasnt MY money going to Mel gibsons racist ass)

it's in every way as degrading, unbelievably offensive, saddening, disgusting, and typical as you could expect from mel and hollywood's appropriation of a culture's name and language to make shitloads of cash. as a chicana i almost cried in the theater, seeing the way a glorious indigenous civilization that still exists throught mexico and central america- was shown as savage, dirty, naked, violent, every horrific stereotype you thought was dead or done to death by now.
there is no historical accuracy whatsoever, nor in the clothes or architecture or way of life depicted in the film. its basically completely made up crap attached to the Maya peoples name.
and the best part is, through and through, it is Christian propaganda and it is not subtle in anyway whatsoever with the ol' christians-saving-the-savages myth.

if you do see it, i guarantee that all your worst fears about this film will be met and exceeded thanks to mel gibson's total, complete and utter insanity.

my friend said after we saw the film (shes jewish btw): "let's martyr mel gibson."

i just looked back at the comments to your earlier post about apocalypto.

so just one thing i think is important to add:
at the end of the film, the climactic moment of the chase when you think FINALLY this lonesome heroic Jaguar Paw will either escape or be killed, the spaniards arrive at the beach with a little canoe coming ashore with a friar and his big ass cross.

the peak and decline of Classic Maya civilization was around 900 ce. spanish arrival to the americas was HUNDREDS OF YEARS LATER.

Mel Gibson has no qualms about distorting facts and exploiting indigenous cultures as a means of promoting his Christian beliefs. his brand of Christianity is every bit as violent (if youve seen any of his films its undeniable) as that used by the Spaniards to justify conquest of indigenous peoples of the americas.

Cat, Mil gracias for posting your reaction to the film (and proving that my gut- as usual is right-jeje). I may pick up a bootleg copy this weekend.

My gaud, Cat. You are a cookie monster from the planet voodoo.

Apocalypto was indeed a great movie. Sure, if you have Jewish friends, they might not like the fact that when Mel zips a few Coronas he goes on a anti-Semitic trance. Yeah, he's got to do something about that.

However, the question here is if we judge the artwork or the artist. Sure, Mel has been known to be an ass but Apocalypto was a great, great movie. One that a gotdamm Mexicans should have made. I don't know why, WHY(?!) this was not the case… though I have my suspicions.

Mel did take a huge gamble financially and monetarily, not to mention professionally as a director and producer. And he won.

Cat: you have a much romanticized view of the Mayan civilization. There is very strong... and I mean strong evidence (and agreed among Mexican and foreign researchers) that the Maya were a warring people, exploitative and arrogant… like us today.

Most Mexican-Americans who take Chicano Studies at the university level get an idealistic, flowery view of pre-Cortesian Indian history, when in fact the aboriginal peoples of the Americas, in particular those who had excelled by creating civilizations, appear to have been as martial as their eventual European conquerors.

Yes, you are right. Mel got his time tables wrong with the arrival of the Spaniards at the end of the movie (I am unclear why he did that), but his movie as a whole, was very well done--no half-ass costumes and cheap work that Televisa does or from the Churubusco Studios.

The shameful thing about Mel's movie is that a NON-MEXICAN spear-headed a movie of this excellent quality. Mexico has equally or better movie director talent (several whom have now migrated to Hollywood), but since the Indian in Mexico is deemed as dirty, dumb, lazy, and ugly, it is not surprising that Mel—an American raised in Australia—is the one who brings the Maya to movie life.

Excellent, Mel. Good job. Just keep your mouth shut when it comes to Jews... or you won’t get nominated at the Oscars.