Apocalypto Summary

Sharon Palma English 2010 Review Apocalypto Introduction Mel Gibson’s fourth film, the action-adventure movie, Apocalypto, is set in Mesoamerica (the region that extends form central Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras and Northern Costa Rica) during the declining period of the Maya Civilization, though the movie doesn’t give any specific date. Most people around the world are familiar with the ancient civilizations such as the Egyptians, the Romans, Greeks, etc. and the rise and fall of their civilizations. The Mayans, however, are more of a mystery, and to most people Apocalypto was their first exposure to this civilization. In the movie, Mel Gibson does very little to portray them as the powerful and fully developed civilization that they were and instead portrays them as “a super-cruel, psycho-sadistic society” (Booth 6). This is not the Mayan that scholars know, but this is the impression that will last in the minds of those who know very little of the civilization. In this movie the Mayans are portrayed as a civilization very different from their own; just like nowadays they are seen as the civilization that “predicted” that the end of the world is at the end of this year despite the research done by Mayan scholars and archaeologists denying these rumors. Summary Jaguar Paw, a Mesoamerican tribesman is taken as captive along with other men from his village to be offered as a human sacrifice to the gods. Most of the fellowmen and women are murdered, but he is able to hide his pregnant wife and son. Jaguar Paw is determined to come out of this alive and return to his family. His is taken into a journey full of oppression and fear toward a Mayan city. When they arrive to the city, the captives are taken to the very top of a pyramid, where their heads are cut off. When it’s time for Jaguar Paw to be sacrificed, an astronomical event occurs, a solar eclipse. The priest then declares that the eclipse is a sign that the gods are satisfied. Now, Jaguar Paw and the rest of the men held captive are released in an open space only to be killed as practice targets. Somehow, Jaguar Paw manages to escape and return to his family to search for a new beginning (Apocalypto). Action-Adventure movie Apocalypto is categorized as an action-adventure genre movie. Generally adventure movies take place in exotic places like a desert, a lost continent or a jungle, where the characters of the movie end up exploring. This was the case of Apocalypto, it takes place in the exotic, lavish green jungles of Mesoamerica (though Mel Gibson doesn’t specify exactly where in Mesoamerica). During Jaguar Paw’s journey as a captive, alongside with his fellow tribesmen, he finds himself in a territory, and a city he had never before seen. After the tribesmen arrive, they are covered in blue paint and then they are taken to the top of a pyramid to be offered as human sacrifices to the gods. Just like an adventure movie, an action movie provides the viewer with thrill and excitement. A typical action movie would include explosions, fast cars racing, fighting, and heroes jumping off buildings, etc. This, of course, was not the case with Apocalypto because of the historical period in which it is set. But it turns into an action movie due to the fact that by the end of it, when Jaguar Paw finally escapes the claws of his capturers and he goes into the forest, the scenes move a lot faster than at the beginning. When it seemed like he finally evaded his persecutors and everything was going to be just fine and he could be able to return to his family, things change and the fast pace begins again. Jaguar Paw uses the forest resources (poisonous animals, mud as camouflage, etc.) to counterattack his persecutors. One by one he starts killing them until he finally gets rid of them tall. The movie doesn’t involve a lot of fighting like typical action movies; it emphasizes more on strategic moves by Jaguar Paw in the jungle. Rituals and Sacrifices There are a few controversies regarding whether Apocalypto really reflected the Mayan civilization or not. In my opinion it didn’t reflect what the Mayans were really about. Gibson portrays the Mayans as savages that relish torturing their captives and as having a great lust for human blood. Every society is violent, in one way or another. The Mayans did see their captives as competition and yes they did participate in rituals of human sacrifice, but, as Professor Stephen Houston, from Brown University says the people chosen for those sacrifices were generally royals and elites, not random villagers (Booth 6). Also, if they did perform human sacrifices, there is no record that the Mayans slaughtered that many slaves at one given time. That type of human sacrifice was seen in the Aztec civilization (Lovgren 6). The Mayan as a Powerful Civilization In my opinion, Gibson failed to portray the Mayan civilization in its full power. The fact that they were a fully developed civilization in different fields from architecture to astronomy to agriculture was completely obliterated in this movie. The film's depiction of the Maya city and the architecture are correct, but they're gathered together from different locations and different eras (McGuire 6). Also, the magnificence of the temples observed when Jaguar Paw and the rest of the tribesmen arrive at Mayan city is overshadowed by the gruesome scenes of the human sacrifices. Thus, people don’t focus on the beauty of the temples, but rather on the disturbing scenes that follow. I also think it portrays the Mayans as completely ignorant, especially in the solar eclipse scene. The Mayans possessed highly astronomical skills to be quite perturbed by a solar eclipse. This just makes the movie very unrealistic. Apocalypto has very little to do with the real Mayan culture (Ardren 6). Ending Another thing that didn’t quite click was at the very end of the movie when Jaguar Paw, his wife and son, watch a small boat approach the coast. According to studies the time the Spaniards didn’t come to land until 400 years after the Classic Mayan collapsed, that was until 1502 on Christopher Columbus fourth voyage. Gibson is just mixing two completely different and far apart eras (Lovgren 6). This movie although it could fall in the category of historical events or ancient civilizations, it has nothing to do with actual facts about the Mayan or their Civilization. Conclusion Mel Gibson’s film Apocalypto is an action-adventure movie. Takes place in the jungles of Mesoamerica. It’s a movie that revolves around a tribe man by the name of Jaguar Paw and his inexhaustible effort to free himself from his captors and return to his family. The movie poorly portrays what the Mayan civilization was really like. Over exaggerated and gruesome scenes of human sacrifice overshadow the visuals of the grand temples and monuments in the Mayan city. The astronomical event of the solar eclipse doesn’t make the movie realistic and it portrays the Mayans as ignorant when they all stare in panic and awe at the solar eclipse, when they in fact possessed high skills in astronomy. Also, the ending mixes two completely different periods, when the Spaniards approach the coast on a boat. This movie does not portray the real powerful Mayan civilization that existed long ago. Just like nowadays the Mayans are seen as the civilization that predicted the end of the world this year when in fact they didn’t predict anything concerning the end of human civilization. Work Cited Ardren, Traci. “Is ‘Apocalypto’ Pornography?”Archaeological Institute of America. 5 Dec. 2006. Web 18 July 2012. Booth, William. “Cultural Shocker.” The Washington Post. 9, Dec., 2006. Web 18 July 2012. Apocalypto. Dir. Mel Gibson. Perf. Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernandez, Raoul Trujillo. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 2007. DVD. Lovgren, Stefan. "Apocalypto" Tortures the Facts.” National Geographic News. 8 Dec., 2006. Web 18 July 2012. McGuire, Mark. “Apocalypto' a pack of inaccuracies.” NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE. 12 Dec 2006. Web. 18, July 2012. .

Load more