Apocalypto and Violence

I saw Mel Gibson's Apocalypto yesterday afternoon. I was astounded. It was just great. My opinion of Mr. Gibson's abilities has changed considerably. I do not intend to go back and watch any of his previous films, but I shall look forward to his coming films with great pleasure.

The film is a simple chase film. However, Mr. Gibson manages to introduce and maintain his allegory : the rot of empires from within, not from without, all the way to the end. I have heard the expression "gratuitous violence".
This expression has become a stereotypical, hackneyed saying that people like me like to spout. The Mayan religion was extremely violent as their own paintings tell us. The Mayan religion was founded on the visions of two kinds, of which we hear a distant murmur in the story of the two brothers who invaded Xibalba. One vision was of love, the other was of blood. In the classic Mayan civilization, the vision of blood held the day, although the other never entireley disappeared, as evidenced by the scene of the woman praying to Ixmel, the great lady.

So, the violence is not gratuitous, just as the violence in a great war film is not gratuitous, for that violence shows the horror of war. War is death, not dancing a jig on the flight deck. What is very meaningful is the portrayal of the fact that the Mayas held their gods with the same sense and emotion of certainty that we do our God. As they slaughtered hundreds, they relished the exact same certitude of god's love. In other words, civilizations become the work of the evil one when they reach a point where they can actually see God. And this vision of God is a mirror image of their own worst selves! Bravo, Mr. Gibson. All is forgiven. Now forgive us for our nasty words.

--