| 
|
Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
| Total Views: 4,940,823
|
Article: 16775
[Art/Music/lit]
Date Posted:
12/7/2006
8:54:37 am EST
Wvox Stats
Views: 7,295
RSS: 18,405
Comments: 7
|
Gibson Film Angers Mayan Groups
Author: BBC Source: BBC News
Title: GIBSON FILM ANGERS MAYAN GROUPS
Mel Gibson's film about the Mayan civilization has come under fire from indigenous members of the culture.
Activists in Guatemala - once home to a large part of the central American Mayan empire - said Apocalypto was unrealistic.
"The director is saying the Mayans are savages," said Lucio Yaxon, a human rights activist.
But consultant archaeologist for the film, Richard Hansen, said Gibson was "trying to make a social statement".
"Gibson replays... an offensive and racist notion that Maya people were brutal to one another long before the arrival of Europeans and thus they deserved, in fact, needed, rescue," said Ignacio Ochoa, director of the Nahual Foundation that promotes Mayan culture.
Additional Article Link: [Click HERE]
| Options: [Read Full Story] [Comments Locked]
[Email to a Friend]
|
|
Community Thoughts: There are 7 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Part 2 | Dec 8th. at 9:44:36 am EST
|
bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me
I've no doubt these Empires had enemies from within as well as without. And people didn't always want to go to heaven and would have declined the "honorific".The only thing that can be said was, in the Aftermath, they discovered they had been fairly well off under the Aztecs- than the Spanish, who treated them far worse, despite later Church edicts against the treatment. by then, it was too late.
If they instead, had an Emperor a little more pragmatic than the one in power at the time, Cortez would not have made the inroads he did, even with the help of their enemies and his armor and horses.
As for the Maya- yes, they were already in decline by cortez's arrival. But by that time, they had two long Periods of Civilization, the Classical- and the Neo- Classical, both starting from before or around the time of Ancient Egypt, behind them.
|
| Well, Now That You Mention History... | Dec 7th. at 2:56:07 pm EST
|
Lora (Leominster, Massachusetts) - Email Me
The Mayan culture was indeed in decline at the time the conquistadors showed up. See Jared Diamond's book _Collapse_ for details, but in a nutshell, they had severe water management, farmland, perpetual warfare and wealth distribution issues that caused their society to die off. (Gosh, that doesn't sound at all familiar...) However, by the time the conquistadors made their entrance, there was nothing any 17th-century European could have possibly done to re-invigorate or preserve the culture: the topsoil was exhausted, South America was experiencing a nasty decades-long drought, warfare over the last arable land was ferocious, and political figureheads were firmly in let-them-eat-cake denial.
Note: It is the rare civilization indeed that actually senses its imminent danger and moves to act accordingly. One example Diamond points out is Iceland, another Japan. The majority of societies collapse in truly nasty, horrible ways, often involving cannibalism, civil war and mass starvation. Most societies, including European ones, do not believe they are collapsing even when they have clearly begun a decline in standard of living, comfort and wealth distribution.
|
| Another Gibson Bloodfest? | Dec 7th. at 1:28:25 pm EST
|
bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me
It seems that the man has a thing about blood and torture- as most of the films he has either starred in or directed seem to feature both in large measures. Granted, what he has tried to portray has some measure of historical accuracy, but dwelling on it as an only theme is not the full truth.
While it is true the Mayans, Aztecs and others did practice blood and human sacrifice, it was not for pleasure or entertainment. They honestly believed, even the ones going to the altar, that these things were vitally necessary, because their Gods had sacrificed themselves for the creation of their world- and every one in it, and they were obligated to give their lifeforce for their Gods to survive and continue, otherwise, their world would die. Those going, believed that they were going to the heavens of those gods to whom they were sacrificed, to live in bliss forever. If for the sheer enormity of blood shed however, Europeans hold that title, for when Central America was taken, more were killed in the conquest and the aftermath, than ever was spillied in sacrifice.
The MesoAmericans were far superior stone masons than Europeans of that same time, even though they did not use the wheel, or even mortar in some cases, even though they knew about them, nor had they any animals that were beasts of burden. They were on a par with the Ancient Chinese or the Egyptians in astronomy and mathematics and they were fairly sophisticated healers. As Agriculturalists, and traders, their networks were extremely far flung. They had canal systems and floating gardens that an Ancient Roman would have been comfortable with, and they were a very clean people. certainly nothing at all like the filthy squalid greedy conquerors from across the sea. I can see why some Mayans would be upset. The opinions have never really changed, thanks to the efforts of the church to supplant the ancient religions and the conquerors to subvert it.
|
| Another One To Skip | Dec 7th. at 11:34:25 am EST
|
Lady-hearted Mojo (Irving, Texas) - Email Me
There are few things I protest with my wallet, but Gibson and Cruise films are two of them. I have no intention of seeing a film that denigrates a culture that was more advanced at the time than European culture. While Europeans lived in filfth, squalor, and ignorance, the Mayans had a thriving intellectual and artistic culture. Their Long Calendar alone is a masterpiece of astrology, concepts of time, and mathematics. Yeah....they were real savages.
|
| Yet Another Gibson Revenge Flick | Dec 7th. at 10:43:52 am EST
|
Morgan Greywolf (Rialto, California) - Email Me
I'm not surprised this is getting a bad reaction from the Mayans -- when I started seeing commercials, my first thought was, "Oh, look, Braveheart in MezoAmerica." And I'm betting it's just about as accurate :-/.
See [Web LINK] (among others) for more on how far off Braveheart was. Two easily noticeable ones: Edward I died in 1307, two years after Wallace, not at the time of Wallace's execution (Aug 1305) , and Edward II didn't marry Isabella until Jan 1308 (Isabella was, FTR, 13 or 14 years old when Wallace was executed *g*) .
Mad Max (and sequels) , Hamlet, Braveheart, Payback, The Patriot, The Passion of the Christ and now Apocalypto -- the line of Gibson's bloody revenge fantasies continues.
Find More info -- HERE
|
| Savages? | Dec 7th. at 9:44:33 am EST
|
Karl (Detroit Metro, Michigan) - Email Me
[QUOTE=cited article]
….The director is saying the Mayans are savages," said Lucio Yaxon, a human rights activist….
[/QUOTE]
This comment is spot on. To me, its inference could be that Pagans of any age are “savages”.
The readers can peruse the following and associated links and decide for themselves who the real “savages” were: ( [Web LINK] )
The fundie prelates have no problem filling the minds of their gullible votaries with hatred toward and falsehoods about Pagans. The shocking India Tracy incident is a prime example of this. This Pagan teen was brutalized and accused of “eating babies” and being a “satan-worshipper”. If you are unfamiliar with this, you can go here and learn about it: ( [Web LINK] ) Most importantly, never forget it.
K
|
Disclaimer: The Witches' Voice inc does not verify the accuracy of the details stated in this listing, nor do we vouch for the value of the goods or services presented here... As with all contacts and financial dealings in cyberspace, we encourage you to use caution and wisdom in your dealings with strangers.
Political Statements: Any and all personal political opinions expressed in the public listing sections (including, but not restricted to, personals, events, groups, shops, Wren's Nest, etc.) are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinion of The Witches' Voice, Inc. TWV is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization.
|
State/Country flags created by 3dflags.com and are used with permission
Web Site Content (including: text - graphics - html - look & feel)
Copyright 1997-2009 The Witches' Voice Inc. All rights reserved
Note: Authors & Artists retain the copyright for their work(s) on this website.
Unauthorized reproduction without prior permission is a violation of copyright laws.
Website structure, evolution and php coding by Fritz Jung on a Macintosh G5.
Any and all personal political opinions expressed in the public listing sections (including, but not restricted to, personals, events, groups, shops, Wren’s Nest, etc.) are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinion of The Witches’ Voice, Inc. TWV is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization.
Sponsorship: Visit the Witches' Voice Sponsor Page for info on how you
can help support this Community Resource. Donations ARE Tax Deductible.
The Witches' Voice carries a 501(c)(3) certificate and a Federal Tax ID.
Mail Us: The Witches' Voice Inc., P.O. Box 341018, Tampa, Florida 33694-1018 U.S.A.
| |
