The other night the Beloved Bride and I were trolling around on Netflix looking for a movie and we settled on a good one. If you haven’t already, then you should really watch Apocalypto.
Now let me preface by saying that I love Mel Gibson movies. All three of the movies I’ve cried during; The Patriot, We Were Soldiersand of course The Passion of the Christ, were Gibson flicks.And while some of his movies have not been so hot, I’m particularly thinking about Air America here, and at least one of them I refuse to see, the original novel for The Man Without a Face was supposedly about a hideous topic, for the most part Gibson makes great movies. Braveheart ranks in my top 10 favorite movies of all time (if it were possible to compile such a list) and other movies of his I really enjoyed were What Women Want, Conspiracy Theory, Maverick and it goes without saying, every Lethal Weapon movie even though Danny Glover is a moron. And while this isn’t the place, or at least the time, both Signs and Gibson’s Hamlet deserve far more credit and scrutiny than they receive. But back to the original point of all of this, Apocalypto. For those of you supercilious types I will admit up front that some of the movie is predictable, but let’s face it, there is nothing new under the sun and most movies are completely predictable so get over it. Alright, first things first, this is a movie about men, for men by a man. There is plenty of action, coarse jokes, blood and boobs. If you don’t like those things then you’re probably not going to like this movie. A few notes on the boobs; here at The Revolting Man we are huge fans of boobs. We like them. A lot. However they are frequently handled incorrectly in our culture. In Apocalypto they are handled in a fairly novel and frankly effective way. Don’t watch this movie if you are looking for fake monstrosities or to be inundated with nudity, but they are frequently in the background adding a little spice, but enough of that. The main story is that of Jaguar Paw, a young leader of a slightly idealized jungle tribe who struggles with his inner fears and a very chaotic and changing world. Of course for me the most compelling storylines were those about the men trying to live up to their concept of manhood. Both Jaguar Paw and another character named Curled are attempting the feat and while Curled’s story is the more interesting of the two, Jaguar Paw though is an archetypal Revolting Man. His fight with himself and a foreign and overpowering but decaying culture is one that will resonate with every man trying to protect his family and dignity in modern America. Gibson has said that the movie was at it’s a core an attempt to rejuvenate the chase/action genre but it’s hard to ignore that he frequently tells stories about men at odds with themselves and the world around them. These characters main motivation is protecting a traditional family. You could go through many of his movies and find similar undercurrents but none more pronounced than Signs. Yes I know the two movies couldn’t be more different on their surfaces but both of the protagonists are facing nigh insurmountable civilizations and inner demons all while trying to save their families. Both are successful in similar ways too. It makes sense though; Gibson himself wrestles with inner demons and is at odds with much of the dominant culture. That his characters and movies would revolve around those subjects only makes sense. I love to think that Mel Gibson is a guy just like me, trying to live up to his own ideal of what a man should be while not egregiously transgressing what society says a man should be. I think it’s telling that in Apocalypto the main character withdraws from the corrupt society and the possibilities of a new invading society to try and realize his ideal. And even though he is escaping scarred, battered and bereft of worldly goods, he is in possession of what he values most, his family and inner peace. I would imagine it’s an ending Gibson is looking for in his own life, and one I would like for mine.
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AuthorThe Revolting Man lives at the end of a dirt road at the bottom of a hill at the top of a valley in the foothills of the Appalachians. Archives
December 2016
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