Mixed Media Films
Apocalypto
Mel Gibson – drunken, racist ranter and macho hero of too many silly, bloody action films: can you take him seriously? But you may be a bit puzzled by his latest venture – a subtitled historical blockbuster in Mayan, acted by unknown indigenous Americans, mostly with little or no professional acting experience. Hardly box office you’d say. But Gibson is no dolt.
For 30 minutes he gives us an idyllic hunter-gatherer lifestyle. It’s light, entertaining and cleverly written – they live communally but in family units. Okay, they don’t wear Levis, but they’re essentially just like us. A hunting scene, though, foretends violence to come – and come it does. With extreme brutality, a raiding party from an imperial Mayan city take slaves and fit young men to sacrifice to their gods.
Gibson’s an ambitious filmmaker, using spectacle, thrills and action – American cinema does that brilliantly – to an apparently serious end. Apocalypto is powerful, and it is thought- provoking. It convincingly shows a human capacity for indifference to suffering of the ‘other tribe’. But Gibson is much less adept with the contemporary political parallels. We learn little – other than as spectacle – about life in the Mayan cities and the environmental over-exploitation and degradation that apparently brought them down. This could have been so much more – but, hey, this is Hollywood!
- Product information
- directed by Mel Gibson
- Star rating
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Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
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