After some time off for family and travel, the editors wish everyone a happy, healthy and productive new year. We hope you had a chance to stop by over the holidays for some the features on the Village, where at least one of the more persistent stories was the buzz surrounding Mel Gibson's
Apocalypto.
Sure, some viewers were pleased at least to see Maya represented on the silver screen, and often in-language -- nothing if not a rare movie-going experience.
For Gerardo Aldana of New America Media, though, one question about the film was simply,
Where Was the Maya Civilization in Apocalypto?In asking this question, Adana is inserting "Real" before "Maya Civilization". Although most viewers are doubtlessly not experts in background of this civilization, to many scholars familiar with the intricate, complex legacy of the Maya, "Mel Gibson's new film is an affront and embarrassment to that history," the article claims.
Writing for
The Nation, Earl Shorris had stronger words regarding "
Mad Mel and the Maya".
What do you think?
