{"id":1861,"date":"2006-12-05T14:27:00","date_gmt":"2006-12-05T14:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/12\/newsbites-apocalypto-nativity-ten-camp\/"},"modified":"2006-12-05T14:27:00","modified_gmt":"2006-12-05T14:27:00","slug":"newsbites-apocalypto-nativity-ten-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/12\/newsbites-apocalypto-nativity-ten-camp.html","title":{"rendered":"Newsbites: Apocalypto! Nativity! Ten! Camp!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Time for a few more quick updates.<\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/a> The Associated Press<\/a> reports that modern Mayans aren\u2019t sure what to expect from Mel Gibson\u2019s Apocalypto<\/a><\/i>:<\/p>\n

Outsiders\u2019 views of the Maya have long been subject to changing intellectual fashions. Until the 1950s, academics often depicted the ancient Mayas as an idyllic, peaceful culture devoted to astronomy and mathematics. Evidence has since emerged that, even at their height, the Mayas fought bloody and sometimes apocalyptic wars among themselves, lending somewhat more credence to Gibson\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n

Warrior-kings and priests directed periodic wars among the ancient Maya aimed at capturing slaves or prisoners for labor or human sacrifice. Entire cities were destroyed by the wars, and whole forests cut down to build the temples.<\/p>\n

The latest trendy theory is a largely Internet-based rumor that the Mayan long-count calendar predicts a global calamity on Dec. 22, 2012. Some have woven that together with prophecies from the Bible.<\/p>\n

Mauricio Amuy, a non-Maya actor who participated in the filming of Apocalypto, says the production staff discussed the theory on the set.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the Bible talks about prophecies, and that the Mayas spoke of a change of energy on Dec. 22, 2012, and it (the movie) is somewhat focused on that,\u201d Amuy said. \u201cPeople should perhaps take that theory and reflect, and not do these things that are destroying humanity.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Compare and contrast this with a USA Today<\/a><\/i> article that I linked to here back in June<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The story centers on a kidnapped hero\u2019s bid to escape a mass sacrifice at one Maya center. According to another description of the plot in Time<\/i> magazine\u2019s March preview, a ruler orders the mass sacrifice of hapless captives to appease the gods and avert a drought.<\/p>\n

The only problem, and big cause for worry among archaeologists, is \u201cthe classic Maya really didn\u2019t go in for mass sacrifice,\u201d Lucero says. \u201cThat was the Aztecs.\u201d Other concerns: the modern-day Mayan Yucatec language spoken in the film is not the language of the ancient Maya, and the film\u2019s Mexican shooting locale is not the classic Maya homeland, says Penn State archaeologist David Webster. . . .<\/p>\n

Gibson has consulted on the film with archaeologist Richard Hansen, head of the Mirador Basin Project in northern Guatemala, a forest reserve home to a number of Maya archaeological sites. Hansen also declined to comment, other than to say that project findings played a role in the film.<\/p>\n

The classic Maya were one of the most developed cultures of Central America before the arrival of Columbus. The Maya practiced slash-and-burn and terrace farming, relying on corn as a staple, and repairing in the dry season to ceremonial centers holding monumental pyramids, plazas and temples.<\/p>\n

In 1989, discoveries by Hansen and colleagues established that Maya rulers had centralized their roles far earlier than once supposed, building several massive centers with the help of commoners as early as 600 B.C. The classic Maya culture\u2019s history lasted for more than 1,000 years, ending around A.D. 850 with the collapse of the use of ceremonial centers in what are now parts of Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.<\/p>\n

Scholars still disagree over the extent to which war, drought or general political failure led to the collapse. . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Meanwhile, the New York Times<\/a><\/i> posts the latest in a long line of articles about the challenges faced by the film, both at the box office and in terms of the current awards-season hype.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: Consider also this piece<\/a> by Traci Arden, an expert on Mayan culture, at the website for Archaeology<\/i> magazine \u2014 but be warned, she gives away at least one major<\/i> spoiler, and as I see it, she completely misinterprets the film at that particular point.<\/p>\n

2.<\/a> Mark Caro at the Chicago Tribune<\/a><\/i> asks why The Nativity Story<\/a><\/i> failed<\/a> where The Passion of the Christ<\/a><\/i> (2004) succeeded. Chris at Movie Marketing Madness<\/a> offers some possible answers.<\/p>\n

3.<\/a> Matt Page<\/a> at the Bible Films Blog notes that The Ten<\/a><\/i>, a series of loosely-connected comedy sketches inspired by the Ten Commandments, will also be playing at Sundance<\/a> in January.<\/p>\n

4.<\/a> I don\u2019t know how \u201clegit\u201d this is, but someone has posted the entire Jesus Camp<\/a><\/i> \u2014 all 84 minutes of it \u2014 here<\/a>. This may prove useful for those who live in parts of the world \u2014 like Canada \u2014 where the controversial documentary has not yet opened.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: Never mind, the video\u2019s been taken down, already.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Time for a few more quick updates. 1. The Associated Press reports that modern Mayans aren\u2019t sure what to expect from Mel Gibson\u2019s Apocalypto: Outsiders\u2019 views of the Maya have long been subject to changing intellectual fashions. Until the 1950s, academics often depicted the ancient Mayas as an idyllic, peaceful culture devoted to astronomy and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNewsbites: Apocalypto! Nativity! Ten! Camp!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Time for a few more quick updates.1. 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