The tale of Quetzalcoatl and Mel Gibson'sfilm "Apocalypto".

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Kathleen Lopez

Dr. G. Davies-Morris

HUM 160 – Section 1

September 22, 2011

Word Count: 647

The Tale of Quetzalcoatl and Mel Gibson’s Film “Apocalypto”

        During the period of Spanish conquest in the1500s, Meso-American civilizations were ignorant to the Europeans existing on the other side of the world. Due to their ignorance, the Meso-American civilizations created In regards to the tale of Quetzalcoatl and Mel Gibson’s Film “Apocalypto, the two stories taken place during the 1500s are bounded together through various mythic elements such as a clash of cultures and a connection to the sea.

In the tale of Quetzalcoatl, Quetzalcoatl’s is greeted unpleasantly by the presence of Tezcatlipoca, the antagonist. During the story, Quetzalcoatl promoted the skill of crafts and the sacrifice of breads, flowers, and perfumes in opposition to the skill of war crafts and the sacrifice of tearing the hearts out of men and women. However, Tezcatlipoca upheld those practices of hostility that Quetzalcoatl disapproved of. Through this, there is a clash of cultures. During the ball court segment of the story, Tezcatlipoca transformed himself into a jaguar whereas Quetzalcoatl had fled. The cultures of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca are in total opposition. Similarly in the film, Apocalypto, the cultures of Jaguar Paw and Zero Wolf were in heavy confliction. The tribe of Jaguar Paw and his father Flint Sky were of a peaceful people, while the culture of Zero Wolf believed in the conquering of less civilized tribes. The Aztecs also participated in the practice of human sacrifice.

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In addition, the two stories are connected to each other through the correlation of the sea. During both of the stories, Quetzalcoatl and Jaguar Paw each visited the sea during the end of their journeys. For Quetzalcoatl’s connection with the sea, it represented the next phase of life. As for Jaguar Paw, the connection to the sea brought the story back to the beginning but a deconstructive moment occurred when the Europeans arrived on the shores of the beach. Instead of a new beginning like Jaguar Paw hoped for, it was instead the beginning of their end.

Furthermore, Jaguar Paw ...

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