“Apocalypto” Movie Review

Jayna Eckerson Apocalypto Essay Indiana State University Apocalypto is a movie about a man name Jaguar Paw who is a part of a Mayan tribe. Jaguar Paw, his father and his other tribe mates were out hunting for food when they came across another tribe leader and his people were passing through their forest. The tribe leader told Jaguar Paw that their homes were invaded by men from a different tribe and warned him to look out for them. After the he told Jaguar Paw about the other tribe men, he was scared that they were coming to their tribe next.

The next morning, Jaguar Paw was awoken by the dog which stopped barking and he became suspicious. Then he saw a tribe man running with a torch, so Jaguar Paw immediately woke his wife who is pregnant and his son so that can run for cover. After he put his family in a safe place, Jaguar Paw went to go help his tribe mates and father fight the invading men and women were also getting raped by these men. Jaguar Paw was held down to watch one of the tribe leaders kill his father. All the women and men in Jaguar Paw’s tribe were taken as prisoners.

They made to walk miles with the other tribe members that Jaguar Paw saw the day before to another camp site. As they were walking, they ran into a little girl who they believed that she had a disease. When they denied her help, she cured them and said that they will be killed by a man in a jungle. Finally, they made it to the camp the women were sold as slaves and the men were to be scarified. But eventually, Jaguar Paw would be released from being scarified and he goes back to his homeland to save his family. External adornment was worn throughout Apocalypto such as paint and make-up, intrinsic, sartorial, and local.

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All the tribe members wore a lot of black for their paint and make-up. According to my course packet, black is meant for protection. Intrinsic adornments are shown through their accessories. Each tribe member has some type of intrinsic adornment such as feathers, beads, shells, and teeth. These adornments are worn as necklaces, bracelets, and head ornaments. Also, feathers, beads, shells, and teeth are value too. Another type of adornment that is viewed in this movie is sartorial. I really got a chance to see sartorial adornments during the rituals.

For example, the men that were killing other tribe men for sacrifice wore big masks with different colors and it was carved into funny looking faces. Also, they wore very big shields that look like necklaces, but it covers their shoulders and chest instead of being a necklace. In this movie, every tribe member showed some form of local adornment. The women wore a rough cotton material as a dress, but their breast and buttocks will still be seen. Also, the same for men but the only part of their body that is covered is their penis.

Also, corporal adornment is shown in Apocalypto. Each tribe member in the movie had their on tattoos to describe their level of status. In Jaguar Paw’s tribe, the color of their tattoos is black and white. The other tribe men culture, women and men had green, red, black, and many more colors for their tattoos to represent their level of status too. Another important cororpal adornment is piercings. Most of tribe members have piercings in their chin, ears, and nose. For example, Jaguar Paw had a piercing on chin with a small circular object on it.

Another example is Jaguar Paw’s dad, he have a piercing of a tooth or shell going through his nose. As earrings, they wear earrings that cuffed, spiral, or the round earrings that stretch their ears into a bigger size. The status roles among the tribes are different. Jaguar Paw’s tribe only has one leader which his father. The other tribe men have numerous of leaders that have their own personal adornment. Jaguar Paw’s father has feathers to represent is status in their tribe. He has big feathers that are placed on his shoulder.

The leader of the other tribe has skulls, bones, and feathers to represent his role as a leader. He has a mask that is made out an alligator mouth with a creature head on top of the head piece and it has a few feathers on it too. Also, the other tribe men have leaders that are over them. Their leaders wear color tattoos, bigger and better intrinsic adornments, and have more beautiful external and corporal adornments. One of those leaders has beads that link off one another and it goes down his stomach. He also wore a head piece that has colorful, big feathers on it too.

In Apocalypto, the higher you get in social status, you will get better adornments. The language that was spoken in this movie is called Yucatec Maya. This language is spoken among people of Yucatan Maya of Mexico. Throughout this whole movie, I only saw two rituals. The first ritual I saw was when Jaguar Paw and his tribe sat around a fire while elder told a story. After he told his story, the tribe members begin to dancing. After Jaguar Paw was captured, he was taken to a place where they scarified men for their God. My personal reaction to this movie was neutral.

Overall, I think Apocalypto is a good movie but it is not the type of action movie I typically watch. I do not dislike anything about the movie, but it did kind of bore me at some point of time. I enjoyed how the tribe members loved their families especially toward the children. I am very impressed with the language that was spoken in the movie. Also, I got very sad when the mothers were taking away from their children. The children were left alone to raise themselves and each other. If I had to recommend this movie to a friend I would because it is good movie and it has a great meaning.

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