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Mel Gibson’s latest film, ”Apocalypto” opened this past weekend as the number 1 movie, making $14.2 million at the box office. It is an exceptionally violent film, focusing on the last days of the Mayan civilization, right before the appearance of the Spanish conquerors. The Central American indigenous characters speak entirely in various Mayan dialects and are alternately depicted as child-like buffoons with exaggerated mannerisms or bloodthirsty killers who violently prey on each other. For those whose only education about Maya cultures is Gibson’s film, the historical message is obvious: tribes spent most of their time attacking each other, raping their women, abandoning their children, tearing each others hearts out, and engaging in mass sacrifice. Gibson’s intent is quite clear – the film opens with a quote by Will Durant, “A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has conquered itself from within.” <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/z.about.com\/d\/movies\/1\/0\/R\/1\/O\/apocalyptopubd.jpg\")
GUESTS: Charles C. Mann, Correspondent for Science and The Atlantic Monthly, author of 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Julia Guernsey, Professor of Art & Art History at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Art<\/em><\/p>\n