Posted on 03/23/2007 10:19:54 AM PDT by Nachum
Edited on 03/23/2007 11:48:48 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
TMZ has learned Mel Gibson exploded in anger last night on a college campus after an expert on Mayan culture accussed him of racially stereotyping the Mayans in the movie "Apocalypto."
It happened last night at Cal State University at Northridge in the San Fernando Valley. Gibson was speaking to a film class about his movies, and several members of the Mayan community came to hear the famous director.
After Gibson's presentation, the crowd was allowed to ask questions. Alicia Estrada, an Assistant Professor of Central American Studies at CSUN, challenged Gibson, asking him if he had read about the Mayan culture before shooting the controversial film. Gibson said he had.
Estrada persisted, stating that representations in the movie that the Mayans engaged in sacrificial ceremonies and had bloodthirsty tendencies were both wrong and racist. Estrada and others tell TMZ that Gibson exploded in anger, responding, "Lady #### off."
We're told Gibson also became extremely angry when members of the Mayan community protested on how they were portrayed in the film. The emotional Mayan members were escorted out of the room, and we're told Gibson screamed a parting shot -- "Make your own movie!"
UPDATE: Gibson's publicist, Alan Nierob, told TMZ, "This person was a heckler who was rude and disrupted the event, so much so that the event organizers had to escort her out." For the record, Nierob, not Howard Rubenstein, reps Gibson.
gibson continuously finds himself in situations where he has lost it ina a rage or nasty angry diatribes. that is not "standing up for himself." the guy is repeatedly out of control.
Cheny does it once in awhile, Rummy did it once inawhile.So have others.
Mel just keeps losing it.
He is just out of control.
You still are sounding a little excitable about this.
That would make them awfully unique among ancient societies. Heck, barely 300 years ago, many of us "European-Americans'" ancestors were busy burning and hanging "witches", chosen by such scientific means as some random farmer saying "she put the evil eye on my cow, and the cow died" or the infamous dunking test: You float, it's unnatural, so you're a witch, we'll burn you now -- you don't float, it's natural, you're not a witch, too bad we had to drown you to make sure of that. All done to please their God, of course, since they were convinced their God wanted them to do this.
I guess I just get sick and tired of people giving someone like Gibson a "pass' on his rage. It's not 'tough" or 'manly"...it is just a problem he has and still has not come to terms with.
The whole thing is rather pathetic....and Mel's anger problem is like the "elephant in the room" ...nobody wants to recognize it. and that makes his "fans and friends" enablers.
My guess would be that Mel has not dealt with this or his alcoholism. For a grown man not to be able to handle an audience without losing it...well take a look at "Kramer"...same ridiculous scene.
After the Mayans wanted to purify the site where Bush had appeared, Mel can do whatever the hell he wants to them. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030900076.html?nav=hcmodule
Instead of 'exploding', Mel should have said, "Lady, it's a MOVIE. Get over it."
TMZ made its mark by Mel. It was TMZ that first reported on the drunk driving arrest. They must have a Gibson beat reporter.
well if you RTFA the students didnt seem to have the problem here.. it was a bigoted moron "assistant" professor. im with mel on this one
People blessed with great talent often act like Gibson. A while back I read on the article that tried to explain this but failed to come to any convincing conclusions, something about blowing steam revealing stress and other such stuff.
Does anyone know when "Apocalypto" will be out in DVD? What a film!
We know almost nothing of Mayan society beyond the social division between the priests and the peasants. Mayan society had several strata: rulers, priests, commoners, and slaves. The extent to which the rulers were differentiated from the priests is unknown. At the top of the Mayan hierarchy was the halach uinic ("True Man"), whose position was hereditary. The halach uinic ruled both domestic and foreign affairs with the help of a council. Lesser chiefs ruled smaller social units. In the religious hierarchy, the head was called Ah Kin Mai ("The Highest One of the Sun") who ruled over all the priests below him (called Ah Kin , "The One of the Sun"). There were two special priestly functions involved in human sacrifice: the chacs , who were elderly men who held down the victim, and the nacon , who cut the living heart from the victim. Mayas had a sense of physical beauty very different from other peoples in Mesoamerica. They prized a long, backward sloping forehead; in order to attain this look, infants would have their skulls bound with boards. Crossed-eyes were an important item of physical beauty; infants would have objects dangled in front of their eyes in order to permanently cross their eyes (this is still practiced today). http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CIVAMRCA/MAYAS.HTM
So, while the Mayans did a lot of other nifty, creative things....he was right....this lady probably could have argued her point better, but nowhere in the article is anything about the veracity of the movie portrayal other than the woman who complained.
Typical bias.
The Crucible is an odd tale. The girls WERE practicing witchcraft even if their spells had no effect.
Same with the Communists snared in the "Red Scare". There were Communists in league with Stalin's USSR. The Left thinks that people should have had the right to be Communists serving a foreign power without government harassment.
The controversy in both the Crucible and the Senate hearings was that people where being questioned because of the testimony of others. False witness is always going to be a problem but it doesn't mean that there aren't really people who do these things. The Left would have us believe that everyone who was brought to testify or blacklisted was innocent.
Our guide said that the Catholic Missionaries destroyed the records and culture of the Mayans.... and that their calendar only goes until the year 2012. After that....
Did you go the Native Choice tour with IVAN??
Wow....I've always sorta dismissed Danny Bonaduce as the little redheaded gremlin from the 70s,but I have to say, i've suddenly developed a real respect for this guy! Good video!
Cross-hatch trephination notwithstanding.
Were you the one with the whirlygig?
That's right!...I recall Dick Cheney doing the same thing!!!
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