November 13, 2006

Marketing Mel's Maya movie

Selling 'Apocalypto'

Post-gaffe, Mel Gibson woos Latinos and Native Americans to his newest passion.Two years ago, Gibson reached out to Christians with a carefully orchestrated campaign that helped his film "The Passion of the Christ" become one of the most successful movies of all time, grossing $611 million worldwide. With "Apocalypto"—his visually sumptuous retelling of the fall of the Maya civilization—Gibson is hoping to strike box-office gold once again by wooing Latinos and Native Americans such as Myers, hoping they will identify with his tale of an indigenous culture.

This latest effort isn't just a return to the playbook for promoting another hyper-violent movie made in an obscure language. It also marks an attempt by Gibson to move past his anti-Semitic outburst after a drunk-driving arrest in Malibu in July. Although Gibson publicly apologized and immediately sought treatment for alcohol abuse, some in Hollywood have said they can't bring themselves to forgive him.

Myers, a member of the Comanche nation, put aside any feelings she had on the topic and arranged to screen "Apocalypto" five times over a three-day period in late September for Native Americans and Latinos in Oklahoma City and Lawton, Okla., as well as Austin, Texas. Guests were treated to surprise Q&A sessions with the Academy Award-winning director of "Braveheart" and star of dozens of Hollywood films, and Gibson was able to gauge audience reaction first-hand to an early cut of the film.
For all the news on Mel's Maya movie, see Apocalypto Now.

4 comments:

belledame222 said...

Yup, exactly.

Have you seen the previews? It looks, as with "Passion," stunningly shot, but ultimately just cheap (horror) thrills in the back of my car, baby. You know?

eh, whatever; no matter what he does, i will forever associate him with, not even his glorious drunken episode, but his cartoon-body'd head chasing Stan and Kenny down the road...

"Mel Gibson, Kyle. Mel. Gibson."

Rob said...

You think Gibson's anti-Semitic father and elitist Aussie culture taught him about American Indians? What an imaginative writer of fiction you are.

I'm pretty sure they read American books and watch American movies in most English-speaking countries. And if Aussies learn about indigenous people from aboriginal movies, that's a form of media too.

I've seen the previews, belledame, and I agree with your assessment. We'll see if the movie has more to offer than glossy gore.

Rob said...

I've debated the full topic as well as various sub-topics, and I continue to win the debate(s). You haven't offered any evidence to contradict my position, which remains unchallenged.

You can state all you want that "ALL racial biases and ALL racial stereotypes perpetuated among Caucasians are taught at home, in schools, in churches, in the communities, and in the dominant culture," but this remains your opinion, nothing more. Every expert on the subject agrees with me that the media is the primary source of stereotypes and parents, schools, churches, and the community are secondary sources.

Stereotypes do come from the dominant culture, but they come from it through the media. With kids spending half their time on TVs, PCs, and other electronic devices, the media is their no. 1 source of (mis)information.

Rob said...

One can pick and choose from commentaries that support his position, or one can not pick and choose from commentaries, which is apparently your approach. I again note that you've failed to give us a shred of evidence supporting your position except your opinion. People can believe all the psychologists, educators, and writers I've cited as well as their own personal experiences. Or they can ignore this mountain of evidence and believe you instead.

You may be unclear on the concept of media, because media has existed ever since the invention of art and certainly since the invention of writing. There was never a period of Anglo-Indian relations that was free of media influences. From the first journals and drawings sent back from the "New World" to pamphlets, broadsheets, woodcuts, and prints disseminated across Europe, non-Indians learned about Indians primarily through the media.