Evaluation of Acceptance of Violence in Mel Gibson's Films - Essay Example

?[Full Evaluation of Acceptance of Violence in Mel Gibson’s Films Through the of Mel Gibson’s career as a director, he had two films which, at the very least, stood out among the rest because of raw violence and gore, aside from other own controversies of these films. It is important to note however that while both films received relatively high remarks from general film critiques, their level of acceptance to the public has been a drastic difference. This can be attributed to the level of sensitivity of the topic to its viewers and their own experiences and personal beliefs in accepting such films. Through the course of the paper, it will be discussed as to how and why the two films differed and how the other film garnered more awards despite having a smaller rating by the audience. The two films that are being referred to are The Passion of the Christ (2004) and Apocalypto (2006).It is interesting to put in perspective that popular rating in IMDB gives Apocalypto a significantly larger score at 7.8 than The Passion which only achieved 7.1, but The Passion is the more decorated film with 3 Oscar nominations and another 20 wins and 10 other nominations, compared to Apocalypto’s also 3 Oscar nominations, but only another 7 wins and 14 other nominations. This only proves that these two films have differed in the level of acceptance [and praise] from movie critiques and from the general public. It seems that The Passion is more praiseworthy from the standout of awarding institutions but fail in favor to a significant part of its mass audience. This discrepancy begs the question as to why. But before delving in deeper about the two films, the man behind should be unveiled and understood regarding his film styles and his background. Mel Gibson has been known in acting and directing stories which revolve around a particular individual’s struggle, persecution, battles, and often redemption. It is also worth observing that characters that he involve with usually have very deep, intense, even aggressive, and seldom dominating emotions in the film story. Considering all these insinuates that he depicts the protagonist as ordinary men who become heroes as the story unfolds. The Passion is regarded as the highest grossing independent film in history. This only means that the film has a very large following of viewers, but it does not follow that it was generally well liked. Most viewers were dragged into watching it simply because of the controversy that enveloped the film. Firstly, the film is a depiction of the life of Christ but is more centered on the “passion”, or rather the suffering, the Christ endured in anguish. Controversy is already stirred by involving religion, even more so by depicting the anchoring figure of Christianity. Many of the more conservative religious practitioners have expressed their distaste on the film’s very violent and bloody depiction of Christ. A good number of criticisms also cite that Gibson conjured his own version of the real passion of Christ (Hammer & Killer). He depicted Christ as only a mere man, a man’s man, and not as someone in a holy light. This is parallel as to how he has usually treats the protagonist of a story, as previously mentioned in this paper, that the protagonist is depicted only as an ordinary person exalted and achieving hero status because of what the story has availed of him. And expectedly and more so understandably, this falls out of favor with a significant number of Catholics who will not tolerate such a holy and high figure be made to look as lowly as how Gibson portrayed it. Although the whole Christian and Catholic population share this outrage, many others would be easily swayed to give a prejudiced negative review of this film especially if the ones endorsing the distaste comes from authorities and preachers of the church. Thus, the Passion has only fetched a score that would otherwise be higher if not for the religious “offenses” that it has committed. On the other hand, Apocalypto is a movie about one of the great civilizations in America before the discovery of Europeans, which is the Mayan civilization (Stefan). The film showcases the civilization’s dominance, its eventual downfall, and the redemption of its main character. This again strikes parallel to Gibson’s trademark of evolving an ordinary man into a journey that will transform him to become a hero. In the context of the film, it gives a more generally acceptable premise to its viewers, and it is also far less controversial to its critics. This is a very significant distinction between the two films, because while The Passion only scopes the suffering of the protagonist, Apocalypto rather takes the story of redemption, a much rather likeable and appealing character and story to its viewers. Add this to the fact that the theme does not offend the audience and is therefore then more neutrally evaluated as compared to the Passion where religious inclinations hold sway over one’s opinion of the film. The Passion garnered more awards, even though it has a relatively low rating, because it is a more thought provoking film. It boldly confronts what society is too shy to really look at and accept. It also grants a different perspective on Christ and is approached as how others would see him, even the non-Christians. Controversy aside, the film has really good scores on cinematography and other aspects. It is very artistically done and the story has a clear substance and direction. In conclusion, the subject of the film is a very critical juncture whether it shall be received with good praise or not. It cannot be stressed enough that one cannot please everybody; much more that the review and evaluation of a person regarding films (or regarding any art for that matter) is very relative to each as his own. Personal prejudices such as religious background and moral standards also significantly influence one’s opinion and critique of the matter. Works Cited Hammer, Rhonda & Douglas Kellner. “Critical Reflections on Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ”. 2004. Web. Anitei, Stefan. “Maya: The ‘Apocalypto’ Civilization”. Sofpedia. 2007. Web Read More