--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > You know, Rick, you really should include on the home > page that this "spiritual" forum welcomes liars and > that honesty is not held as a value.
I agree, Rick. Please include in the rap that such liars are welcome to comment on films they have never seen, and to call the creator of a film they have never seen a "bigot." That certainly shows a devotion to honesty. > Damn right I didn't "review" the movie, as the post > in question clearly shows. For Barry to believe he can > actually reproduce the post *and still claim that I > "reviewed" it* is a truly massive exercise in solipsism. In ALL of the subsequent discussion of this gaffe, Judy has studiously avoided the real issue, which is that she commented on a film she has never seen, going so far as to call the filmmaker a "Christian bigot." I'm thinkin' that folks here have just seen a pretty classic exhibition of how *she* holds honesty to have a value. Let's follow up on it. Judy, do you *still* believe that Mel Gibson is a "Christian bigot" (your term) for making the film "Apocalypto?" Please cite examples from the film you've never seen to illustrate. (The orig- inal author of the piece you quoted and believed without seeing the movie got several of his examples *wrong*, so I wouldn't use them if I were you.) We'll wait. Oh, by the way, is "The Love Guru" demeaning to Hindus? We know that it hasn't been released yet, but since you feel free to comment on other films you've never seen, that shouldn't stop you. What a joke this woman is with her talk of "honesty." > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jstein@> wrote: > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj <vajradhatu@> wrote: > > > <snip> > > > > You sound like people I know who "hated" Al Gore's movie An > > > > Inconvenient Truth--but refused to ever watch it. > > > <snip> > > > > I might also point out you've just unknowingly joined the > > > > "Judy Stein movie review club". I'm sure she's glad to > > > > have you . :-) > > > > > > BREAKING NEWS!! Vaj has told another lie! > > > > > > I'm sure we're all astonished. > > > > > > I have never "reviewed" a movie I haven't > > > seen, as Vaj well knows. > > > > Enough of this crap. Please see FFL post > > #126122, pasted in below. Please note the > > title of the post, which is by Judy. Note > > also the sections I have highlighted with > > ** within the post, which are also written > > by Judy Stein. > > > > T'would seem that Judy is playing word > > games again. To her, "I have never 'reviewed' > > a movie I haven't seen" means the same thing > > that "I didn't lose the Presidential nomin- > > ation" means to Hillary Clinton. > > > > Judy has *still* never seen the film, and > > will claim until her dying day that the > > phrases "Mel Gibson, Christian bigot," and > > "Gibson has slandered the Maya and mangled > > history for the purpose of exalting the > > purported superiority of Christianity" are > > not "reviews" of a film she has never seen. > > > > For the record, I *did* see the film, twice. > > I thought it was pretty damned good, and that > > it had nothing whatsoever to do with what > > Mr. Canuto saw through his jealousy-colored > > glasses and what Judy Stein imagined there, > > without even having seen the movie. > > > > I leave it to the other Fairfield Lifers to > > determine who the "liar" is in this situation. > > > > > > Mel Gibson, Christian bigot > > > > Maya in the Thunderdome > > > > By Marcello A. Canuto > > > > Dec. 15, 2006 | As a scholar of the Maya civilization, I was anxious > > to see Mel Gibson's portrayal of the Maya in "Apocalypto." Of > course, > > I realize the movie is not a documentary and was mindful of the > > director's artistic license. I was happy to see that Gibson got some > > details right, like personal adornment, tools and body decoration. > > Although the main actors are native North Americans, I applaud > > Gibson's use of some Maya actors, as well as his decision to have > the > > characters speak in a native Maya language, Yukatek, still heard in > > Mexico. While these are brave and ambitious choices, they also imply > > that "Apocalypto" is a sincere depiction of Maya society. In fact, > > the movie is not an accurate portrayal of the Maya at all; rather, > it > > is a reflection of Gibson's own feverish imagination.... > > > > ...The movie focuses on Maya society on the eve of Spanish contact > in > > the 16th century. Yet the Maya city portrayed in the movie, central > > to its plot, dates roughly to the 9th century. This is akin to > > telling a story about English pilgrims founding the Massachusetts > Bay > > Colony, and showing them living in longhouses described > in "Beowulf." > > In fact, Gibson incorporates Maya images from as far back as 300 > B.C. > > Throughout the movie, these anachronisms make Maya civilization seem > > timeless, and undermine the idea that the Maya could and did respond > > to change.... > > > > Whatever the causes, the collapse [of Mayan civilization] was > > primarily of a system of governance, not a self-immolating culture. > > The movie misses this important distinction by creating a spurious > > contrast between a rural idyll and an urban miasma of excess and > > violence. The truth is that within several generations of the > Classic > > Maya collapse, other regal cities with different forms of government > > would flourish in other parts of the Maya area. Over several > > millennia, the Maya underwent many cycles of growth and decline, > each > > with its own major cities. The idea, proposed by the movie, that > Maya > > civilization was at the verge of final self-destruction makes for > > good drama, but does not reflect the depth of this civilization's > > resilience and history.... > > > > ...[The hero] flees through the jungle, and with only two pursuers > > remaining, he bursts out of the forest onto a beach. There, where > the > > land ends and the water begins, both he and his tormentors witness > > Spanish galleons and rowboats ferrying Spaniards and Christianity to > > the lands of the Maya. His pursuers, as if in a trance, walk weakly > > toward the arriving Spaniards. Their pursuit is now irrelevant, as > > their world is about to end.... > > > > In "Apocalypto," the arrival of the Spanish signals "a new > > beginning." Remarkably, the event is portrayed as tranquil, as if > the > > Spaniards are the adults who have finally come to rescue > > the "littleuns" stranded on the island of William Golding's "Lord of > > the Flies." In reality, the arrival was anything but serene.... > > > > ...If there were ever an apocalypse in the history of the Maya -- > and > > herein lies the ultimate demoralizing irony of the movie -- it would > > be because of European contact. But in the movie, after two hours of > > excess, hyperbole and hysteria, the Spaniards represent the arrival > > of sanity **[i.e., Christianity--JS]** to the Maya world. The tacit > > paternalism **[and bigotry--JS]** is devastating. > > > > After many centuries of misguided and simplistic views of the Maya, > > recent scholarship has shown the complexity and historical depth of > > their civilization. In Maya society, as in all civilizations, > > violence, surfeit and disparity were balanced by accomplishment, > > restraint and illumination. Gibson's feverish vision of a childish > > Maya society sacrificing itself to extinction is more than > > inaccurate, it works against the progress of decades of diligent > > scholarship to restore to present-day Maya people a heritage of > which > > they are proud, and from which we have much to learn. I can only > hope > > that audiences seeing this movie will be motivated to learn about > the > > Maya -- present and past -- rather than be sated by Gibson's > > sacrificial offering at the altar of entertainment. > > > > **Read the whole piece, with many more details, here: > > http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2006/12/15/maya > > > > To highlight what the writer tactfully leaves > > implicit, Gibson has slandered the Maya and > > mangled history for the purpose of exalting the > > purported superiority of Christianity.** > > >
