Saturday, January 13, 2007

Guest Blogger--Phil Davis

Bill,
The first time I watched Apocalypto - the new Mel Gibson movie - I realized that the theme of the movie had something to do with fear, but it wasn't until I watched the movie a second time with you this afternoon that I discovered why Mel Gibson chose fear as the theme of his movie.

In the beginning of the movie, Jaguar Paw's father tells him not to bring his fear into the camp. Then, as the warriors are chasing Jaguar Paw through the jungle, the leader of the band tells the others that Jaguar Paw runs because he is afraid. But after Jaguar Paw emerges (is reborn) from the quicksand, he starts to run again and then stops. It is at that moment he decides to stop running, to stop being afraid and to fight.

But I discovered the "why" behind this theme of fear as I thought about the sacrifices being made for the banner of the sun people. It is clear that the king and his high priest use fear to control the population. Once I discovered this, I started thinking of how this theme applies to us today because I was pretty sure Mr. Gibson was trying to make a point.

I think it is fairly safe to say that most dictators keep their positions of power through fear. Saddam Hussein, Castro, etc. I think you can also find examples of religions using fear (stories about the Apocalypse - the end of the world - scared me when I was young. By the way, I think that might be why the movie is called Apocalypto - what's more fearful than the end of the world?) And believe it or not, but some people accuse President Bush of using the fear of Terrorism to erode our personal freedoms through his use of the Patriot Act.

And here's the connection between the movie and living spiritually and creatively. At the end of the movie when Jaguar Paw's wife looks at the Spanaird ships and asks if they should go to them, Jaguar Paw tells her that they should go to the forest. I think this, as the last dialogue of the movie, makes a profound statement. When we live without fear, we free ourselves to live creatively and spiritually.

What do you think? I'd love to hear what you - and anyone else who cares to comment - think about the movie. Phil Daviswww.sellingbooks.blogs.comwww.zdocs.biz801-897-2679

Comments:

Bill,
yesterday in the afternoon I joined my friends going to the Old Opera in Frankfurt. My birthday surprise was a concert with the Funkbrothers. It was great and very unique. They had a special guest: He was German and he was white. But on the stage they've been just one. The same happened to us, the audience. Black and white people. Then one of the funkbrothers said: Now, times changed, didn't they? In our beginnings we took coffee breaks, years passed and we took alcohol-breaks, years passed and we took smoking breaks and now we have to take pill-breaks to go ahead. This was fun, we all laughed because we all knew what he was talking about. But putting his words into an other situation may be in a not so funny behavior, nobody would laugh and he would have been "the blamed". So, words and situations are what we're making them. It's up to each one of us if we laugh, cry or condemn.
After a couple of time no one in the audience was able to sit anymore. Everyone was dancing. Because the people on the stage expressed their feelings and put that spell on us. They love what they do. The love the music. Giving that spell to us makes us loving the music, feeling the music.
For me, thats why music is one of the fine arts. If I listen carefully, with all my senses, to music (no matter if I listen to Marvin Gaye, Tschaikowsky or Mozart), I can feel what they feel. Because musicians express their feelings through their music.
And that is the point for me: They allow us to take a look inside. Did a politician ever let us look inside? No, because of his fear that we could see something. And sometimes there is nothing to see than profit. They don't love what they are doing. They're doing their jobs for: Profit and Power. And one result of profit and power is, and here I agree with Phil Davies, to be able to deal with fear and give your own fear to others while thinking: If I give my fear to others I will loose my own fear. But this is an error. By giving away your fear to others, you only enlarge it, nothing else, you never loose it. Putting people in fear is the absolute wrong way.
Ulla

# posted by

Ulla : 4:18 AM

Where to Now?

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Guest Blogger--Phil Davis