The Ends of Sacrifice: Mel Gibson's Apocalypto as a Christian Apology for Colonialism

Abstract

Abstract: The article argues that Mel Gibson's film Apocalypto (2006) offers a Christian defence of European colonialism as the agency that ends the brutality of Mayan sacrifice. In doing so, the director deploys symbols and techniques borrowed from Christian typology, which depicted the Crucifixion as the end of Jewish sacrifice. A comparison of Apocalypto with Gibson's earlier film The Passion of the Christ (2004) suggests that the former is actually a sequel to the latter. Apocalypto extends Gibson's robust defence of traditional Christianity to the New World, and is a counterargument to protests against Columbus Day.