Mel Gibson is hoping to “make Mayan ‘cool’” with his new movie, Apocalypto. A similar event happend when The Passion came out. Aramaic (and to a much smaller degree, Latin) saw a renewal of attention and scholarship post-release. Here, however, the situation is murkier. From what I remember, Gibson’s choice of Latin and Aramaic in The Passion was motivated by historical accuracy, so any consequent interest in those languages was ostenisbly unintended. Here, Gibson publicly proclaims interest in language renewal. The article states that Yucatan Maya speakers have declined from 37 percent of the population in 2000 to 33.9 percent in 2005. What does that have to do with Gibson?
In my mind, nothing. Given the controversial presentation of pre-conquest Mayans as bloodthirsty sacrificers, appealing to a charitable cause may sway some native Mayans towards his support. The historical events surrounding the Mayans’ decline are as yet unresolved, so Gibson is free to depict his own viewpoint. From his acting history, it isn’t surprising that this movie is quite gory. To gloss over that fact by jumping on a “Save-The-Language” bandwagon, however, is resort reserved for politicians and demagogues. That’s not to say Mayan preservation is a bad thing. Quite the contrary. Take the radio station XEPET, “The Voice of the Mayas”. It’s been actively pursuing language preservation since 1982, long before Mel Gibson was a household name. It’ll be for the best if Yucatec Maya gets more attention because of the film. At the very least, Gibson’s bank account will definitely feel it.
