MovieChat Forums > Apocalypto (2006) Discussion > The thing with Blunted was mean and terr...

The thing with Blunted was mean and terrible...


He was a good and sympathetic character, but the first 10-15 minutes made all other tribesmen feel like horrible jerks, for acting the way the did to him.

First, we see Jaguar Paw & Co. giving him tapir testicles to eat, saying that it will help him become more potent in sex.
That's when we learn that Blunted has certain problems, either with fertility, or more likely, with his erection.
That scene is played as a funny joke.

Next, we see the whole village laughing at Blunted, because his mother-in-law is pestering him.
She wishes children, which Blunted and his wife cannot produce yet, because he is either infertile, or has troubles with his penis/testicles.
That scene is played as a funny joke.

Earlier, we saw Jaguar Paw's father handing some balm to Blunted, which would help him with his problem.
Well that's nice of him...
...until you found out that the old man tricked him, giving Blunted some spicy balm, so when he rubbed on his penis, which his wife then touched with her mouth, both of them felt a strong burning pain.
They ran off from their tent, to try and quench their pain with water, and once again, the whole village laughed at them.
That scene is played as a funny joke.

So, what's the deal?
1. The whole thing is maybe funny when it's downplayed, but what we saw in the film was just too much and mean.
When I'm with my friends, we are laughing at each other problems, but never becoming mean.

2. You could probably say that its a part of their culture, but if you look at it... no, it is not.
A part of their culture is to regularly make children, but Blunted is not able to do so.
So, it would make more sense if he was shunned by their society, but not mocked , because they would see his problem as a PROBLEM, not as a JOKE.

3. That whole ordeal takes too much of the film's running time.
If we only saw the testicle-eating scene, it would have been OK, but that whole ''joke'' is ran for far too long.
I mean, before the Mayans attack, we learned these things of that tribe:
- they are hunters
- they make a lot of babies
- they like to hear stories about their ancestors
- they like to pick on those who can't have babies
- they are jerks to the people with problems
- they like to prank the people with problems

So, all I'm saying is that I think that thing with them laughing at Blunted is too overplayed.
And if you think that I'm secretly hating those scenes because I had those problems that Bunted has, then you are mistaken...
...I openly hate those scenes not only because I had the same problems (I had), but because I'm not a bully and a jerk to the people with problems.
Sure, a few friendly jokes are fine, but this was crossing the line.

=UNDERRATED FILMS=
http://www.imdb.com/list/OpdE-nAVa5k

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I think you make too big a deal out of this. The jokes were mayby on the harch side but harmless none the less.

As he was an equal among he´s friends was shown after the sit down again and he pretends to attack one of the guys again. They were all laughing.

To me it was only showing that they were living in harmony and had a good sence of humor. My friends and I could have done them same to one another, without meaning anything but a friendly joke, knowing we are all equals and friends.

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They made it pretty clear that all of his "stuff" works just fine. The only problem they have is the lack of conception, which could equally be his wife who has the problem.

It did come off as harsh for the repeated mocking of his character, but I felt all that was redeemed when he was sitting in the trough. He was laughing while simultaneously crying, along with jokingly threatening the tribal elder. You could see here that, while in tremendous pain, he too enjoyed the humor of the situation.

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I think that the whole point of that plot line was to show that people back then dealt with similar things that we do today. Young men pull pranks on each other, and he was showing that they did it back then too.

Overall I think it was some comic relief that was purposefully put in for a stark contrast to the very real problems they faced soon after, or at least to put into perspective that his "problem" - an inability to get his wife pregnant - was nothing compared to the very real problems they faced the next day.

My name is Gladiator - Maximus Decimus Meridius

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This things are mean for some middle class Americans in 2014. But things were a lot more harsh in 15th century Central America. Humour was probably pre-slapstick, intelligent wit was probably rare...if it existed at all. That said, I did feel they were pretty rough on that guy and I would have been pissed if I was him!!

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sadly that stuff happens in every society

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sadly that stuff happens in every society
Agreed! It just showed a tribal subsistence social group dealing with problems in a different fashion than perhaps would be dealt with by contemporary western methods.🐭

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Scenes like this is why Mel Gibson is an awesome director. I love these type of harsh pranks/jokes like this in movies. Hilarious that she also spitting out and wiping her mouth when they both came running out. Crude humor at its best





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