You watched Apocalypto (2006) by Mel Gibson. On the surface, it is a story of tribal conflict, rituals, and choices that don’t feel like choices at all. But now imagine that the entire narrative is a metaphor for your own internal understanding of how the world works — where every location represents a feeling (danger, safety, comfort, trust, anxiety, calm, horror), and every character embodies one facet of your personality (what you believe in, how you think rationally, how you act, what dominates you internally, how you doubt, how you fear, how you elevate yourself).
Let’s briefly step away from the film. To catch the essence, we’ll create an imaginary everyday scene.
You wake up in a dull, sluggish morning state and want a coffee to switch on for the new day. Even though you don’t feel like moving and your mind barely processes simple thoughts, you get up and prepare to go out. You know exactly what you want and what result you’ll get. You walk to the café across the street, inhale the aroma of coffee, and drink it. Ten minutes later your thoughts are clear; a smile appears on your face; you’re ready to live this day with renewed energy.
From a metaphorical point of view, even such a simple action can be turned into a small script with two characters in two locations.
The first character is the girl who wants coffee and asks her boyfriend to go to the café.
The second character is the boyfriend, who finds the money and takes her there.
So we get two characters: one represents belief and desire for coffee; the other represents the actions taken to get coffee. At the beginning of the story both are in a depressing, worn-out apartment — symbolizing the sluggish morning state. By the end they’re in a bright, pleasant café, smiling and starting the day. The café reflects uplift, joy, and renewed energy. Every place, every phrase, every personality trait, every action, and even a picture on the wall carries a meaning connected to the described state.
Now let’s return to Apocalypto.
Imagine a girl growing up in a family where a man’s word is absolute, and the destiny of a woman is predetermined. By adolescence she rebels to some degree, wanting to go against everything just to feel life and herself. Each of them undergoes an internal revolution — a force so powerful that it sweeps away all teachings about how life should be. But most cannot handle the reality that follows and end up losing themselves in the darkness of their culture.
The word “apocalypse” has two key meanings:
1. Revelation: the veil is lifted, and reality becomes visible.
2. The end of the world: the destruction of everything familiar.
The film shows both stages. In the first half we witness the removal of the veil — the rebellious inner force destroys everything familiar (the home village), striving for rapid growth and victory. But then the inner self meets unbearable pain and horror (the captives’ journey into the Maya city), which can only be revealed to someone ready to be honest with themselves. This is pure reflection, which in this case leads to uncertainty and pushes one back to familiar existence.
In the second half we see the “end of the world.” The Moon covers the Sun, and the reverse path begins — the retreat back into habitual life.
We are watching the story of a person who had the courage to see the truth but lacked the faith to follow through and find themselves.
This was the briefest introduction to the essence of the creative process. If you found meaning in it, I would be glad to share with you the details about the key characters, their names, the sequence of scenes, and their symbolic significance.
Thank you for reading
Sincerely, Slava Lee
