Apocalypto: A Catharsis?

"A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within."W. Durant

I watched Apocalypto last night for the first time. I'm really glad I waited until after I had done all that research on Mexican Religion, Ritual and Myth because I connected with some interesting stuff that I had found during my research.

One of the things that stood out to me the most was the idea of Teotl (in Aztec). But, it's the balance in the universe. It is akin to the Yin and Yang in Buddism. Basically, the belief is that you stay in the middle of the path during life. You never venture to extremes because that's when you falter and fail.

Fear, especially, pushes us to the extreme and that's what Apocalypto is about. Jaguar Paw is afraid and his fear paralyzes him and puts him and has family and friends in danger. Most of them die, but Jaguar Paw finally, upon escaping the Mayan captors and returning to his forest, stops running and faces them. One by one he uses the tricks and knowledge he has obtained from his father to outwit and outmaneuver his pursuers. He's driven by the need to rescue his pregnant wife and son from the pit he hid them in before it fills with water from the rains.

In ancient Mexican cultures, fear was abhorred because it threw off the balance of the individual, the community and, ultimately, the binding force of the universe, Teotl. It paved the way for destruction from within. And, you can find a similar reference in Aristole's Poetics. He says, in regards to Catharsis, that Catharsis is the removal of fear (in a nutshell). So, how do we remove fear? We face it, then we're no longer afraid and we can move freely and logically through life. That's Teotl and that's what Jaguar Paw finally realized. And, that too is the turning point in the movie. Removing the fear empowered him to save his family. He finally found his true identity.

I wonder if Sabina Berman looks at it this way? She places these scripts in front of us and presents all kinds of fears. Is this a Catharsis? In "Yankee" Bill is afraid of his identity so he fabricates numerous ones. But, in the end, while he is gently slapping Alberto's limp body, he seems to be gentle, at peace. He no longer seems afraid. Is it because he has faced his fears and accepted who he is? Is Berman suggesting that he has finally found his identity?