Mel Gibson Wants REVENGE!
We were having a discussion the other night, and the topic of Mel Gibson came up. No, not for the reasons you’re thinking. (Well, probably because of those reasons.) We were talking about his Lethal Weapon movies when the topic of the ‘revenge fantasy’ came up.
A common thread or theme found in many films, the revenge fantasy caters to that urge in all of us when we feel we have been wronged and want to pay the wrongdoer back and fantasize about how that retribution would be, how it would feel. (See movies like The Brave One, Man on Fire, Defiance, etc.) It arises in many contexts, from the schadenfreude we feel when someone else fails, to the conversations we have with ourselves when we think up the perfect comeback line to say after someone has insulted us and the opportunity has passed. (”Well the jerkstore called and they’re running out of you!”)
Now, we don’t want to psychoanalyze anyone. Apart from being grossly unqualified and in every other way not a psychologist, we never the less think there’s something to our observations. The Basics are this: Mel Gibson likes revenge. As an actor, he seems to play roles in which the character has a strong desire for revenge. These characters go on to kill and deal out violence.
If nothing else, it causes us to ask why? Is Mr. Gibson drawn to these characters because the emotion/impulse resonates with him, or that it’s one he can easily identify with? Does he just happen to get these parts with strong revenge fantasy elements? Is he fighting an urge in himself by letting his rage out in a constructive environment? Is it all of these?
We don’t know, but it makes for an intersting conversation topic. Take a look at the evidence. Here is a list of some of the Mel Gibson movies that have the revenge fantasy present:
1. Lethal Weapon 2: Though less prominent in the other films of this series, this film is all about revenge. Riggs (Gibson’s character) finds out that the bad guys are not only responsible for killing his girlfriend, but also his wife. Revenge ensues.
2. Hamlet: Depressed prince finds out Uncle killed dad and married mom. Revenge ensues.
3. Braveheart: Scottish clansman William Wallace gets married to his childhood sweetheart whom the English then kill. Revenge ensues.
4. Ransom: Millionaire airline owner’s son is kidnapped and a ransom is demanded. Gibson’s character gets the ransom but instead uses it as a bounty on the kidnappers’s heads. Personal and third party revenge ensues.
5. Payback: Ok, we never saw this one, but it’s got ‘payback’ as the title. We’re guessing the plot goes like this: Gibson’s character is wronged. He goes to get….wait for it…payback. Revenge (and payback!) ensue.
6. The Patriot: Former extremely violent guy (Gibson) lives peacefully on his farm until the English kill his son. Bloody revenge (lots and lots and lots of it) ensues.
7. Paparazzi: Mr. Gibson didn’t star in this film, but he did produce it, have a cameo and got his former hairdresser to direct it. In it a star is hassled by paparazzi. After a car accident is caused by the paparazzi’s flashing their cameras at the star (where did they get that idea?), the star decides to kill him some paparazzi. Revenge ensues.
Mr. Gibson has been in a lot of other movies (and has directed or been part of the production of many more), but this list at least gives you an idea of what we’re talking about. I’m sure if we tried, we could find a lot of other revenge elements in his other films. We just thought these seemed fairly obvious.
The revenge fantasy is a particularly primitive instinct, isn’t it? Freud said that civilization started when the first person chose to hurl an insult rather than a stone. It seems that some people still very much like the idea of hurling stones. Or at least shoting people, hacking them to death or burning them alive.
But hey, it’s all just a fantasy. Right?
(Photo courtesy EAWB’s flickr page through Creative Commons. Thanks, EAWB!)
