Mexican standoff
A Mexican standoff is most precisely a confrontation between three opponents, facing each other. Each participant holds power over one opponent, and is at the mercy of the other opponent. Following any path of who holds power over whom invariably leads back to the original person after visiting all other participants. More opponents can be added as long as they fit into the above rule and thus do not change the balance of power. In movies, the power dynamic commonly involves holding and being held at gunpoint.
The tactics for such a confrontation are substantially different than for a duel with only two opponents, where the first to shoot has the advantage. In a confrontation with three mutually hostile participants, the first to shoot is at a tactical disadvantage. If opponent A shoots opponent B, then while so occupied, opponent C can shoot A, thus winning the conflict. Since it is the second opponent to shoot that has the advantage, no one wants to go first.
In popular usage, the Mexican standoff is sometimes used to refer to confrontations with only two opponents. Discussions of the Soviet Union – United States nuclear confrontation during the Cold War frequently used the term, specifically in reference to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The key element that makes such situations Mexican standoffs is the very close equality in power among all involved[1] The inability for any one party to advance their position safely is a condition common to any standoff; in a Mexican standoff, there is additionally no safe way for any party to withdraw from their position, making the standoff effectively permanent.
In financial circles, the Mexican Standoff is typically used to connote a situation where one side wants something, like a concession of some sort, and is offering nothing of value, and the other side sees no value in agreeing to any changes so refuses to negotiate. Although both sides can benefit from the change, neither side can agree to a compensation value for agreeing to the change, and nothing is accomplished.
This expression came into usage during the last decade of the 19th century; the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary makes an unattributed claim that the term is of Australian origin.[2] Other sources claim the reference is to the Mexican American War or post-war Mexican bandits in the 19th century.[1] The expression may also be one of a series of similar expression which uses the adjective Mexican as a slur, "because it is pointless, inconclusive and unproductive, not because it has any actual connection to Mexico."[1]
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[edit] Usage
The Mexican standoff is now considered a movie cliché through its frequent use as a plot device in motion pictures[3].
Some examples used in movies include:
- Spaghetti Westerns (Various)
- B-movies (Various)
- The Matrix Revolutions (2003, The Wachowskis)
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith
- Saving Private Ryan, Munich (Steven Spielberg)
- City on Fire (Ringo Lam)
- Inglourious Basterds, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino)
- True Romance, Enemy of the State (Tony Scott)
- Natural Born Killers (Oliver Stone)
- The Killer, Hard Boiled, Face/Off (John Woo)
- The Rock, Transformers, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, (Michael Bay)
- Pirates of the Caribbean, (movies)
- Trespass, (Joel Schumacher)
- Zombieland
- Shanghai Noon
- Shaun of the Dead
Nevertheless, it remains a staple in popular culture because of its potential for high-tension drama.[original research?]
[edit] See also
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Look up mexican standoff in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Mexican standoff", The Word Detective, http://www.word-detective.com/2011/03/03/mexican-standoff/, retrieved 2012-02-12
- ^ "Mexican standoff", Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press), http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?dict=CALD&key=50247, retrieved 2009-12-19
- ^ "Mexican Standoff", TV Tropes, http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MexicanStandoff
