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Mexican standoff

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A Mexican standoff is a stalemate or impasse involving more than two people. It is distinct from a normal standoff in that it involves more than two opposing parties. Unlike a normal, two-sided conflict, the asymmetrical nature of a Mexican standoff means that - in the event of conflict - each party will face a tactical decision as to which other party to strike first.

In popular culture, the Mexican standoff is usually portrayed as multiple opponents with guns aimed at each other at close range. Exacerbating the tension is that neither side wants to put down its weapons for fear that its opponents will shoot them.

This expression came into usage during the last decade of the 19th century, most likely originating in the American Southwest. There are many songs or corridos written about famous duels in Mexico and Southwest.

The Mexican standoff is now considered a movie cliché due to its frequent use in Spaghetti Westerns and action movies.

  • The comedy series Stella parodied the Mexican Standoff in the episode "Camping".
  • Quentin Tarantino, who makes no secret of his borrowing from the Western genre, has shown a particular affection for the Mexican standoff.
  • The Wachowski Brothers incorporated a Mexican standoff in The Matrix Revolutions. Trinity, Morpheus, and Seraph are attempting to bargain for Neo's life with the Merovingian in Club Hel. When made an offer they cannot accept, Trinity begins a brawl, grabs a gun, and points it directly at the Merovingian's forehead. All others in the room have a gun pointed at them, one at another.
  • John Woo incorporates Mexican Standoffs in most of his films, allowing it to become a trademark of his movies (as in Face/Off where John Travolta and Nicholas Cage end a long running gunfight with their pistols pointed at each other at close range). In the John Woo Stranglehold (video game) the player, in several instances throughout the game, is caught in a Mexican standoff, which is played in slow-motion (mostly to aid the player, but also for effect).
  • Steven Spielberg has occasionally incorporated Mexican standoffs in his films, prehaps most notably in Munich. In Munich, there was a brief (and probably fictional) Mexican standoff between a Black September terrorist and an Israeli athelete who somehow managed to take an AK-47 from another terrorist, and was resolved when the terrorist fired first, killing the Israeli.
  • On the television show Veronica Mars, a sleep-deprived Veronica (Kristen Bell) mentions having a Mexican Standoff with the Sandman.
  • In the video game Final Fantasy X-2, three Crimson Squad ex-teamates twice find themselves in a Mexican standoff. In the first viewed instance, a possessed Nooj threatens to shoot a recently depossessed Baralai. Gippal raises his gun against Nooj, telling him to put his gun down, only to have Baralai make the same at-gunpoint demand of Gippal.
  • The climax of The Siege includes a Mexican standoff between FBI Agents and U.S. Army soldiers under the command of the corrupt Major General William Deveraux (Bruce Willis), which ends when the General finally orders his men to stand down.
  • In R. Kelly's hip-hopera "Trapped in the Closet," when Sylvester, James, and Bridget point guns at each after James finds out that Bridget has been sleeping with Big Man.

See also

Look up mexican standoff in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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