Reflections on Chicano Movies - Essay Example

Task Chicano Movie Reflections on Chicano movies portraying the massacres that afflicted nations such as Guatemala, Argentina and Columbia gives viewers vital lessons in history worth recalling. These lessons act as deterrent and a warning to governments around the Latin region and other parts of the world on the dangers of killing civilians on the pretext of solving political differences. Therefore, movies such as El Norte, The Official Story and Maria Full of Grace are also examples of how entertainment is a tool of sensitizing society the pitfalls of societies that lack betters of reconciling its warring citizens (Cook 145). Despite the representation of the evil caused to innocent civilians as noted with the characters in the movies such as Alicia, Rosa and Maria among others, the undying spirit shown by women to strive remains a mockery crimes caused by their governments. Several reasons abound why El Norte and The Official Story movies were made especially in the reflection of women’s lives from different perspectives. For instance, in both movies, the directors were attempting to expose the plight of women in the face of adverse atrocities caused by civil war when there is little intervention (Elena & Marina 112). El Norte reflects the lives of two native youths forced to escape Guatemala at the start of the 1980s because of political violence and ethnic bloodletting that eventually resulted to Guatemala Civil War. The decision to escape depicts a serious desperation that characterizes the fate of the two lead characters that are both young and confused in life. On the other hand, The Official Story is premised on the Dirty War in Argentina that resulted to the forced disappearance of leftist rebels who opposed the government. In that aspect, the upper middle class family that has adopted an illegal child comes out as aloof from the unlawful stealing of children from jail after the arrests of their parents. The hypocrisy is evident in Alicia, the wife of a businessman called Roberto who is not aware of the ongoing suffering and pillage in her country until her colleague and another student remind her of the ongoing war. It means the films were also made to expose how women impact the unity of families during serious conflicts such as wars. Telling the above stories is important because they recreate a new narrative that enables viewers to interpret the two civil wars in different ways. It also raises the awareness of empathizing with women and families that suffered such as Rosa and Enrique in El Norte who struggle to find a home after running away from Guatemala. Narrating the stories equally reveal the relationship between the disintegration of families and how it affects social structures as noted with Alicia the school teacher together with her businessman husband in The Official Story. The couple is challenged to take a decisive action in understanding how the children of other dissidents disappear (Hart 189). They also demand to comprehend why they own Gaby yet her family may have been killed in the forced disappearance perpetrated by the state. Another reason for telling the stories is to uncover the truth and reality that occurred during both civil wars that targeted defenseless victims such as Zaide and David who are caught up during their youth. In the Dirty War, the stealing of children meant that the state in collusion with the military junta had no mercy to protect any group of civilians irrespective of their age. This necessitated ruthless targeting of orphaned kids such as Gaby now struggling to identify their real parents. On that consideration, telling the stories from a woman’s perspective is an attempt to induce both sympathy and empathy in the state of affairs where the government has abandoned her citizens. In El Norte, for example, the story is set in San Pedro, a small Guatemalan village where the Xuncax family lives peacefully while picking coffee. The family belongs to the Mayan tribe and is ravaged by the exploitation that involves the government using peasants to fight its wars. Rosa’s voice when they eventually decide to escape north with her brother Enrique after the murder of her father and the forced disappearance of her mother show the psychological torture that afflicts women during conflicts. Her voice also reeks of desperation, uncertainty and hopelessness amidst a war that does not care about its citizens especially women. In The Official Story, the devastation is replicated albeit both positively and negatively. Positively, Alicia who has adopted Gaby illegal is assisted by Benitez, a fellow teacher and a few of her students in discovering the truth about state atrocities and participation in the stealing of children (Heo et al 144). The friendship also reinvigorates the teacher to conduct research that focuses on the predicament of families struggling to find social justice from the government. However, negatively, the family of Alicia and Roberto are hell-bent on hiding the truth at the start because they are accomplices in the theft of orphaned children meaning Alicia’s voice is a reflection of state crimes. In that regard, two Latino/Latin American film such as Maria Full of Grace try to expose the resilience and empowerment of women facing adversities such as wars. Maria Full of Grace is about Maria Alvarez, a seventeen-year-old Colombian who works at a flower plantation to earning a living. Maria is determined to support her family and jobless sister who is a single parent. However, like the fate of Rosa in El Norte, she is forced to leave for the US after her boyfriend who impregnated her abandons her. Both Rosa and Maria reveal women in control of their destinies the dilemmas of life’s confusions. This scenario is repeated in Alicia’s struggles to discover the truth by involving her students a work colleague, Benitez in restructuring her life. Unfortunately, Maria’s decision to become a drug mule differs from those of Rosa and Alicia who lead clean lives to survive and overcome the ghosts of their pasts (Lewis 109). Alicia, on other hand, differs from Rosa and Maria because she comes from an upper middle class family while the rest are from the lower class. Their fates, therefore, are connected in the desire to become better people as observed with Maria who uses her drug money to transport of her friend Lucy to Colombia for a decent burial. Maria Full Grace director’s approach is that of a woman’s perspective to expose Columbia’s challenges of providing equitable job opportunities for citizens such as Maria and her sister. The approach is also meant to depict the proliferation of drug trade that has imprisoned the country to fierce drug cartels willing to kill such as noted in Lucy ‘s case whose body is ruptured open to retrieve drugs. On the other hand, the role of women is similar to El Norte and The Official Story because the female characters are struggling to escape the guilt of living in their present conditions. Maria’s case is similar to Rosa because they are trapped in a world of uncertainties and possible death and thus they must escape before something bad happens (Hart 193). Alicia’s case is similar because she also attempts to exorcise the ghosts of having stolen Gaby during the forced disappearance that was orchestrated by the Argentine government. Additionally, the roles of women in the three movies reveals how anarchy affects vulnerable and stable women in societies that undergo conflicts especially civil wars. Men are powerless and detached to protect their loved ones from government-sponsored atrocities because stakes are high and could result to death. As the story evolves, certain visual clues are notable in the movie Maria Full Grace that is worth noting. For example, the abandonment by Maria’s boyfriend after impregnating her is a clear testament of the failure by men and the overall government operatives to stop the protection of its vulnerable citizens. This case continues to demonstrate how nations ravaged by drugs and feuding leaders could degenerate to a civil wars witnessed in Argentina, Columbia and Guatemala. Alternatively, in El Norte, the visual clue to an impending disaster for the Arturo Xuncax family is seen in his concerted agitation to start a labor union that champions the right of rural peasants. It is a situation that reveals that struggles of ordinary people against a backdrop of danger and suffering when the state attacks defenseless people such as Arturo’s wife during an organized violence (Elena & Marina 119). During the narration, most of the characters change fundamentally such as Alicia who transforms from a detached teacher to a concerned citizen keen to help those affected by forcible disappearances. Rosa and Enrique in El Norte also move from bad to worse after finding life difficult in the north and in Mexico where they had escaped from the violence. The hard life causes Rosa’s unfortunate death from typhus causing her brother to lose hope. Narrating the above stories from particular point of view is important for many reasons. The stories, for instance, help in uncovering the gruesome anarchy that affected Guatemala, Colombia and Argentine. They also highlight the suffering and heartache that continues to distress the female specie in societies that do not value women. This ruthless behavior by the government agents demonstrates a country lacking morals and values that safeguards family unity especially when its girls such as Maria and Rosa are disenfranchised and dispossessed. Alternatively, the decision to use women’s voice in the movie is an indication of how media plays an instrumental role in manipulating events when the vulnerable members are involved. Media, therefore, acts as a platform for propagating war stories to caution others against repeating the same mistakes that led to the death of innocent civilians (Heo et al 147). The points of view of the stories also display the huge impact entertainment has in unraveling massacres such as the killings depicted in the three movies and the need to learn the lessons of prevention. Such an act enables viewers to find varying aspects of interpreting the magnitude of atrocities while also pressuring their governments to find alternative peaceful methods of instituting long lasting solutions. The views demonstrate another dimension of examining the social and political factors in the overall identity of a country that is willing to dialogue with its opponents to foster reconciliation and forgiveness. Politics play a huge fundamental role in the films because they shape the direction of society in terms of social and economic aspects. In El Norte, the Guatemalan politics influence the direction taken by Arturo’s family especially when the government begins a large-scale extermination of rural peasants to quell a possible revolt. This aggravates the fate of the main characters such as Rosa and her brother Enrique whose lives are disrupted forcing them to escape to another country (Marez 128). Alicia’s story in The Official Story is equally defined by the consequences of the Dirty War that ravaged the country as the military junta orchestrated a forced disappearance of suspected leftist rebels. It is against the backdrop of this war that Alicia teams up with Benitez and a few students to conduct a research that agitates social justice for children such Gaby. Consequently, politics accords them the platform to uncover the anarchy that resulted to the fate of orphaned children who struggle later in life to find their true identities. Conversely, the setting is apparent in Maria Full of Grace where Maria strains to earn a living while her sister is jobless. It shows how politics curtail the efforts of expanding economic freedoms in Colombia and other small nations in Latin America. Dealing with political issues portrayed in the films involves dialogue and reconciliation as noted with the aftermath of the Guatemalan Civil War. Rosa and her brother Enrique after escaping to the north and eventually to Mexico finally resolve to return home and assist in peace efforts. However, Rosa dies before the reconciliation begins at their home in Guatemala. The decision to use violence and anarchy on civilian to approach political matters is another manifestation of government irresponsibility and carelessness in approaching sensitive politics in the respective countries (MacKinnon 179). Countries such as Argentina and Guatemala according to the movies’ settings demonstrate a severe intolerance against the opposition or other perceived opponents. Therefore, such governments resort to acts of vengeance that displace its productive citizens such as Maria who is compelled to flee her country in search of better opportunities. The atrocious action by the government clearly indicates a troubling relationship between the state and its people in terms of delivering services instead of waging unnecessary wars. Additionally, it presents an old form of resolving political issues in poverty-stricken states such as Colombia and Guatemala where most citizens depend on farming because of high illiteracy levels as observed with Maria or Rosa. Dealing with politics through traditional means of subjugating citizens as noted with the upper-class citizens such as Alicia and her husband Roberto gives them a rationale to perpetuate the same acts to vulnerable people like Gaby. The evolution of women in the movies takes diverse precedents that are caused by the political climate such as the decision made by Alicia to investigate other cases of forced disappearance by the state. After getting convinced by her colleague Benitez and some students on the ongoing anarchy that resulted to the case of Gaby who is their illegally adopted child, Alicia decides to unearth the truth (Marez 120). Her brave change of mind is an illustration of the decisive role taken by women during the conflict that caused the deaths of numerous people while left another score dispossessed and displaced to other areas. In El Norte where Rosa the protagonist; she struggles to flee her village after the murder of her father and the forced disappearance of her mother. Together with her brother, they head north before settling in the U.S. where they life tough. Her struggles when doing various menial jobs to survive demonstrates the persistent spirit of survivors of the war that motivates them to hope for a better future. It is this possibility of a bright future that prompts Maria to flee to New York City after facing deplorable conditions in her country of Colombia. She is determined to alter the conditions of her family and her jobless sister who are ravaged by the economic inequalities around. The strong spirit by women characters in the respective movies is a moral guidance on how society can establish a firm foundation through the empowerment of family values (MacKinnon 177). Characters such as Alicia and Benitez in The Official Story are a testament of how social activism assists in the unraveling the truth about government crimes that include civil wars and massacres against defenseless civilians. Alternatively, the resilience and the persistent spirit displayed by Rosa, her father Arturo who dies in the struggle and her brother Enrique also demonstrate that when citizens live for a cause, they force the regime to reconsider its decisions. It is equally upon governments to give its people equal economic opportunities to avoid people such as Maria and Lucy in Maria Full of Grace getting lured into the illicit and risk drug trade in Colombia that causes the death of innocent young individuals. Works Cited Cook, Bernard. Women and War: A Historical Encyclopedia from Antiquity to the Present. Mason, OH: SAGE. 2003. Print. Elena, Alberto & Lopez, Marina. The Cinema of Latin America. New York, NY: Wallflower. 2003. Print. Hart, Stephen. A Companion to Latin American Film. New York, NY: Boydell & Brewer. 2004. Print. Heo, Uk et al. Civil Wars of the World: Major Conflicts Since World War II, Volume 1. New York, NY: ABC-CLIO. 2007. Print. Lewis, Paul. Guerrillas and Generals: The "Dirty War" in Argentina. New Jersey, NJ: SAGE. 2002. Print. MacKinnon, Catharine. Are Women Human?: And Other International Dialogues. New York, NY: SAGE. 2006. Print. Marez, Curtis. Drug Wars: The Political Economy of Narcotics. Mason, OH: Routledge. 2004. Print. Sloan, Kathryn. Women's Roles in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mason, OH: ABC-CLIO. 2011. Print. Read More