The Film Maria Full of Grace - Essay Example

This essay will discuss these global planning issues about the film and Sharon Zukin’s article “Whose Culture? Whose City”.
The effects of social networking in urban environments for young adults, like the ones seen in the film, can have negative results attributed to them, especially in urban neighborhoods. As seen in the film, young adults would go out to neighborhood hangouts, like a bar or club, to meet people and dance. Such activities can be fun but also misleading. As seen in the movie, the two young ladies, Maria and Blanca, went to a club just to dance and hang out. They happen to meet some guys who appear to be harmless and a friendship arises. As the friends begin to see each other more often they begin to learn more about one another.

This is where misleading networking plays a role. One of the guys met at the bar happens to have associates within a drug ring and is tied to drug smuggling. Soon after, Maria and Blanca become smugglers for their new friends and associates. Had the two girls not tried to network with others at the bar they might have evaded this outcome. Therefore, the negative effect of social networking in these kinds of environments is that people may seem to be one thing but are something quite different. In areas where the drug trade is openly visible and common, like the setting in Columbia, social networking can be dangerous. This danger can also be associated in context with control of the urban cities.

The danger associated with urban cities is the means of one’s sacrifices for survival. In deprived cities, like the one in the film, money is the most admired commodity. In areas where plantations and industries thrive, workers and laborers certainly do not share the profits attained by these businesses. Workers' wages do not meet the bar for providing for their families and one's own needs therefore the danger of the drug trade looms. Drug distribution is highly recognized and sought after due to a large amount of money associated with it.

Some dwellers in areas of the drug trade, in urban neighborhoods and cities, often make the sacrifice of working in the drug trade to support their needs and the needs of their families. The money comes easy and fast and there is plenty of it to go around. However, the drug trade is a risky enterprise to partake in and is the ultimate sacrifice of personal space, in terms of smuggling drugs across borders. Drug rings look to control these environments and the people that inhabit them. As Sharon Zukin stated in her article “Whose Culture? Whose City?”, culture are a powerful means of controlling cities. She goes on to acknowledge, “Controlling the various cultures of cities suggest the possibility of controlling all sorts of urban ills, from violence and hate crime to economic decline.” (Zukin, 1995).

She attributes these statements to corporate companies' forces within public space in New York. These statements are closely related, however, to the forces of drug cartels and organizations in deprived cities like the one seen in the film.
The film enveloped an appreciation for a family support network. In doing so, the film used instances of immigration and social conflicts. The need for a strong family support network is at the forefront of survival in urban environments and deprived areas of living. Maria, in the film, had a duty to help pitch in money and time in supporting her family, especially her sister’s child. Maria felt that she was not responsible for supporting her sister’s child but she did because her family depended on her to do so.

This goes for everyone in that environment whether in an urban environment in Columbia or rural cities in the United States. A strong family support network relies heavily on the trust of the family and members associated with the family. In the movie, as Maria and Blanca ran from the drug collectors they relied on their friend's family for support. Whether running from drug lords or not, knowing people in different parts of the world can be helpful when support is needed especially when considering migrating to new environments. This instance of family support helped the two ladies get back on their feet and allowed them a safe place to sleep and think. Having this support network was essential to their survival in a new and unfamiliar environment.

The film “Maria Full of Grace” was extremely beneficial in understanding global planning issues in neighborhoods and cities, personal space, and immigration. The effects of social networking in areas that are deprived are depicted well within the film as it relates to personal space. Survival is a major entity as well. The film revealed the importance of recognizable space and the dangers associated with the sacrifices people make to survive. Finally, the film demonstrated the importance of a family social network as it relates to immigration and the need for one when someone travels to new areas. Read More