Tango

How the director of Tango mixes muted light and color with intoxicating dance and the richest Tango music to tell us a message without words? Can the music speak with its rhythm and sound?

               In the start of the film, the director uses the rich Tango music and dance to show the jealousy that Mario has for the man that Laura is now living with. Mario clearly cares for Laura very much and he is envious of the way she is able to dance with her new lover, and disappointed in himself that due to his accidents, he is unable to move and dance like he once was able to. Later in the film, the director uses color to show Mario’s emotions. For example, during Elena’s audition when everyone else is dress in neutrals and blacks, Elena is in all red to show Mario’s attention and interest in Elena, which later in the film turns into his passion and love for her. Later in the film, the director pairs Elena and Laura up together and depicts Elena in all white to show how Mario views her as pure and innocents, and it depicts Laura in all black, to show how Mario feels betrayed by her. In the end of the film Mario and the others are discussing the lighting of the play and they discuss how they will use dim lighting in the beginning scene of the play to show exile through the ages of the people in Argentina.
Jamie Thomas

El Viaje de Carol

How does she fight against the conventionalism found in this new culture?

               Carol refuses throughout the film to act like a normal teenage girl. She strives to be her own person and is comfortable hanging around the boys and doing the activities that the boys like to do. Also, Carol is from a high class society, and rather than living up to this high class lifestyle, she hangs around lower class children, because she enjoys the things that they do, rather than what her family expects her to do. Also, when those in the community write their distaste for Carol on her house, she shows her grandfather that she does not find this acceptable, and that in her mind and opinion it is not something she is willing to let go and ignore.

How does her American background interfere with her efforts to adapt to the new culture in Spain?

               Carols American background interferes with her fitting in the Spanish culture because even though she attempts to associate with those in this new culture, she is harassed with the fact that she is from America. At times, she uses this to her advantage, and is able to stay out of trouble when she and the boys get caught by the soldiers. Carol tells these soldiers just who she is, and who her family is to make sure that she and the others don’t get into trouble for being somewhere they are not supposed to be. However, Carol is shown how much she is not welcome in this new culture when someone puts graffiti on her house, stating that they are not happy with her presence. Although, still Carol shows her American spirit and strength, that she will not allow this to get her down, and that she does not find it acceptable to leave these harsh words on her home, and her grandfather paints over the graffiti.

Jamie Thomas

Entre Nos

When Marianna’s husband abandons the family and leaves them in a new city, they are forced to start completely over. The family has only been in America for two weeks and they know no one and have absolutely no connections to help them. If they were still in Colombia or somewhere close to it, they would at least be able to rely on family and friends to get through these hard times. However when the family being left for themselves in America, Marianna has to try anything to find money or work. She does not even speak the language, so she often has to rely on her son’s knowledge of English to help communicate with others.  For this to happen the family’s first summer in America, it at first gives Marianna a negative view on the country, because she is from the outside and she cannot find anyone to help her. However, as the film goes on I feel that for the family’s first summer in America it begins to show Marianna that things will possibly work out for her here, and it is possible for her to do it. I don’t feel that this is a typical problem for Americans in similar situations. Single mother in America may face some of the same problems that Marianna’s family does, but there are ways that these mothers are able to get help. More resources are available to single American mothers that are living in poverty, like welfare, mother centers, and soup kitchens that would be able to help support the families. However, Marianna’s family either is not eligible for these benefits, or has no idea that they exist, because she is not from this country. In my opinion, the struggles that Marianna goes through being left by her husband with two small children, in a new country is a much harder and bigger struggle than American single mothers.

Jamie Thomas

The Official Story

Do you think Alicia is able to reconcile her personal thoughts about her suspicions that her daughter is the child of a murdered political prisoner at one point in her life? Explain your reason and discuss in detail your inferred and factual (based on the film) ideas.

               I don’t think Alicia is able to reconcile her thoughts about her daughter’s potential past. As soon as she is visited by her long lost friends, and she relives her experience while being held captive by telling Alicia about the pregnant women that were taken away and returned childless. After Alicia hears these stories it seems to be the only thing that she can think about and she tries desperately throughout the movie to find answers. Unfortunately for Alicia she also realizes that there is a possibility that if her adopted daughter did come from one of these woman that there was a point in which her newborn daughter was in this political prison for a point of time, and I think she has just as hard of a time dealing with that. In the scene of Gaby’s birthday party, I felt that one of the saddest scenes between Alicia and Roberto when they discuss that they don’t even celebrate Gaby’s actual birthday, rather they celebrate the day that Roberto brought Gaby home. I felt this was a hard scene to watch because it shows how little they know about their daughter and how Alicia is helpless to find the answers to these questions, and how Roberto doesn’t want to be involved in Alicia’s hunt to figure out Gaby’s past. I think this struggle between Alicia and Roberto is another reason that Alicia is unable to let go of the idea that Gaby’s mother could have been murdered in a political prison. Alicia knows so little about how Gaby came to them, and Roberto has the information but refuses to tell her everything, and it is so apparent that he doesn’t want to discuss it. Even in the very beginning of the film when the two are at dinner with friends and Roberto’s friends poke fun of how they received Gaby by asking if they were present at the birth, Roberto not only doesn’t stick up for Alicia, but he doesn’t say anything about it on the way home either. It is apparent throughout the film that Alicia longs to have this information and piece the story of her daughter’s life back together and Roberto has no interest in figuring out the story, rather he wants to forget it and move on, but Alicia can’t deal with this.

Jamie Thomas

LIke Water for Chocolate

I enjoyed the film Like Water for Chocolate. I think that it showed how seriously the Spanish culture takes family traditions and how they are and important and respected part of their culture. They are recognized and acceptable in most families without question to if they are truly fair. I feel the traditions in this particular family were ridiculous and unrealistic to expect to be carried to. To expect a young girl to set her life on hold to care solely for her mother simply because she is the youngest is in my opinion a crazy tradition. It doesn’t give that child a chance to live and have her own life, but rather to be a slave to her mother. It is no wonder that in this family all the children leave that mother, because she treats her daughters like objects, rather than children that she actually loves and cares for. Even when the mother’s ghost returns to Tita, she does not mourn the thought that her mother has passed away and that she misses her. Rather, she wants even for her mother’s ghost to leave her alone because even from the afterlife her mother is once again trying to control her life.

Motorcyle Diaries

During this amazing trip Ernesto Guevara was prepared to become the leader of the revolution in Latin American, particularly in Cuba.

What scenes of the film display experiences that possibly helped shape his personality as a future leader?

               The first scene that I saw Ernesto as a leader was when he and Alberto met the couple that was forced to leave everything behind and look for work. Ernesto talks about this experience in a letter to his mother and discusses how these hardships of others make him feel closer to the human race. Following this meeting Ernesto and Alberto watch these people struggle to find work, and when they are hand-picked by the way they look, Ernesto gets very upset and angry for those that are not given the opportunity to work. Ernesto shows qualities of a good leader throughout the movie. He cares very much for the human race, and wants only the best for everyone. He offers his services as a doctor to many throughout his journey, and although he does not always have the best people skills, he tries to ensure the best outcome for all.

What are the main differences in celebration traditions between the United States of America and the Spanish speaking world?

               Both cultures have celebrations in the same style with music, food, and alcohol in the hopes for everyone to have a good time. The Spanish speaking world has more dancing and singing centered in their traditions than American, but both cultures celebrate similarly.

El Mariachi

Are you able to identify common Mexican stereotypes in the film?

               There are several stereotypes that are presented throughout the film. The stereotypical “Mexican” look of a thick black mustache and curly black hair is the look of all the main male characters in the film. The violence associated with feuding Mexican drug gangs is the entire plot in the movie, and it is exaggerated through the gun violence running crazy throughout the street.

Is the bandito-violence commonly associated with Mexican culture?

               Bandito-violence and the “Mexican drug cartel” are commonly associated with the Mexican culture. However, in this film I feel that the violence is exaggerated. The shooting scenes in the street, running with large guns throughout the town, and the random killing I feel is not how the violence within these gangs is actually how these scenes depict it. The violence that these gangs are associated with is much more organized and set targets are marked, not a random description that can be associated with several people within the town.

Who is the Mariachi and what is his purpose in life?

               The Mariachi is an icon of Mexican tradition, which travels from town to town to do what they love, play music to entertain people. It shows the importance of the cultures traditions, and the dedication these people have to doing what they are passionate for.  The Mariachi musician gives his all for his music, he wanders from town to town just looking for a place where new groups of people can enjoy his music and where he can have the opportunity to meet new people and have new experiences. The Mariachi represents how passionate people in Mexico are about their traditions and how they love and embrace their culture and their family’s traditions.

Is the role of music important in the film? How? Why?

               The role of music was important in this film, because it depicted how the scene was supposed to feel. If the scene was full of suspense and mystery the music reflected that, or if the scene involved a lot of violence, the music emphasized that violence. The music was also important because it was as if the Mariachi guitar player was narrating the story through his music and his interpretation of the scenes.

Machuca

What thoughts do you have about the interaction between these two children? What kind of friendship do they develop? Do they make distinctions between social classes or skin color?

               The interactions between these two children is that they develop a distinct and unique friendship, in a difficult political time in there society. They become friends at first out of convenience because they are forced to be in the same classes and sit next to each other, they then become close because they have the same enemies with in the class and instead of turning on each other when their bully pins them against each other, and they become friends instead. Their friendship is odd in that they are very close with each other, but they both betray one another at some point within the film. Machuca betrays Gonzalo over Silvana, steals him bike and leave Gonzalo. Machuca does this because he is jealous of Gonzalo, and does not trust him all the way, he feel like Gonzalo is holding out on him in schoolwork and won’t allow him to get grades as good as Gonzalo. However, Gonzalo betrays Machuca in a more serious and hurtful way. He betrays Machuca when the military enters Machuca neighborhood and instead of acknowledging Machuca’s presence and saying something to him, Gonzalo instead shows the military that he is not part of this neighborhood and that he comes from a much higher class. The two boys never take about how they come from different families or different classes, but they both notice the difference with their interaction with each other. Machuca notices the differences when he enters Gonzalo’s home for Gonzalo’s sister’s birthday party. He comments on the vast amount of clothes that Gonzalo has, his amazement with the Adidas running shoes, Gonzalo’s books, and he shows how he comes from a different class by eating a ton at the party because it is not something he is used to having in front of him. Gonzalo shows that he notices the difference between his life and Machuca when Gonzalo goes to Machuca’s neighborhood. He looks in amazement at the homes and the political posters that are on the houses, and when he arrives at Machuca’s house he looks confused when Machuca’s mother tells him the restroom is outside, and when he goes to the outhouse he looks absolutely disgusted to have to use it.

Were you able to see the differences between two social classes, the rich and the poor in Chile?

               The distinctions between the two social classes in Chile are obvious and extreme. The rich are the very rich, that have access to nice cars, lots of expensive clothes and are able to pick up and vacation or move when they need to get out of the country for a span of time. They also send their children to private all boys or all girls’ schools. The poor in Chile are the extreme poverty stricken families. They have one set of clothes, which they wear throughout the film, the families live in shake like houses that are in very close corridors to others in poverty and are very close to where they are working. These children typically would not be able to go to school because their families can’t afford it, but in this film they are allowed to go to school through scholarships.

What is the main message that you can infer from this film?

               I believe that the main message of this film is that even people from completely different backgrounds and different families can still become friends. In a normal situation these two children would never be friends or even meet, but because the priest at their school saw an opportunity to give a few underprivileged boys a chance at a good education, these two children were able to develop a friendship that allowed the two of them to grow as individuals and learn from each other.

Under the Same Moon

What were the main reasons for the boy's mom to leave her son in Mexico with his grandmother? Could you infer other idea for the context presented in the film?
            Rosalina moved to L.A. away from her son Carlos, so that she could start a new and better life for the two of them. She was working to save money and become a legal U.S. citizen before she went back to Mexico to bring Carlos to L.A. with her. It could also be inferred from the movie that Rosalina moved to America in search of Carlos's father Oscar, who moved to America before Rosalina, and had never seen Carlos.
Why do you think the mother had to make such a difficult decision? Was it really difficult? What are clear scenes that portray those difficulties if any?
            Rosalina had to make this difficult decision to leave Carlos behind in Mexico, because it was to dangerous for her to bring him with her. As a young child, it would have been nearly impossible for Carlos to get across the Mexico/American border without being discovered by the I.N.S., and Rosalina had to make the decision to leave him in Mexico, until she herself was settled in America and able to bring him to America with her. The opening scene shows Rosalina's struggle to cross the border, opening with a police crash and Rosalina and other illegal immigrants running to cross the border to America without being arrested.
What problems did the boy face living away from his mother? What problems did his mom face living away from her son?
            A problem that Carlos faced living away from his mother, was the struggle between Manuel and Josefina trying to take Carlos away from his grandmother. Carlos' grandmother was in poor health, and as much as his grandmother was looking after Carlos, Carlos was the true care-taker of the home. He was the one to get up early in the morning, make breakfast, get ready for school, and bring his grandmother her medications for the day. Also, Carlos had a job while in Mexico working for Dona Carmela even though he was such a young boy, he had many responsibilities for taking care of his family. Rosalina also faced problems while living away from Carlos such as the extreme guilt she felt for leaving her son. In one scene, it shows Rosalina babysitting another woman's child, and her sadness to be playing and coddling this other child, while she can't be with her one son. Another problem she faces is trying to find work in America so that she can send money to Carlos, save money to bring him to America, and support herself. Rosalina is discriminated against in the work force because she is an illegal immigrant, and she is forced to find "odd" jobs cleaning houses, babysitting and other such work to make ends meet. Even in these jobs she is not treated fairly, because when one of her bosses unjustly fires her and refuses to pay her for work that has already been done, Rosalina is unable to do anything about it, because as an illegal immigrants, there is no one she cane turn to for help.
Would a mother in the U.S. make the same choice? Why
          A mother in the U.S. would not be forced to make these decisions like Rosalina. In American if a mother was trying to leave the U.S. to find work in another country, she would be allowed to take her child with her, and not have to smuggle across the border. Furthermore, if things were not working out for the mother in another country, it would be much easier and acceptable for the mother to move back to America and look for work to support her family.