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.