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.