In the late 1990’s a new trend developed in the Latin American films, as there was a sharp shift from the political focus to small stories featuring the struggles of individuals in the society. Prior films exhibited scenes exploring random events and their impacts on the society using nihilistic individuals. ‘Days of Santiago,’ which is a film, directed by Josue Mendez and ‘The Whore and the Whale,’ directed by Luis Puenzo are two examples of contemporary films focusing on the lives of few specific individuals to portray the struggle of Latin Americans in the 1990’s. These two movies uncover emotional rawness and create several themes synonymous with the lives of the Latinos in America but only visible through the lives of the characters. Themes …show more content…
Santiago becomes so much isolated from the society to the point of wondering whether he is in the same country where he grew up as a child. The society has moved on from the conflicts, and the priorities are now different with the focus being on the fast growing urban economy. The Latinos no longer focus on their old problems according to this movie. They have isolated the people who focus on the past and hedonism is the new focus as everybody struggles to make a living in a fast-paced life in the now stable city. Santiago’s lazy brother is a perfect example of hedonistic character and someone who has no honor for morality. According to the brother, the focus is no longer, on who served the nation but on how to acquire wealth and live a stable and comfortable life. Latinos are facing entrapment in the past and find it had to reintegrate into the modern society. The old man farmer on the wheelchair commits suicide due to psychological trauma, as he too cannot integrate into the modern Lima society (Hjort and Scott, 90). It is a perfect example of entrapment common in Latin America. The morality of the people in Lima is questionable as the good and disciplined lack resources to survive, but the crafty and immoral live is a comfortable life. The situation is common in Latin America few individuals wield power while the real people who struggle for the same are suffering. In Cuba for instance, many veterans live in abject poverty while those who please the government of the day live in affluence. In Days of Santiago, through the life of Santiago, we can see several themes common among the Latinos such as isolation, entrapment, and
The exotification of women of color through the introduction of sound technology in films in the 1920s and 1930s drastically influenced Dolores del Rio and her career. Because the sound of a language in films could now be heard on screen, cultural diversity in the English language and its use in the United States was acknowledged through different accents and slang. Cultural diversity in the United States was only allowed if it was through ethnic European accents. The rise of sound films in the 1930s challenged Mexican star Dolores del Rio’s ability to conform to public demands and Hollywood’s expectations through the hypersexualition of Latinx women and her involvement in transnational affairs.
The films “The other conquest”, “Jerico”, and “I the Worst of All” are all a depiction of what life would be like during the Spanish Conquest. These films give different point of views during the Spanish Conquest. The films give a person a well-rounded view of how the world really changed for different people during a historical movement. After watching these films, one is able to assess and determine their own truth about what exactly happened to Amerindians and Spaniards during this time.
In El Norte and Maria Full of Grace, border and border crossing are the key themes. These films provide not only a vivid image on how people cross the ‘physical’ borders, but also reveal the other ‘abstract’ borders, racial, cultural, and classed, that intersect lives. The siblings in El Norte, Enrique, and Rosa Xuncax, have travelled through the abandoned tunnel in Tijuana, Mexico to go to the Promised Land, the U.S., in the hope of getting a better life. In the same boat, Maria in Maria Full of Grace is risking her life as a drug mule successfully crossing the U.S. border. Again, her decision to commit such a risky act is because she wants to improve her family’s economic circumstances.
Numerous screenwriters and directors have often dealt in their films with the theme of borders, whether literal and officially recognised, like military ranks or state frontiers, or abstract and metaphorical, like those of morality, justice, race, and gender, along with several others. As a consequence, as John Gibbs points out, one could assemble these movies, especially those taking place on the confines between Mexico and United States, under the label of ‘border films’ (2002: 27); thus contextualising them in a very specific tradition, which includes pictures such as Touch of Evil (Orson Welles 1958) or The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (Tommy Lee Jones 2005). Accordingly, another notable movie belonging to the ‘border film tradition’ is Lone Star: an acclaimed 1996 hybrid of western and mystery film conventions, directed and written by independent filmmaker John Sayles. The picture recounts the story of a murder investigation, which leads the main character, Sheriff Sam
Julio, on the other hand, lives in highly ethnically diverse Los Angeles as one of the immigrant children devoid of family ties. This immediate environment of family is what Bronfenbrenner calls the microsystem. Luis enjoyed a physical presence and handling of the eleven family members in their home. But for Julio, it was a negative experience when aspect of physical development as she just a mere immigrant without parents around to give her moral support. On a worldwide perspective, both Julio and Luis desire a better world beyond theirs.
Angie Cruz’s novel, Let it Rain Coffee, tells the story of the Colón family and their experiences with immigration and identity. Their experience proves that for many people in America, especially immigrants, society has a hand in influencing your life based on factors such as your race or class. This is summed up by Santo when he says, “We might want something, Esperanza, but the world wants something else. I’m just saying that it don’t matter how good we are, you go out into the world and people will try to beat you up and take everything you got” (57). This theme of individual efforts being tossed aside for societal oppression, is seen in many instances throughout the novel.
In the novel, Santiago is an old man who’s spent his whole life working as a fisherman off of Havana, Cuba. Santiago
Today, you either get educated or you get stuck in a dead-end job without much prospect for the future. The gap between those with a higher education and those without one is becoming wider with advancements in technology and the growing competitiveness of the job market. There are many dangers of this gap. One such danger is the people who have a higher educations having the leisure to ignore those who are less educated. Joy Castro in her essays “Hungry” and “On Becoming Educated” discusses her life and educational journey.
Many people are undermined by the drawbacks of belonging to a low socioeconomic status. In The House on Mango Street, Esperanza is raised in a poor, Latino community, causing her to be introduced to poverty at an early age. This introduction of poverty affects Esperanza in many ways, one including that she is unable to find success. Esperanza struggles to achieve success in life because the cycle of poverty restricts her in a position in which she cannot break free from her socioeconomic status.
The Myth of The Latin Woman Analysis Latin American women face challenges every single day and moment of their lives. They are strongly discriminated against in all sectors of employment, in public places, and even while just walking down the street. In her essay, "The Myth of the Latin Woman," Judith Ortiz Cofer describes her own experiences using illuminating vignettes, negative connotation, and cultural allusion to exemplify how she used the struggles in her day to day life as a Latin woman to make herself stronger. Cofer uses illuminating vignettes to illustrate the different situations she encountered as a Latina while growing up and living in America.
Written by Gabriel Garcia Márquez in 1958 as part of Los Funerales de la Mamá Grande, Un Día de Éstos is a short story addressing a vast theme; that of power and how it is balanced. By constructing the narrative primarily around the two characters of Don Aurelio Escovar, an unqualified dentist, and the mayor who is suffering of toothache, Márquez uses their reactions towards each other to guide the reader into understanding how easy it is to become vulnerable, notwithstanding their social class. CHARACTERISATION The theme of power is explored through the characterisations of the two men in the story and it could be said that this done primarily through continuous contrasts between them. To start with, the vocabulary that surrounds Escovar
The immigrants entering the United States throughout its history have always had a profound effect on American culture. However, the identity of immigrant groups has been fundamentally challenged and shaped as they attempt to integrate into U.S. society. The influx of Mexicans into the United States has become a controversial political issue that necessitates a comprehensive understanding of their cultural themes and sense of identity. The film Mi Familia (or My Family) covers the journey and experiences of one Mexican-American (or “Chicano”) family from Mexico as they start a new life in the United States. Throughout the course of the film, the same essential conflicts and themes that epitomize Chicano identity in other works of literature
In the altar’s center is “a plaster image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, quarter-life size, its brown Indian face staring down on the woman” (Paredes 23). The implication of the stare is of criticism as the Virgin, symbolic of an ideal Mexican womanhood, looks down on Marcela, whose Anglo features starkly contrast with the Virgin’s, and whose actions are in opposition to the values that she represents. This carefully constructed scene is meaningful. Marcela’s lifeless body lies between the bed and the altar, and opposite to the altar is Marcela’s shrine dedicated to Hollywood movie stars. These are the visual images of the opposing forces that characterize the Mexican-American struggle for resistance against American cultural hegemony.
“Oranges,” “The Seventieth Year,” and “Avocado Lake,” showcase Soto’s ability to move a reader using an emotional story without the use of rhyme or rhythm. Through Soto’s poetry, he indicates the traits that define Mexican-American community
Primo, who runs the crack house for his boss Ray and Caesar who works in the underground economy for his friend Primo. Bourgois’ study takes place in El Barrio where underemployment, social marginalisation, drugs, violence and misogyny are prevalent. Patriarchy is in crisis as gender roles are in reverse. Both male and females are trying to maintain power and respect.