Latin American Studies Film Series - Spring 2005
The Latin American Film Series is a free preview of films and documentaries related to Latin America chosen and hosted by our graduate student body. The film series take place on Thursday nights at 7pm in room 102 of Jones Hall.
Screenings are free and open to the public.
February 17: The Sixth Section (U.S./Mexico, 2004)
Alex Rivera's "The Sixth Section" tells a contemporary story that reveals a new perspective on Mexican migrant labor life. Rivera and co-producer Bernardo Ruiz followed José Garcia, a young man from the small Mexican town of Boqueron. Garcia decided to leave to support his wife and family, coming to the U.S. hidden in the trunk of a car. Once here, he moved to Newburgh, New York, and found much more than a job — he saw that he could use his own labor in America to relieve the stark poverty of his hometown. Directed by Alex Rivera.
February 24: Burnt Money (Plata Quemada) (Argentina, 2002)
When two gay thugs Angel and El Nene join a plan to hold up an armored truck with a group of seasoned gangsters, their love and loyalty to each other is tested. Angel is wounded by police gunfire during the robbery, forcing El Nene to kill them all in a fit of rage. Things become complicated when they escape to Uruguay and the police threaten to torture the driver’s mom if she doesn’t tell them where they are. With their pictures plastered on the cover of every paper, drowning in drugs and alcohol, the gang begins to bicker. Against his boss’s wishes El Nene leaves the apartment and roams the streets where he meets a prostitute called Giselle in whom he begins to trust. Director Marcelo Piñeyro whose films have been both critically acclaimed and commercially successful is one of the most important figures in contemporary cinema in Argentina. His fourth film is a delicate balance of a crime and love story. Burnt Money is based on a book by Ricardo Piglia and was inspired by a famous bank robbery in Buenos Aires in the 1960s. Directed by: Marcelo Piñeyro. Presented by: Denise Frazier.
March 3: Maria Full of Grace (U.S./Colombia, 2004)
Maria Alvarez is a Colombian teenager who lives with three generations of her family in a cramped house in rural Colombia.. Desperate to leave her job stripping thorns from roses, Maria accepts a large paycheck, agrees to be a mule for drug-runners: she has to swallow dozens of thumb-sized capsules of heroin and smuggle them into New York. This debilitating process is painstakingly described, and of course not everything goes as planned when Maria and her fellow mules land in America. The trump card is the lead performance of Catalina Sandrino Moreno, who won awards at the Seattle and Newport Film Festivals.. Her empathetic face carries us along on Maria's journey, and humanizes a problem that is too easily relegated to a headline. The dramatic thriller builds toward a conclusion that could only be based on a thousand true stories. Directed by: Joshua Martin. Presented by: Gray Miles.
March 31: Untamed Women (Mujeres Insumisas) (Mexico, 1995)
Frustrated by their confined existences and of being mistreated by their husbands, four housewives from a small Mexican town leave their husbands and children behind as they try to build new and more satisfying lives. They find work and adventure in a Guadalajara cabaret,though danger looms when one of the women becomes involved with a drug dealer. Some stolen money offers another chance for freedom in Los Angeles, but one determined husband will not give up his search for the woman who abandoned him. It was nominated for 14 Mexican Academy Award. Presented by: Amy George Hirons.
April 21: Domésticas/Maids (Brazil, 2001)
A fast, sexy, and life-affirming film from the director of City of God, Maids offers both superb slice-of-life acting and sophisticated film work. In Brazil, there are no less than three million housemaids, each with her own, yet universal story of loneliness, ambitions and loss but also of mutual solidarity and love. Based on one of the most popular and widely praised modern Brazilian stage plays, this defiant and original film, follows the stories of five maids who are brought together by the drudgery of their work and the bus they ride. Set to the rhythm of a samba, the film draws an intimate portrait of these characters and their problems. Directed by Fernando Meirelles and Nando Olival
April 28: Life+Debt (Jamaica, 2001)
With twenty-five years of "help" from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank intended to bring Third World nations such as Jamaica into the fold of free market economies, these "restructuring" policies have crippled Jamaica's efforts toward self-reliant development while enriching the lenders. This scathing film is an unapologetic look at the "new world order" from the point of view of Jamaican workers and farmers, as well as government and policy officials. Featuring a dynamic reggae soundtrack and a searing voice over based on text by Jamaica Kincaid, as well as interviews with former Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley, Deputy Director of the IMF Stanley Fisher and President of Haiti Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Life and Debt portrays the relationship between Jamaican poverty and the practices of the World Bank while driving home the devastating consequences of globalization. Directed by Stephanie Black Presented by: Xela Korda
posted by Brian Knighten @ 9:15 AM
24 comments
24 Comments:
On Februrary 17, 2005 I attended the film viewing of The Sixth Sense. The presenter was of significance because she has a mexican discent and was very knowledgeable on the topic of travel between the United States and Mexico.
The film was about illegals who cross the border into the U.S. to find work in order to support their families and create change in Mexico. In 1982 Mexico fell victim to a severe drout, and without aid from the government, many hid in trunk of cars to find work in the united states. A group of these illegals began "Grupo Union" which is one of 1,000 of groups who work to collect money and needed supplies and then transfer the materials back to Mexico. The main problems is that very few of these individuals have the papers to travel freely across the border. As a result there was only one gentleman of grupo union who could make the trip from Newburg New York to Boqueron Mexico. Without aid from the government, finances provided from grupo union has paid for a baseball stadium, an ambulance, band instruments, a kitchen for a kindergarden, a church, and a basketball court. It is very hard for the illegals in New York to think about the poverty and problems plagueing thier home town. However, over the years, groups such as grupo union has gained political strength and are now very active, working with the government to slowly make change. Currently, a road is being paved into the town of Boqueron. Approximately 1/4 of the money sent to the town from the government actually gets there, so many of the jobs started, such as the well project, are never completed or not completed correctly.
What was surprising to me about this film was how active these individuals are about helping a town they no longer live in. I was surprised at how strong willed and determined grupo union is and also how much influence they have on the government. The film made me more appreciative of the government here in the U.S. and provoked in me a feeling of heroisism for members of grupo union. The most important thing I learned from the film was a new understanding and appreciation for families of Mexican heritage who I come into contact with on a daily basis because many of them are only here to save their families and better their homelands.
The information in the film could easilly be incorporated into a middle school english class through a study of diversity and history. A creative lesson plan idea would be to create a family tree and incorporate all the different family histories that go along with such a diverse student body. This would help to teach tolerance, allow the students to study their cultural heritage and teach each student a little more about the history of the people that they daily have contact with. You could also tie this lesson into a comparison about the U.S. government to include content from social studies or government classes.
I really enjoyed The Sixth Section and I am looking forward to the next feature film.
Brooke, excellent comments and synopsis of the film. Not only could you incorporate this into a discussion on history and diversity, this film would make a lesson on remittance, and their affects on both groups, come alive. Very good. Keep up the good work.
The movie “The Sixth Sense,” brought to my attention interesting ways of incorporating a new outlook on immigration in the United States to a high/middle school classroom. This movie brings together concepts of diversity, immigration, economics, and political influence. A lesson plan could be created to involve all these ideas.
The presenter of the movie was from Mexico and added her own words at the beginning of the movie to describe how influential a group of immigrants can be to a culture. She pointed out before the movie that most stories about illegal immigration talk of the horrible hardships these people endure to survive in America and not what an influence they can bring to their original country. “The Sixth Sense” highlighted what a group of individuals can do who really care about the place that they call home. A group of men all coming from the same home town in Mexico had moved to the Northeast. Here the worked to together to raise money for “projects” for their home town in Mexico. They worked to build a baseball park, buy an ambulance, purchas instruments for the band, build a well, and so much more. Their influence eventually forced the government in the area to build a road to this small town. It was amazing to see the power that a group of people who left their country can have on their founding nation. This was not a story of turning a cold shoulder in attempt to move on to a better life but a story of influence and encouragement.
A math class could benefit from using this movie as a foundation for future research. Any type of math could incorporate elements of this movie. One lesson could be using algebra to manipulate unknowns to discover the monetary amount and the time some of the projects would have taken. A higher level math course could use research, math skills, and presentations to look at what sort of influence groups like “Groupo Union” have on Mexico and the United States. Geometry could be used in discussion of building a well or a baseball diamond. Having the students develop a project and presentation will help them to comprehend the quantitative value this group can have on the Mexican economy. Beyond the movie the influence of Mexican immigration on the United States economy, illegal and legal can be presented. Students could then use that information to broaden their concept of the national discussion of illegal immigration.
I am very excited to see the next movie and see what other ways new cultures can be brought into the classroom.
THIS MESSAGE WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED BY ASHLEY CONWELL. Brian Knighten merely moved it to its proper spot.
I saw Burnt Money last Thursday in Jones hall. The woman who presented it, or rather turned it on, said she had never seen it before but she had heard great things about it. I was quite excited to see it too. The film was basically about a couple, Angel and Nene, who pull off a robbery of seven million dollars and are forced to flee the country (with the others who helped commit the crime) and hide out from the cops. Amidst the danger and uncertainty of hiding from the police, they also deal with a strained relatiohsip and Angel's voices. The movie took place in the mid 1960s in Uraguay. I was not familiar with the history of Argentina or Uruguay, but at the end of the film, there was a caption saying that the movie was based on an actual crime spree in 1965. Angel and Nene were known as "Los Mellizos." I do not know that this movie could be explicitly incorporated in my classroom, seeing as I teach elementary school and certain parts of the store are not acceptable for young children. However, this movie reopened my eyes to how exciting history can be. The history of other cultures may seem even more exciting to me because it is new and fresh. I think that teaching the history of other cultures in my classroom would be a nice new twist on tired history themes.
On March 3, 2005 I attended the film viewing of Maria Full of Grace. There was no specific presenter but the man who introduced the film gave some basic info, including the fact that one of the actors in the film actually does what he does as an actor in real life.
The film was about women who work as drug mules and tranfer drugs in their stomachs between Columbia and New York. Maria, a strong and independent 17 yr. old quits her job stripping flowers because she is treated so poorly by her boss. She then finds out she is pregnant, without a job, and in her family's bad graces because she is not doing her part to support them. She agrees to become a mule and swallows many pellots of drugs which are hand wrapped and often come undone while they're in the individual's digestive system. Along the way Maria befriends Lucy, another mule, who has a sister in New York. Lucy, Maria, and one of Maria's friends make the trip to New York, however, Lucy gets sick and the drug smugglers kill her and cut open her stomach to get the drugs. In the end, Maria's friend finds her way back to Columbia and Maria, after meeting Lucy's sister and paying for Lucy's body to be sent back to Columbia decides to stay and make money in the US. This took a lot of guts becuase she had already gone through so much trama, cannot speak english and has no family in the states.
The significance of this film is very similar to that of the Sixth Section because both film highlight the unfair working conditions and poverty of other countries. Maria found herself in a very bad situation, however she endured and got through it and still decided to stay and work so she could send money to her family back in Columbia because she knew there was no real future for her there. This film really highlights the behind the scenes life of drug smuggling and really shows the horror and embarrassment, but also the willingness of young people to do anything to support their families.
Maria Full of Grace could be worked into an english lesson by focusing on the responsibilities put on maria by her family, since many of the students in the NOPSD often times have to watch their siblings at home or work in order to help support the family. You could compare this relationship of Maria's to that of relaitonships found in other texts.
Miriam - great post, and great ideas for how the movie could be used in math classes - a good way to both make math apply to the "real world" and to give it a human, and multicultural, face.
REPLY TO MIRIAM'S SIXTH SECTION POSTING
Miriam, wonderful idea about using immigration and remmittance in a math class. I never thought of that. I thought about using in an economics class, social studies, but not in math. Very good. It shows that you can incorporate cultural studies into any subject. Good work.
Reply to Ashley's Burnt Money posting:
Ashley - good synopsis of the movie. While the movie could not be used in an elementary-level classroom, using the histories of people who are not the "same old, same old," particularly from other cultures, is a great way to re-freshen history. Good job recognizing that!
REPLY TO BROOK'S POSTING ON MARIA FULL OF GRACE
Good job on your reflection. How you would incorporate into the classroom, mainly given the content not the subject matter, may be tough. One thing to think about is using clips from films. You don't always need to show the whole film to stress a point, but rather can compile clips and comments from multiple arenas.
Reply to Brook's Maria Full of Grace posting:
Great post. The parallels between this story and other "classic" stories, that students may find irrelevent to their lives can also be drawn, as a way to bring those older books/texts into the present day.
Note: the university is spelled "Columbia," the country is "Colombia"
Last Thursday I saw the movie Maria Full of Grace in Jones as part of the Latin American movie festival. The movie was presenter added some information about the people who transport bodies of mules back to their original nations. I found this particularly interesting that this is important to so many people. I am not sure if it is because death rites are important to the culture of Columbia or if because they do not see drug trafficking as a deviant of a crime as citizens of the US do. The presenter adding this information helped the movie come alive but reminding us of the reality of the issues. The presenter also added information about how the movie was filmed. The hand held camera and documentary style, also carried a constant reminder of the real situation in Columbia.
The movie was about a 17 year old named Maria. She was different then the rest of the girls in her small town in Columbia. The town was based on the flower industry. Due in part to her pregnancy and also to her strong spirit and dynamic personality, Maria quits her job. She also during this time breaks up with boyfriend, realizing she wants change in her life. The need to get out of town and the need to get money pushes her interest to take the risk of becoming a mule. Upon arriving to New Jersey Maria gets into some trouble. After surviving having to re-swallow some of the capsules and almost getting caught in the airport, one of her friends dies from the pills. Seeing the blood, Maria grabs her other friend and they run for help. In the end Maria returns the drugs, takes a large portion of the money to pay for her friend’s funeral and stays in the United States with hopes to create a better life for her child.
The overall effect of the movie was very powerful. Maria showed amazing strength of character that encourages others to face their own challenges. I enjoyed this movie a great deal because it carried such a universal message that goes beyond drug trafficking problems between Columbia and the United States.
Bringing this movie into a math class could be a little more difficult then with pervious movies. Research can be done about the numerical content of drug influence and consumption. Students could look at how much of a certain type of drugs would hurt the body. To incorporate more Latin American issues, students could look at the influence drug war is having on domestic and foreign policy. They could investigate how much money and time is being spent on this war. On a different subject students could use mathematical data to see what it takes for someone to set up life in New Jersey and in this manner statistically see what Maria went through.
I am very excited for the next movie. From these movies I am learning more about the culture and getting a better feel for how the story is seen from the other side. Issues that are in US news are being presented from a different angle which is helping to broaden my understanding of the importance of Latin American culture.
Reply to Miriam's Maria Full of Grace posting:
Good thoughts on how to integrate the ideas from this movie into a math lesson plan, specifically the amount of money spent on the drug war and the cost of setting up a home, even comparing costs of living in different regions.
One thing to think about is why people who move from Latin America to the US make the choices they do - economically, socially - and what the factors are pushing them from their home country and pulling them to their new country.
THIS MESSAGE WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED BY ASHLEY CONWELL. Erica Roggeveen merely moved it to its proper spot
I have to admit I was a bit blue when Brian told us that we had missed our oportunity to see Maria Full of Grace, so I was thrilled when he sent the e-mail that it would be shown again on campus. Alas, I attended the viewing. The movie was presented by a Tulane film student working towards his doctorate. The movie, written and directed by an NYU film student. was about a young pregnant Colombian girl who wants a better life and job. Through the cousin of a fellow employee, Maria (and a friend of hers) lands a job as a drug smuggler. As she gets to the U.S. she faces many unexpected challenges and ultimately decides not to return to her home country, for the sake of her unborn child. I thought it was really interesting that the man who was arranging to have Lucy's body shipped back to Colombia was not an actor--that was his real job. I knew that drug smuggling was common and that it was difficult, but when I saw the size of those pellets, I was shocked. I left the room with a stomach ache. Once again, I do not think that directly involving this movie in my classroom would be a good idea because I work in the lower elementary grades. Drug smuggling is not something I want them to be familiar with at such a young age. However, awareness could be raised.
Reply to Ashley's Maria Full of Grace posting:
While the movie itself could not be shown in an elementary school classroom, the experience of immigration and the different cultural expectations within families are themes that can be presented and discussed with younger children.
On March 31, 2005 I attended the film viewing of Mujeres Insumisas, a Mexican film created in 1995. In English the film is known as untammed, or non-submissive women. The presenter of the film had not seen the movie before but gave us a quick synopsis of the film by telling us it was about women who leave thier families, children, and home because they are not treated very well.
The women in the film plye a second role to their husbands. They are viewed as people who simply raise the children, wash the clothes, cook the food, and please the man. Four of the women finally get fed up with it and leave their way of life to become cabaret waitresses. They find enjoyment on living on their own and being in control of their own lives. One of the husbands decides to leave in search for his wife but gets badly beat up by his wife's lover, who is also an evil drug trafficer. In the end the women find themselves in Los Angeles and open up their own Mexican resturaunt. The husband finally finds the wife and the women decide to stay in the states and bring their children to California. The housewifes find new respect for themselves and pride in their womanhood.
This film was important because it stressed the gender roles that confine so many cultures. It teaches the audience to appreciate all people regardless of their gender, race, age, or appearance. I was surprised by how gross the film got at parts, but these parts worked to emphasize the whole reason behind the film. The women stood up for themselves and created a better life than the ones they were subject to by their husbands.
The film was way too violent to incorporate into a classroom lesson at any grade, however, the same ideas of gender equality could be studied by examining the culture of middle eastern countries were women are not of much value when compared to men. Students could easier create a research paper discussing the gender roles of other countries and compare these roles to those of roles in the United States.
Mujeres Insumises, untamed women, presented gave me an interesting cultural look at Mexican women. The presenter of the film pointed out how this movie was meant to show the difficulties women are expected to endure in some parts of Mexican culture. From abusive and neglectful husbands to rude children to an overworked life style, four women decided enough was enough and moved away from their homes.
While I think this movie was much too violent to show in an United States high school, I think the point is valid that roles need to be questioned within society. Math is a great way to present raw data that is unquestionable. Statistical lesson plans could be created to have students look at the unfair treatment women and minorities experience in mulitple different cultures. THis could be expanded for discussion on influence of minority quotas in college applications, something more applicable to their lives.
Reply to Miriam's Mujeres Insumisas post:
As usual, interesting ways to incorporate what was presented into a math class. There are also indexes and measurements done by the United Nations that look at gender empowerment that could also be useful to look at. Also, more of a summary of the movie would be nice.
Reply to Brook's Mujeres Insumisas post:
Great summary of the movie. In looking at gender roles cross-culturally, it is important to think about absolute and relative power held by women and men in their communities. A research paper is a good suggestion for how to look at these issues.
On April 21, 2005 I attended the film viewing of Domesticas. The presenter introduced the film by explaining how it is not available in the U.S., so he had to order it from another region.
The film was corky, chaotic, funny, and entertaining. It followed the lives of five maids, giving an overview of their work, their lives, their struggles, loneliness, and ambition to become more. One of the maids spends her time looking for her daughter, one spends her time trying to become a model, and one spends her time with her "dead-fish" husband who eventually dies. The film introduces the lack of respect given to housemaids and caution towards the morality of housemaids.
I really enjoyed the way in which the film was made, particularly the scene cuts and camera angles. I was surprised at how the maids were treated by their owners. I thought the film did a great job shedding light on the day to day struggles of housemaids.
In terms of using this film in the classroom, it is a very difficult connection to make. I think you could focus on the use of music within the film, in order to bring in students' music intelligence. I think it might be interesting to show clips where the music fits the scene, and then maybe have the students create their own music and lyrics that are representative of what the class is studying. Overall, the entire film was way too much to be shown in a class, and I really don't think there would be much educational value in it, but I could see using the clips of the music interuptions to show students how to incorporate music into their learning expereince.
Last Thursday I saw the movie Domesticas in Jones as part of the Latin American Film Festival. The presenter talked about how the movie was one his favorites and more modern than most that were shown. This movie also differed because it was Brazilian and in Portuguese.
The plot line was about the lives of 5 maids and how the battled with ambitions and compaionship. The director used interesting camera angels and other cinematography to help add to the overall feeling. IN interesting piece he used were individual interviews of sort with the maids asking them questions to get their personal point of views on the philosophy of life. Overall the movie was very fast pass and entertaining. I especially enjoyed the maid who was not exactly bright enough to even be a maid and the trails she went through.
The movie would be hard to incorporate into the classroom. Large sections of it were inappropriate for middle school students and also it moved rather quickly making it a struggle for even me to read fast enough to keep up. I could use some of the more interesting angel clips and time passage scenes to introduce creativity into a cinematic unit. Movie creation carries a lot of elements that use math for planning. Overall I think it would still be very difficult to find much use out of the whole movie in a class.
Reply to Brook's Domesticas post:
Great job overall. It's an interesting idea to use the music in the film as a starting point.
reply to Miriam's Domesticas post:
Good job overall. Is there anything from the plot that could be used in a math classroom? The economy of maids, esp transnational ones, is something that could be looked at.
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¡Próspero año nuevo!
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