Tango

     Music and dance are a form of language. This is never more true than in the film Tango. Tango is a very sensual dance that speaks to their dance partner as well as to the audience. There is power to the music when combined with the rhythm of dance. When this is coupled with special lighting, the message comes across loud and clear. For example, when Laura was dancing, it drew Mario in from across the room and he lusted for her in her red outfit, with the stage and lighting in hues of red and pink, and the music of intense drums making for a steamy scene. It was interesting how they colored the stage and lighting green during the "trio tango", which may be interpreted as representing jealousy and envy. Other uses of color to assist in nonverbal communication were when the dances used the contrast of black and white to depict evil versus goodness. One of the dances had opposing white (good)  and black (evil) dancers, which lead to them intertwining or invading one another. This may have been showing how peacefulness was overcome by suppression and human injustice. The ending scene clearly shows the desperate people being displaced from their home and their land. Although there is a sense of helplessness and despair, they find comfort in music and dance which appropriately portrays it's value to  the warm Hispanic culture.
Beth Niehaus

Carol's Journey

Born and raised in the U.S., Carol is thrown into the unknown culture of the foreign country, Spain.  She is a free spirited, independent, young girl, and shows this right off the bat with her non-traditional “tom-boyish” outfits.  She refuses to conform to the traditional feminine attire, even to the extent of refusing to wear a dress at her first communion.  Her American background produced a girl who is comfortable asserting herself.  This causes her to have conflicts with others in Spain, including her aunt as when she ignored her curfew and told her off when being reprimanded.  Another example of this conflict is the relentless fight she had with her friends to recover her stolen hat. 

            When Franco won the Spanish Civil War, he dissolved the Spanish parliament and established a right wing authoritarian regime.  Under this regime he suppressed those who had descendent views through censorship and coercion.  He even used concentration camps and death sentences.  Unfortunately because many experienced economic growth and improvements in quality of living under this regime, they overlooked any human rights abuses that were rampantly occurring.  One such injustice was when Carol’s dad and boyfriend were hunted down and the boyfriend ended up being killed.  Despite all of the conflicts and animosities Carol has adjusting to the culture of Spain, she maintains her own spirit and identity throughout the film. 

Beth Niehaus 

Volver

     In many of the films we have viewed, the women experience great hardships. This film is no exception. Raimunda grew up feeling unloved and abandoned by her mother and was sexually abused by her father, bearing his child and living the lie that her own child was her sister. She then was in a less than desirable marriage, having to work several jobs to support her family.  Her husband was killed at the hands of her daughter, while defending herself from him, and Raimunda mustered up the strength, physically and emotionally, to cover up the murder and carry on. She learned at a young age to be determined and self reliant. These traits certainly came in handy throughout her life.
     One superstitious belief that was repeated through the movie was that of the "east wind", which was blamed for driving everyone crazy. Another example was their belief in spirits. The whole village believed Augustine's spirit had come back and had taken care of Raimunda's Aunt until her death. I even was believing it was her spirit until she admits other wise. This film exemplifies the strength and courage of women in their pursuit of overcoming tragedy.

Beth Niehaus

Entre Nos

Mariana finds herself in a very difficult position when her husband abandons her. She is an illegal immigrant, only being in the U.S. a couple weeks, when he deserts her and her two children. She has no job, no connections, no skills, and doesn’t even speak English. She experiences a vast array of emotions. She goes from anger that he would be so selfish to follow his own whims without regard for the welfare of his family, to hope and anxiousness as she waits for him to call and send for them. She then feels hostility toward him as the reality sets in that he has deserted them. She was very courageous for the sake of her children but the depression, despair, and helplessness that she felt spilled out when her children were asleep. She was determined though and was willing to do anything to survive, even pick through garbage to find aluminum to recycle for cash. Her children suffered greatly as they walked from dawn to dusk, were often sleep deprived, dirty, and hungry. The thing that impressed me was how tolerant they were. They never complained and actually became empowered, as when her son collected cans on his own when she was ill, proudly bringing her back money and food. Their strength and determination was exemplified when he insists they complete their work before eating, despite the fact that they were exhausted and starving. The saying, “What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger” comes to mind when I think about what Mariana and her kids went through. This experience strengthened them as individuals and as a family unit. They equally suffered, made sacrifices, and supported each other. It’s no wonder they all overcame this awful situation and led prosperous and successful lives.

 Beth Niehaus

The Official Story

This was a very sad movie about the anguish an adoptive mother feels when confronted with the fact that the birth mother of her child had unwillingly lost her child. She seemed at first oblivious to the fact that this was possible. It was as though she was living with blinders on and disconnected herself from the realities of the world around her. It was only once events started occurring in her own life that she could no longer avoid seeing what was going on in the world around her. One such event is when her friend Anna, who was captured and tortured, blatantly told Alicia babies were being taken from their mothers in captivity. Another is when the students in her history class posted current event clippings related to these issues. Thirdly was when she witnessed protests in the plaza, where the parents of these missing young adults are pleading for the release of their children and grandchildren. She became obsessed with the need to know if her daughter, Abby, was one of these babies and struggled greatly with the thought of it being true. It wasn't until she met Abby's biological grandmother and heard the personal story of the plight of her family and saw the pictures of Abby's birth mother and father that she began to reconcile with this fact. She began to realize that despite the heartache and upheaval that would occur in her life, she must do what is morally right. It was obvious her husband, who was  morally corrupt, did not agree and treated her violently when she tried to talk to him regarding this. Being an adoptive mother myself, I can only imagine the pain she experienced as she realized she had been deceived and her happy family was nothing but an illusion.

I enjoyed this movie and thought there were many messages that were creatively relayed. One that caught my attention was the use of hot to represent love and cold to represent loneliness. For example, when Tita and Pedro were first attracted to each other, it was described as his glaze being so hot when he looked at her that she could feel the burning. Gertrudes leaves and finds the love of her life when the shower room catches on fire. Sparks fly when Tita and Pedro are intimate for the first time and are consumed by fire when they come together again at the end. In contrast, when Tita was told of Pedro's engagement to Rosara, she felt a great deal of despair and loneliness. It was then that she was described as so cold that she was unable to warm herself. She proceeds to knit a seemingly unending afghan in an attempt to warm herself and soothe her pain. From the title, which implies how hot water needs to be to make hot chocolate, to the heat of burning love consumed in flames of death at the end, it was a hot movie!

Diarios de Motocicleta

The scenes of the film that helped prepare Ernesto to become the leader of the revolution in Latin America were ones in which he saw great injustice. A significant scene supporting this was when he met the couple and then the many others at the mine. These farmers were evicted from their fertile and productive land and left with nothing. Ernesto commented that it was when he spent time with these desperate people that he felt close to the human race. He connected with them and their plight to the point that he gave the couple the $15.00 he refused to spend on his friend or himself, even when their own situation seemed dire. He felt drawn to the Ruins and imagined the civilization that was likely treated unjust and ultimately defeated, causing them to become extinct. His compassion for the suppressed and helpless people was tied to his severe case of asthma. Scenes displaying severe asthma attacks showed his helplessness and offered him an avenue to relate to the sick and suffering. He most directly showed this when caring for the lepers. It was these experiences that caused him to reflect on his life purpose and become the revolutionary leader. An example of a celebration was when they celebrated Ernesto's birthday. Similarities include the tradition of singing the happy birthday song, the birthday cake, and blowing out candles on the cake. One primary difference, is that in the United States we usual celebrate with our closest of family and friends. In contrast, this hot weather culture celebrates with mere strangers. It is with people he has only known for 3 weeks that he celebrates his birthday, as though they were close friends.

El Mariachi

There were many Mexican stereotypes in this film. For example, the ease in which the men killed one another, cold blooded, and ran through the street in broad day light with huge weapons, exaggerated the stereotype of the bandido-violent Mexican.  The nice looking, soft spoken, loving man with the angelic voice exemplified the stereotype of the Mariachi. Other stereotypes that were identified in this film include the bandido insisting his beer be in a bottle as a sign of macho-ism. The free coconut and the willingness to rent with the promise of payment in the future is a sign of a relaxed, trusting, "hot climate" culture. The bandido-violence was strongly depicted in this film and it was related to illegal drug dealing. This is a very real dilemma in the Mexican society today. Therefore, this stereotype image of bandido-violent Mexican's is often associated with the Mexican culture. It was stated in the film, "All he wants is to be a Mariachi", a singer. This is because his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all Mariachi's. He therefore is expected to be one as well.  He feels this is his purpose and destiny in life. Mariachi's are very special musicians who receive a great deal of respect and appreciation. The role of music was very important in this film. The importance of music in the Spanish culture is reflected in the unconditional bond Mariachi had with his guitar. He risked his life on several occasions throughout the movie in order to keep his guitar. This symbolized the cultures great love and respect for music.

Machuca

The interaction between Gonzalo and Pedro was unique in as much as they came from very different social classes. Most of the other rich children were either indifferent or hostile toward the poorer students, where as Gonzalo stuck up for Pedro, and sealed his friendship with Pedro when he completed his test for him. They showed no bias toward one another, seeming to accept each others situations and appearing to be comfortable and a bit curious in each others environment. Gonzalo seemed to ride into the slums without feeling uncomfortable and appeared right at home when participating in the socialist rallies with Pedro's family. He seemed maybe even more at home than when in his own home and with his own family.  Pedro likewise stood his ground when threatened by the sister's boyfriend, and eagerly partook in the party festivities at Gonzalo's, not showing any sense of discomfort, despite how the lifestyle was vastly different.  Maybe one of the reasons these two got along so well was because Gonzalo did not seem to hold the same beliefs or values of others in his social class. Many of the rich wanted to protect their wealth and their place in society and therefore were against socialist ideals. I  believe Gonzalo saw Pedro as his equal and therefore would want equality for him. He would have welcomed systems that would have gotten Pedro out of the horrible living conditions in which he was living and provide him and his family with decent meals and other basics of life. The main message of this film evolves around social classes and the interacting of people amongst the classes. The film portrays many images and messages supporting the division, inequality, and hostility between the classes. Gonzalo's and Pedro's friendship represents the good will attempt to close this gap. However, in the end, when Gonzalo was almost taken in the military round up when mistaken as one of the poor, he quickly identified himself as different than them. This symbolized the strength of this division and the magnitude of the social injustices that occurr in military governed countries.

under the same moon blog discussion

The main reason Rosario left her son, Carlos, in Mexico with his Grandmother was so she could cross the border into the U.S. where she has the chance to make more money in order to better provide for her son. This was a very difficult decision for her because in order to do what she thinks is best for her son, she has to leave him. A lot is at stake leaving him at such a young age and for so long, such as him starting to doubt her love for him, and him harboring bitterness for having to grow up without her. A common thread throughout the characters of the movie was that they were willing to take this great risk despite the consequences. Many illegal immigrants suffered many injustices and subhuman conditions in order to have a chance at improving the quality of their lives and the lives of their loved ones. The way in which Rosario deals with the pain of being apart from her son is by shutting herself off from social or leisure interaction. It was as though to say,"I can not relax and have fun while my heart aches for my son". This was clear in her avoidance of advances by a very eligible courter and ultimately her refusal to marry him. Carlos faced many problems living away from his mother. For one, he risked being taken from his grandmother and into the care of some very uncaring greedy family members, which surely would have made his life miserable. Once his grandmother died and he was in pursuit of reaching his mother, he risked near suffocation under the flooring of the van crossing the border. He then barely escaped being sold into child slavery/prostitution when he hooked up with a shady character in the bus station. Trouble continued as he had close run ins with the authorities when working to pick tomatoes and then again when sleeping on the park bench in LA. Few mother's in the U.S. have had to make decisions as tough as the decision Rosario had to make when she left her son, since for the most part, our quality of living is not dire. However, I do think that no sacrifice is too great in regard to a mother's love. If a mother in the U.S. is faced with a desperate harmful situation and has the opportunity to provide something better for their child, they would do the same.