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.