A Day Without a Mexican (2004)

Posted on April 25, 2016 by oramirez

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In the 2004 film A Day Without a Mexican the director plays with the concept of disappearing all Mexicans in the United States. Although racists, anti-immigrant(anti-Mexican) rhetoric seems to have been re-popularized by the Trump campaign, this film does well to show just how vital the Latino (working) immigrant class is in the United States. Although the relationship between the United States and Mexico seems to be one-sided, that is Mexico is heavily dependent on its cross-country counterpart, this film examines the dependency the US economy has on the Latino labor force and forces its viewers to imagine what life might be like (if the tea party’s dream came true) and there was a day without a Mexican.

The scenes at the beginning of the film depicted commonly held beliefs about what Latino immigrants bring to the US. The blonde anti-immigrant protestor did beautifully in the news segment to describe what these immigrants mean to the United States of America. “We are Americans. Simply defending our land and our values from those who would cross the border that border without permission. White people are disappearing and its our country. They come here and take our job, get on welfare, and bring their drugs into this country…and steal. Steal our way of life.” This anti-immigrant protestor’s beliefs shed a light on the racism and ignorance that permeates through white society on the topic of the Latino immigration. Senator Abercrombie also does well to highlight the ignorance and goes a step further by showing the dependence he has of Mexicans in his personal life. He angrily confronts his wife for hiring “illegal Mexicans from Honduras and Guatemala” while being served breakfast by his maid, a Mexican immigrant who cooks him a Mexican dish. His Nanny is such an important part of his life that she is entrusted with cooking his meals and even scolds him about staying on his diet.

To contrast the beginning of the film society is thrown into a state of panic when it is discovered that “family members, trusted workers, and businesses owners” have disappeared off the face of the Earth. The farmer interviewed by the news station understands the importance of immigrant labor. “California depends on these people to make these fields work”. This is only one example of the dependence the American economy has on the Latino worker. On a more personal level Senator Abercrombie’s home is thrown into a panic when it is discovered that their nanny Catalina did not show up to their home to complete the many tasks she is responsible for. “There’s nor fresh juice, there’s no clean clothes, there’s no lunch. Where did she put the peanut butter?!” California is thrown into such a state of panic that a State of Emergency is put into affect, showing just how vital the Latino immigrant is to the infrastructure of the United States.

I am the son of someone who crossed the border illegally, attained citizenship and started his own business as a gardener. I am proud of everything my parents have done to give me a better life and I know the struggles they went through in a country as unwelcoming as the US. I enjoyed this film because it shows just how important Mexicans are in keeping the US machine going.

A Day Without a Mexican

My Family – Mi Familia (1995)

Posted on April 25, 2016 by pcarloss

Posted April 23, 2016 by pcarloss

My Family (Mi Familia ) is a film co-written by Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas, directed by Francis Ford Coppola (another non-Hispanic/Latino).

My Family Poster

This epic film traces over three generations an immigrant family’s trials, tribulations, tragedies and triumphs. Jose and Maria, the first generation, come to Los Angeles, meet, marry, face deportation all in the 1930s. They establish their family in East L.A., and their children Chucho, Paco, Memo, Irene, Toni, and Jimmy deal with youth culture and the L.A. police in the 1950s. As the second generation become adults in the 1960s, the focus shifts to Jimmy, his marriage to Isabel (a Salvadorian refugee), their son, and Jimmy’s journey to becoming a responsible parent.

Wikipedia

IMDb

My Family (Mi Familia ) is one of the few “theatrical” movies (not a documentary) that recognizes a very important character to the protagonist (Jose Sanchez) as the scene opens with the migration of Jose to Los Angeles to stay with a distant relative known as “El Californio” (The Californian) so named because he was here in Los Angeles, California when California was Mexico. He truly belonged here.

Jose meets and marries Maria and starts a family. While on an outing to the grocery store in 1933 Maria is swept up in a I.N.S. raid and despite her protests that she was a U.S. citizen and pregnant with a family at home is loaded onto a train box car and deported to Central Mexico. Determination and faith are the catalyst for Maria to return to her familia in Los Angeles. She professes to an aunt that she locates and who takes her in that she must have her child and return to her family. Her aunt advises Maria she must have faith and that faith will determine if she is to return to her family.

Meanwhile, in East Los Angeles, her husband Jose and two children are living with the Californio who passes away and leaves his home and estate to Jose. His one request was that he be buried behind his house and under the garden. His marker stated he was born in California when it was Mexico and where he lies is still Mexico.
Superstitious practices are performed when while in her attempt to return to Los Angeles Maria and baby Chuco while attempting to cross, fall into the rain swollen river. The baby nearly losses his life.

1958 – Wedding of Sister Irene – enter antagonist Butch Mejia, who with his gang attempts to crash the wedding. The two characters Chucho and Butch after a lot of testosterone filled posturing promise to encounter each other again.

The struggle between the old ways and the “modern” ways is a major factor being addressed in these scenes. Jose has struggled first in his walking from Mexico to Los Angeles California. Finds work as a gardener, a back breaking job and manages to raise six children. Jose is a proud man. a man who is proud of his children his oldest son who is in the navy, an aspiring writer (the narrator of the movie played by Edward James Olmos), older daughter Irene who is now married, younger daughter Toni who has become a nun, two younger sons, Memo who is the more studiest type (becomes an attorney) and Jimmy the youngest child. The child that is destined to give the family heartache is the child who nearly lost his life crossing the river, Chucho. Maria claimed at the time that the spirit of the river wanted his life and that he was living on borrowed time.

The clash of the times and cultures comes to a head and fractures the family as Chucho who is a nineteen-fifties gang banger – referred to as a “Pacheco” the derogatory term used at the time, not unlike the Pachuco’s of the Zoot Suit era. The breaking point is when Jose is notified by the police that Chucho is selling marijuana. Jose confronts Chucho and states that he did not raise his family to be delinquents and disgraceful, he did not sacrifice for that. Chucho states he does not care and does not want to be a “Mexican”. He does not want to be like his siblings but most of all he does not want to be like Jose, a fight ensures and Chucho is banished from the home.

An encounter with Butch ends up in a fight that takes Butch’s life. A police dragnet for Chucho ends in Chucho being killed in front of Jimmy and changing Jimmy’s life, from an innocent child to a juvenile delinquent. The spirit of the river had claimed Chucho’s life. Breaking jimmy’s heart and his spirit.

Jimmy Smits plays Jimmy as an adult (20 years later) – an angry bitter man who has served time in jail. Toni who has since left her Order and married an ex-priest is working to help immigrants in their deportation plights. Jimmy is convinced by his sister Toni to help Isabel Magana (a Salvadorian immigrant fighting deportation) by marrying her to allow her to stay in the U.S. Despite Jimmy’s effort to not become emotionally attached to Isabel, in spite of his defenses they do end up in a relationship as they share their grief that they experienced as children. Isabel becomes pregnant and Jimmy becomes a “husband”. Isabel dies during childbirth, causing Jimmy to not want to bond with his child. Jimmy gets arrested and refuses to be involved in his sons life. When Jimmy is released from prison he visits his parents home who are caring for his son. Upon seeing his son, the love of a parent takes over Jimmy’s heart. Now the tables have turned and his son Carlitos does not want to know Jimmy. Despite many attempts he is unsuccessful trying to win Carlitos over, until one day Jimmy decides to leave and Carlitos realizes that he will be losing his father again.

Guillermo “Memo” now an attorney brings his Anglo fiancee and her parents from Bel Air, California to meet the entire family. The Sanchez family is portrayed as very down to earth and the children as extremely rambunctious and unmanageable.
The journeys, trials and tribulations that the Sanchez family undergo is a reality that shows the diversity and cultural changes that happen in America. The migration of the patriarch Jose to Los Angeles, the struggle of Maria to return to her family after being deported. The changes of time and culture. The rough times that Chucho and Jimmy experienced in their bouts with the law. The changes that education can bring to families as portrayed by Memo who attended U.C.L.A. and becomes an attorney. As stated by Jose during Irene’s wedding – the Greatest riches a man can have is “Mi Familia” My Family.

This film portrays stereo typical scenes of a home with bright colored rooms. Superstition and mystical beliefs are sprinkled throughout the film, in the scene when the river spirit tries to take Chucho, second when the owl (who is said to represent death) appears when Chucho is killed by the police, again, when Isabel dies during child birth Paco (Edward James Olmos) shares that Maria refers to the women who die during birth “Cihuateteo” (Aztec folklore) as helpers of the Sun to set.

Who belongs here in California really? Hmm? We do “We are Californios”

http://www.imdb.com/video/screen

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2930573593/

Water and Power (2013)

Posted on April 25, 2016 by jalvis

Water and Power The story of Water and Power takes place one night in the city of Los Angeles. The performances of Enrique Murciano as Water, Nicholas Gonzalez as Power and Emilio Rivera as Norte Sur are powerful even though the advancement of the storyline was unnecessarily complex and it required thoughtful viewing. The two brothers were raised by their father, a Department of Water and Power employee. The twin boys were nicknamed Water and Power and raised to believe they could not exist without each other. Their father prophesized that the boys would one day decide where the water and power would go in the city of Los Angeles. There are many notable symbols, intriguing dialogue and messages throughout the film as well as stereotypes.

This film explores the life of two Chicanos that have become “successful” in the city of the angels. Water, the senator is serving his community and plans to provide jobs and a green space in the city near the river. Power is a ranking officer in the LAPD. He is surrounded by and involved in LAPD corruption. This fact is made plan as LAPD is portrayed as a gang riding in a police vehicle, drinking, smoking weed and displaying symbols of profanity. The story takes place one night late in the City of Los Angeles. Power is held up in a seedy motel room with drugs, guns, the LAPD murder book and a demonic image on a television set that indicates that programming has ended for the night. He is visited by Norte/Sur who is in a wheel chair and his brother, Water. Power has crossed the line and Water and Norte/Sur try to circumvent Power’s demise. This film is about men only and women are noticeably absent from the main storyline. The portrayal of women is suspect as women appear as strippers, foul mouthed and more masculine than feminine. Although the storyline is dramatic there are comedic scenes and elements of irony throughout. Mr. Norte/Sur is referred to as “MapQuest” as he carries out a number of errands all over the county in his wheelchair without a car.

There are many shots of scenery special to Angelenos only. As a matter of fact there is a line in the movie that says “L.A. is not for everyone”. The film displays a wall mural that says “We are not a minority”. This is a powerful message for me because people of color always have a label of less than and I myself grew up with this message and need to make a conscious effort to avoid this reference when speaking of people of color. There is also a line that is repeated throughout the film that recognizes the uncertainty of power in the city and the twists and turns in the storyline. The line is “Nothing is concrete in Los Angeles accept the river”.

There are many symbols to be recognized in the film and I invite the reader to provide their opinion on the meaning. There is a male deer that appears in the most unlikely places. He appears in city traffic, on a painting in the home where Power shoots Escobar, the deer also appears as a stuffed head mount in Turnball’s apartment and as a tattoo on Power’s chest. The number 13 appears on television for Channel 13; the number B13 appears on the back of a police vehicle and the number 13 is tattooed on Power’s chest. These symbols clearly mean something. Each scene is packed with props, dialogue and acting that add to the story.

The story of Water and Power is intriguing and different as the Chicano brothers are successful and are assimilated into the mainstream culture. Ironically, in that culture, corruption is the key to success.

Water and Power both carry out the stereotype of the Latino machismo. However, unlike the stereotypical gang member or drug dealer, these men are successful, achieving the American dream. However, eventually they have to succumb to the great white savior, Turnball. The stereotype of the “white gaze” is evident. In a film that is literally and figuratively dark, the character of Turnball is literally a bright light. If you missed this stark contrast, you cannot miss the ultimate humiliation that Water endures while he literally washes Turnball’s feet. This behavior pays homage to “what America’s mainstream expects from minorities” discussed in the article, Who is Exactly Living La Vida Loca?

Spanglish (2004)

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Lucy H.

Spanglish

The movie I watched was the 2004 film called Spanglish. It was a very entertaining movie. This movie is about an immigrant single mother named Flor Moreno. She has a young daughter named Cristina. Flor’s cousin finds her work as a housekeeper for a financially well-off white family named the Clasky’s. Deb and John Clasky represent the typical white family that live in a nice house with their two children, Bernice and Georgie. Flor doesn’t speak any English and in the movie you can see that language sometimes does become a barrier. To try and fit in Flor, eventually does learn English. Throughout the movie Flor realizes just how different this new life is.

One of the main themes that this movie deals with is the issue of multiculturalism in the United States. Flor Moreno represents the Hispanic culture that struggles to remain authentic in a multicultural society. The movie shows the importance of maintaining your culture and not losing one’s identity. Throughout the movie you see how hard Flor tries to keep her daughter, Cristina, to not forget who she is.

When Flor first moves to Los Angeles she is shocked and surprised by everyone speaking English around her. She doesn’t feel very comfortable. She wants to raise her daughter in an area where she feels more “at home”. She wants an area where she can teach her about her Hispanic culture. She finds a mostly Hispanic area and she instantly feels happier and she finds a place to live there.

Once she gets the housekeeping job with the Clasky’s, Flor sees a lot of differences between the way she is raising Cristina and how they are raising their two children. There is one scene where Deb Clasky decides to take Cristina out shopping without asking Flor’s permission. Flor gets very upset when she learns her daughter is gone. She expresses her unhappiness to Mr. Clasky. Deb returns with Cristina, who now has pink streaks in her hair. Flor gets upset at Deb. First for taking her daughter without asking and second for letting her alter her hair. In the movie there is one scene where Deb buys her daughter, Bernice, clothes one size too small. She tells her daughter that she could basically fit into them if she exercises. This upsets Flor. No mom should be telling their daughter that they are fat. Flor starts realizing that she is beginning to get disconnected from her own daughter. Cristina is the daughter that Deb has always wanted: skinny, beautiful and smart.

Flor starts feeling as though she is losing her daughter. Once they move to the beach house with the Clasky’s, Flor sees the excitement on Cristina’s face. Deb even convinces Flor to put Cristina into a private school, much to Flor’s dismay. Flor feels as though her daughter is being influenced too much by “white culture” and she is not happy.

At the end Flor decides to quit her job in order to keep Cristina in the Hispanic culture. It is very important to Flor that Cristina never forgets her heritage. Cristina is very upset at this because she wants to continue going to her private school and be with her friends. She gets very angry at her mother. Flor then in Spanish asks her, “Is what you want for yourself…to become someone very different than me?” Cristina thinks and realizes that she loves her mother too much and doesn’t want to be anything else other than her mother’s daughter – a child raised within the Hispanic culture and tradition.

IMDb Link to Spanglish

Salt of the Earth (1954)

Posted on April 24, 2016 by dsalinas

Salt_Of_The_Earth_Poster There are multiple methods of gaining insight and knowledge of one’s ethnic group. To obtain an accurate understanding of such, one can carefully examine another group’s cultural and ethnical demeanor/values for an extended period of study. As this may be efficient, the process is not easily obtainable where one is able to quickly put into practice. Televised media is another avenue for obtaining awareness of an ethnic group’s values and traditions, yet, it is not reliable as it may misinform its viewers and deliver a negative first impression. The film industry, specifically, portrays fictional and nonfictional accounts of history and historical figures. These displays may, however, may stigmatize a group or gender based on the actions performed in the storyline of a film. Furthermore, cinema creates a platform that addresses issues of gender-roles/inequality, conflict between the ethnic minority labor-class and their Anglo-superiors. The female characters of this film absorb the symptoms of inequality and yet transcend as they confront challenges when assuming multiple roles and responsibilities. Salt of the Earth is a film that presents these elements that exist among a mining community, substantially of Latina/o descent.

Salt of the Earth is a film about a mining community that issues a strike to address concerns of the occupational hazards that are accompanied with mining. However, conflict existed between other parties than that of the working members and company superiors/owners. The employees themselves were family men with wives that sought to be recognized as equals in the home just as the men towards their mining superiors. The women of the striking miners were not only in support of the strike, but also the backbone and bravado that the Latino men did not seem to possess enough of in order to achieve the goals of the labor-union. These examples are shown as the women react to the Taft-Hartley Act that prohibited men from continuing to protest against their employer malpractice, “…men are forced to end their picketing by a Taft-Hartley Act injunction the women take their place in the picket line…The women, indeed, come out looking stronger than the men, some marching with babes in their arms, resisting tear gas and making jail so unendurable for the sheriff that they are released” (Film.Society.Tripod). Additionally, women subdue and drive away authorities opposing the picket line. Alternately, the women’s involvement in the strike left the men to replace the household duties of the women. This left the men overwhelmed with the responsibilities that the women of the household seem to flawlessly and naturally perform. Character, Ramon Quintero, appears to be without a solution as his newborn baby is crying and daughter is asking to be fed. Moments later, his wife, Esperanza quickly resolves the infant’s crying with a bottle of milk. Another example of the incompetency of the Latino men in this film is observed when they lack the ability to come to a mutual agreement as well as one of the miners surrendering his loyalty to the company for his job security. Lastly, one can observe Esperanza’s broad awareness as she confronts Ramon about his employer’s disregard for employees and his lack of appreciation for his wife, “Why are you afraid to have me at your side? Do you still think you can have dignity only if I have none?…The Anglo bosses look down on you, and you hate them for it. ‘Stay in your place, you dirty Mexican’—that’s what they tell you. But why must you say to me, ‘Stay in your place.’ Do you feel better having someone lower than you?…Whose neck shall I stand on to make me feel superior? And what will I get out of it? I don’t want anything lower than I am. I’m low enough already. I want to rise. And push everything up with we as I go. …And if you can’t understand this you’re a fool—because you can’t win this strike without me: You can’t win anything without me!” (Ideology and Structure in Salt of the Earth).

The film, Salt of the Earth, depicts inequality between the working miners and the mine’s executive members. Specifically, the female figures of the film, were not only underappreciated, but were the solid foundation the men required to function about the work day and strike by up keeping the home, providing direction and feeding them while they marched in protest. The women of the film became the heroines, as the men were unable to go on about their labor force revolt. As for the lead protagonists, the character of Esperanza exhibited greater emotional intelligence, overall situational awareness, sensibility, resilience and capability than her male partner, Ramon. The Salt of the Earth significantly impacts the image of the Latino male as the women overtake and exceed the standards in both gender roles.

Salt of the Earth Reviews

Analyzing Salt of the Earth

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

Posted on April 22, 2016 by mmasouris

This movie is very interesting and complex. It runs through a gamut of humanitarian issues. I though at first this movie was comical but it turns out to be a serious plot with funny aspects. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is about a friendship between an immigrant cowboy named Melquiades (Mel) Estrada and Pete Perkins, a white ranch foreman in Odessa ,Texas, who hires Melquiades as a ranch hand. Their friendship grew so strong that Melquiades made Pete promise him that if he were to die in Texas, Pete would bury him in his hometown in Jimenez, Mexico. When an arrogant and abusive newly hired border patrol Mike Norton kills Melquiades at the ranch he buries him in the desert so no one would know he killed him. Two men find his body while they are hunting coyotes and they discovery the coyote was eating Melquiades’ body. The county sheriff Frank Belmont of Cibolo, Texas refuses to release the body to Pete because he is not a relative and buries Melquiades in the town cemetery, since the sheriff did not know Mel’s last name , he decides to name him Mel Mexico on his tombstone. This angers Pete and his journey begins to find out who killed him and take Mel’s body back to Mexico. Pete does find out it was the border patrol Mike Norton and he kidnaps him in order to assist Pete in taking Mel’s decaying body back to Jimenez.

Mike Norton and the sheriff Belmont were racist and discriminatory against Mexican immigrants and treated them with disrespect. In a scene where a group of Mexican immigrants were crossing the desert into Texas illegally border patrol Mike hit a woman for running away and trying to protect her brother. The film showed Mexicans trying to better their lives by looking for work opportunities in Texas and were mistreated by authorities and looked down on. The story of a white man honoring his Mexican friend was very touching and it showed that not all white Americans are brutal and racist. As the film played on and the observer seen the commitment Pete had to Mel and why it was so important to keep his promise. For Mike, although a tough journey he found his redemption in the end and realized that he needed to change with the help of Pete threatening to kill him if he did not say sorry to Mel for killing him. They had traveled through Texas desert on horseback and into Mexico’s mountainous area and found out that the town of Jimenez did not exist and that Melquiades story of a wife and kids were not true. In the end, Pete did find an area that Mel had described as Jimenez and Pete and Mike buried him there.

In Mexico, the natives looked poor and had clothes on that were worn out and the area was desolate, dry and no real farming areas. One can imagine why Mexican’s would make the horrible trip to the United States and risk their lives in the process, it is because if they stayed they would have nothing anyway. They did have a small cantina, a few homes, and old cars that were not working. Poverty there was much more dire there than poverty in the US. This film makes one think about the courage the immigrants have to risk getting brutally beat up by the border patrol or die of thirst because of the treacherous terrains of the desert. When they can make it safely to the city, they are mistreated by people because of the way they look or speak and the stereotypes people in the US have of Mexicans. If the stereotypes are true to an extent, we as a society should think why are they there? Maybe they drink because they have no other coping skills, maybe they are portrayed as lazy because of the heat they do not work mid-day. We need to be more compassionate to other people’s struggles as this film shows Pete being compassionate to Melquiades by offering him a job and forming a friendship.

Introducing Maggie

Posted on April 22, 2016 by mmasouris

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I am so excited to learn about the Chicano/a representations in films. This is also my second semester here at CSUDH and its been definitely been a huge transition for me. The last time attending school was back in 2006 and I stopped because of my children being so young. I am blesses to have the opportunity to return and it has been a welcoming challenge. Looking forward to learning how to blog.

Crashing at the Intersection of Class, Gender and Race

Posted on April 21, 2016 by jessicam

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When we speak of Intersectionality, we are forced to not only interweave the oppression in society that includes classism, sexism, ageism, and racism but also how they are continuously affected by one another. As an IDS Major I often wonder what can be learned from our prejudiced notions that we have acquired throughout our lifetime and how does the social construct of race affect the world around us? What stereotypes are we conditioned to believe that they have become almost just knee jerk reactions to daily events?

In the 2004 movie entitled Crash, we become engulfed in the perspectives of different types of people whose lives are touched by the racial and social class discrimination that is unavoidable in a city as diverse as Los Angeles is. Diversity in a city could very well be seen as an asset, and you’d think that we could get along with each other in a more communal way. However, when you consider the context of which this movie is set in, we can see that the aftermath of 9/11 has clearly played a role in the development of the plot and characters for this film.

The film starts off with a car crash that Ria (Jennifer Esposito) and Detective Graham Waters (Don Cheadle) are involved in with an Asian driver. Ria insists that the accusatory Asian driver is only blaming her because she couldn’t see over the steering wheel. In her broken English the Asian driver says that Ria should have braked which she mispronounces as “blake”. Ria takes this and runs with it and greets the Asian driver with derision and contempt. This opening to the movie is only the very beginning of a film that explores a myriad of other possibilities, all of which are open to interpretation based on one’s cultural and ethnic background.

In a subsequent scene, Anthony (Ludacris) and Peter Waters (Larenz Tate), 2 African American men are shown leaving a bustling restaurant when they start up a conversation about discrimination and how they were not served coffee like all the other white patrons. Anthony says they were not served the coffee because they were not going to tip because they are “black”. Even though the waitress was also African American Anthony says that she discriminates against her own race. He wonders why they shouldn’t be scared when they are in a neighborhood where they are outnumbered by “over caffeinated white people, patrolled by the trigger happy LAPD”. Peter replies that they are not scared because they have guns and they proceed to car jack a white couple, Rick and Jean Cabot (Sandra Bullock and Jason Fraser). This particular scene is disturbing because the very stereotypes that these two African American men are so aware of and trying to avoid, are the same stereotypes that they play into. It’s almost like they are just trying to live up to those standards set forth for them by the society that they live in. If they are so bothered by it, why not change it? Like many situations, it is easier said than done. The fact of the matter remains that even though they are fully aware of the prejudice that African American men face, their lives have led them down this path to where they see no other option but to car jack people for money, drugs, or whatever the case may be. There are other factors in this situation that may be lying under the surface if we just take a closer look. Perhaps poverty, lack of education, and other types of limitations have led up to this one action. Instead of generalizing so much maybe we should ask more as to why and how this situation came to be.

One thing is for certain, when a person of a different ethnicity/race hurts us in some way, it is possible that we can internalize this event and develop a negative connotation that leads to othering. This is shown in the following 2 clips where Jean Cabot who has been car jacked is now scared that the guy who comes to change the locks at her house may come back to rob her home. It is also exemplified in the clip where wealthy, African American, Christine and Cameron Thayer (Thandie Newton and Terrence Howard) have been harassed by the police officers on the street and now generalize that all “pigs” are racist and corrupt. A discourse for this new type of racism post 9/11 is necessary to say the least. At the intersection of the Class, Race, and Gender, where all these issues collide perhaps we should make a conscious decision to judge based on individual character and integrity rather than continuing the endless cycle of phenotyping that our society has ingrained in us.

On Twitter @jess_miller_310

Mr. Chavez (2014)

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Toinye

I’m posting about the film Cesar Chavez. The biography came out in 2014. Sadly to say I didn’t know anything about Cesar Chavez other than he was a Latino male who’s birthday we didn’t have to go to work on the date. I thought that the film would be a little bubble gum because the director Diego Luna had Michael Pena and America Ferrera as the leading actors. I had only seen the two actors in comedies and didn’t know if I could take them serious. Both Pena and Ferrera did a great job in the film,

The film discusses the life of Cesar Chavez and his fight for equal rights for Latino farm workers in the late fifties and sixties, I had no idea that Chavez and his activists started a credit union and labor union. Also fought for fair wages for the farm workers. He was nonviolent protesting and fasting for equality and social justice.

The film could be viewed by different people different ways. It was the legal and illegal migrant workers, one group wanting more and the other just trying to get what they can to survive. I didn’t read the reviews I like to just jump into a film without knowing what others think so that it doesn’t alter my judgement. I happened to like the film and think that it was informative, there were a few scenes that had extras added to show the extent of the situation then but overall I thought it was a good film.

https://g.co/kgs/1aYCY

Toinye