I wrote this for my chicano cinema class, can someone please proof read it and tell me what they think? I still need to write out a conclusion, I just dont know what else to write, thank you!
Cultural environment not only helps humans develop a sense of identity, however it also helps determine a more cohesive society in which we share common values and principles. It gives us our customs and traditions that provide continuity from one generation to the next. The writer and director Gregory Nava emphasizes on how important it is to preserve one’s cultural background in almost every one of his films. Culture is a reoccurring theme because it is displays a setting for the viewer so that life can be seen through a culture aside from the western culture. However, the characters that are presented in his films are very universal, in a sense that they are relatable to the viewer. For instance the movies El Norte, and Bordetown deal with very profound issues, and the main characters go through struggles that human beings, no matter what culture, have at least experienced once in their lives. It is common to feel unaccepted and alone in a new environment such as the siblings in El Norte when they were struggling to adjust in America. It is also common to get wrapped up in your career and forget more important things in life such as the main character in Bordertown. The relation between these characters and the viewer is present so that Nava is able to express his message in Chicano language in order for others from different cultural backgrounds can understand these stories and relate to the pain behind them.
In the movie Bordertown, an American reporter, Laura Adrian gets sent to Mexico, Juarez to investigate the crimes of brutal raping and killings of women coming home from the maquilladora factories. During the time she spends in Mexico, Laura starts to identify herself with the women victims, and in result she realizes how vital it is to maintain a sense of culture, and not forget her background. I can relate to her character because there have been many instances in my life while growing up where it was difficult to relate to my culture because I was raised in a westernized culture where the values and principles differed greatly. At a younger age, it was hard for me to understand the differences and cope with them. However, as I became older, I established a happy medium, and also realized that the foundation of a prosperous life is culture. There a lot of instances in the movie that displayed the Mexican culture, through religious images, and also music coming out of car radios. The filter that was being used created a color scheme that let the viewer know when they were in a different environment. For instance, when Laura was in the states, the colors being used were mainly grays and blues, and when she arrived in Mexico, the colors were more vibrant, greens for the maquiladoras and yellows for everywhere else.
Aside from the importance of culture, Bordertown is also about a tragic reality that has been going on for years in Mexico, Juarez. Peasant women workers that work along the border for little pay are being killed and raped, however no one is being punished for it. The crimes are being ignored, and the killings continue to happen. There are images in the movie where women are being oppressed through patriarchy in Juarez, and this relates to other countries in the world that are guilty of the same thing. Under a political regime, the women from Afghanistan were being badly treated for 10 years and their government displayed complete negligence towards these crimes. The same way Laura relates to the women working in the maquiladoras, I feel that I can relate to the women from my country, because I would have endured the same treatment had I not left my country.
Another film in which Nava had directed, El Norte, deals with teenage siblings who are politically exiled from their country, and in turn they migrate from Guatemala to Mexico to their final destination in the United States through rat infested tunnels. The siblings endure a lot of pain and suffering on their way to the states only to feel despair and rejection everywhere they go. This film affected me the most because it is important on so many levels, and it examines the immigrant experience through a uncensored look at the sad reality of many who come to the United States hoping for a better life. This reminded me of when my family had to adjust coming from Afghanistan to the states. It was very difficult for my parents in the beginning years of arriving to America because of the cultural differences. My mom was working graveyard shifts as a waitress and was being mistreated by management because of her poor English. My father was an ambassador in his country and when he came to the states he had a very difficult time adjusting because he had felt as if he had been stripped of his stature. Being a big family, our living arrangem
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