Every person lives in their own personal world; their own sense of reality. However, sometime these realities are not as they seem. As everyone is caught up in their monotonous lives, they become accustom to their own view of the world, not always realizing the world of their fellow man. Being sheltered from the reality of the world can only be challenge as one begins to question their privilege and look at the worlds who others face. Luis Puenzo’s The Official Story follows Alicia, an upper class women with a husband and an adopted daughter, as she is exposed to the corruption of her country Argentina. While other films may focus on the governmental aspect of the dictatorships, Puenzo shares a relatable retelling of how a military dictatorships …show more content…
Her connection to the acts of the government is introduced through her longtime friendship Ana. Ana had just returned from seven years of exile due to her son’s involvement in leftist movement. As both Ana and Alicia sit alone together, Ana begins to recount her experiences from being taken to being imprisoned. Ironically, the conversation started very lighthearted as both of them are laughing but it soon turned horror some. Ana explains how once being taken; she awoken nude on a table where she was tortured. She explains how “after seven years [she is] still drowning.” This symbolizes how the truth had been kept a secret as she laters explains how this is her first time telling anyone. The torture endured establish a fear to speak the truth. Additionally, while imprisoned Ana saw babies being taken from other prisoners, this fact leads Alicia to question Gaby. No longer, for Alicia, can the truth be ignored. The experiences of Ana acts as a catalyst for the pursuit of the truth. The introduction of Ana acts as the reason of the plot to continue. While previously, Alicia had no reason to move forward to know Gaby’s real parent, she must know that her child was not stolen from prisoners. Alicia has morals which drives her pursuit for the truth which will require exposure to
Part I: “Consensus in Argentine Society and the Rise of Perón”. Chapter one, “ The Crisis of the Liberal Consensus” begins explaining the low participation of the Argentinean population in the government due to electoral fraudulence and intimidation. Then, he goes on to detailed how the democratic liberalism governmental system was threatened by the elites of Argentina because they fear the possible loss of their power from the new sectors that were rising. After, the author expressed that the
Just when Alicia was about to be shot, Milek took a gun from one of the shooters and began shooting other officers. Alicia took advantage of this opportunity, as she had many others, and ran for her life. She ran fast and far until she found herself coming into a town which was surrounded by tilled fields. She discovered she could work in exchange for a small amount of food. She worked hard in these fields and was able to let her mother in Buczacz know that she was safe.
Alfredo Corchado — is the author of the book named " Midnight in Mexico:A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness”. We are, probably, all interested in finding out the facts, news, and gossips about Mexico. This country was always associated with something mysterious. For me personally, the title of the book seemed to be very gripping, I was interested in revealing the secrets of life in Mexico, thus I decided to read this book. I was really curious, what can Alfredo Corchado tell me about the life in this country, the country, where the constant massacre is the picture, people used to see. In his book, the author tells the reader about the real situations, which took place in Mexico, reveals the secrets of the people’s lives and tells the story from the “inside”. He describes the way he lives his life, and does his work. The " Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness” is a memoir. Author tries to transform his own experience into the story line. Corchado shows the reader the darkest episodes of Mexican society, while relying on his own experience.
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina is without a doubt one of the most known figures within the Dominican history. The “Era de Trujillo” (The Trujillo Era) occupied the Dominican Republic for the long period of thirty-one years. His dictatorship started in 1930 and ended with his assassination on May 30, 1961. Trujillo’s Career began with the occupation of the United States in 1916. During this time he was trained in a military school, and became part of the National Police, a military group made by the Unites States to maintain order in the Dominican Republic . Trujillo stood out during his military career and rapidly ascended within the military ranges. Under the government of Horatio Vasquez Trujillo received the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was put in charge of chiefs and assistant commanders of the National Police . This new position gave him the opportunity to be part of the overthrowing of Horatio Vasquez. Trujillo was sworn into presidency on August 16, 1930. Marking the beginning of what is known as the cruel, violent and controversial part of history in the Dominican Republic.
Memory is a tool through which Campanella attempts to uncover the dark days in Argentina’s political history; the country was moving away from democracy and into a military regime, despite having democratically confirmed Isabel Perón as president . Through memory, the film becomes a political narrative of the terrible violence, murder rape and other forms of injustices associated with La junta Militar (The military Junta) overtaken of power in the mid-1970s. “El Secreto De Sus Ojos” (The Secret in Their Eyes) is particularly noteworthy as it is among the fewest forms of art, including existing literature that peeks into these chaotic years in Argentina. A time of terror known as the Dirty Warm, seven y...
The “Panama Deception,” directed by Barbara Trent of the Empowerment Project and narrated by actress Elizabeth Montgomery, observes a distinct failure to implement 20th-century democracy in Latin America in the late '80s and early '90s. More specifically, the film documents the U.S. invasion of Panama under "Operation Just Cause” during this period, showing how the cause was anything but just. Rather, the film shows how the Operation intended to impose a biased renegotiation of the aforementioned treaties.
Because “Camila” was released shortly after the end of the Argentine Proceso, it was clearly a timely criticism of dictatorship in Argentina. The real story of Camila occurred in a time following a brief bout with democracy. This film could be seen as a cautionary tale in terms of warning against ever returning to that form of government. If this, indeed, was Bemberg’s intentions, she was a brave, courageous woman that would have made a great character in one of her own films.
Debating which constitutional form of government best serves democratic nations is discussed by political scientist Juan Linz in his essay “The Perils of Presidentialism”. Linz compares parliamentary systems with presidential systems as they govern democracies. As the title of Linz’s essay implies, he sees Presidentialism as potentially dangerous. Linz points out the flaws as presidentialism as he sees them and sites rigidity of fixed terms, the zero-sum game and political legitimacy coupled with lack of incentive to form alliances as issues to support his theory that the parliamentary system is superior to presidentialism.
Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Pol Pot are amongst the group of men who have tormented, traumatized, and scarred innocent citizen into living a censored life because of their dictatorship. However, for Julia Alvarez and her family their dictator’s name was Rafael Trujillo. Trujillo caused Julia, her family, and other Dominicans to live life in fear.Similar, to this dictator was Alvarez’s mother answer to all of Julia’s questions “No flies fly into a closed mouth.” which basically means to be silent. Coincidentally, this quote applies to Julia’s life, especially in the text “A Genetics of Justice” which displays how her family was frightened when Julia published her novel, how they did not speak against Trujillo’s rule, and escaped to America to rid themselves of Trujillo’s dictatorship.
The battle zone has become further entrenched between the protesters and the government in the Capitol of Venezuela, Caracas. With 13 dead and 150 injured tension between Nicolás Maduro and his people is at an all time high (Glusing). In the post Hugo Chavez world not only has Maduro failed to inspire the confidence of his people, but his inability to deal with rising economic woes has only worsened his relationship with his people. Machiavelli in his works The Prince and The Discourses, deals with how a leader should deal, interact, and satisfy his subjects. Thus, Machiavellian lens could be critical to best explain the current state of tension within Venezuela. To do this it is first necessary to explain Machiavelli’s method, second understand his conceptual framework, and third evaluate the situation through his work, before finally addressing limitations.
This work is a very influential and educates people on the social and political battles within South America and the world’s issues. It is interpreted solely by the choreographer Christopher Bruce who incorporated meaningful and powerful movement to portray the intended story. It is a magnificent work dedicated to the Chilean Human Rights Committee, may they all rest in peace.
The 2006 film V for Vendetta, a cinematic remake of the classic graphic novel series by the same name, is the epitome of a Marxist fairy tale. The film is complete with a bourgeoisie government who spreads their ideology, via mass media, to a citizenry composed entirely of proletariats, and a hero who sets out to break said citizenry from the prison of false consciousness. If one examines the setting and environment of the film, and follows the main characters as they fight against, or break free from, false consciousness, evidence of Marxist themes are present throughout the film.
Between the years of 1976 to 1983, the period known as the ‘Dirty War’ was in full force in Argentina. During this period, thousands of people mysteriously went missing, and are referred to now as the ‘Disappeared’. It is believed that many of the disappeared were taken by agents of the Argentine government, and perhaps tortured and killed before their bodies were disposed of in unmarked graves or rural areas. Whenever the female captives were pregnant, their children were stolen away right after giving birth, while they themselves remained detained. It is estimated that 500 young children and infants were given to families with close ties to the military to be raised. Within this essay I would like to touch on the brief history of the Dirty war and why the military felt it was necessary to take and kill thousands of Argentina’s, and also the devastating affects the disappeared, and stolen children are having on living relatives of those taken or killed. It is hard to imagine something like this happening in North America relatively recently. To wakeup and have members of your family missing, with no explanation, or to one day be told your parents are not biologically related is something Argentina’s had to deal with, and are continuing to face even today.
Filmmaker Oliver Stone embarked on a journey across the Latin American continent pursuant to the filling of gaps left by mainstream media about the social and political movements in the southern continent. Through a series of interviews he conducted with Presidents Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Cristina Kirchner and former president Nėstor Kirchner of Argentina, Evo Morales of Bolivia, Fernando Lugo of Paraguay, Lula da Silva of Brazil, Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Raúl Castro of Cuba, Stone was able to compare firsthand information from the leaders themselves with that reported and published by the media (“Synopsis,” n.d.). It gives light to the measures these leaders had to take in order to initiate change in their respective countries, even if their public identities were at stake. Several instances in the film showed the mismatch between these two sources, pointing at the US government’s interests for greatly influencing the media for presenting biased, groundless views.
Set in 1983 Buenos Aires during a time of decreasing military government, the Official Story recants the story of a wealthy teacher's quest to understand the circumstances of her daughter's adoption. A history teacher, Alicia is a law-abiding citizen who believes solely what is written in the historical textbooks. However, a life-changing encounter with her estranged friend Ana makes Alicia want to investigate the circumstance of her daughter Gaby's adoption. According to the Association for Diplomatic Studied and Training, "arrested pregnant women would be held in prison until the baby was born. Then they might disappear, and the baby would be taken by a military family or someone associated with the intelligence service who wished to adopt a baby." Given that Alicia could not conceive children, she realized that perhaps Gaby may be the daughter of a desparecido, political prisoner, and hopes to find Gaby's biological family. Her investigation eventually leads her to Gaby's biological grandmother and a disturbing truth about her husband Roberto, who is revealed to be a government official under the corrupt Videla