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Justice in "Romero"
The influential and gripping film, " Romero", directed by John Duigan, portrays the life and death of Archbishop Oscar Romero. The movie shows the world through the eyes of the El Salvadorian people during the 1980's, when poverty and military rule flourished over the people. The country of El Salvador was run by an elite group of few who controlled most of the power and money, leaving the majority of the people deprived and powerless. This imbalance in the social system left much of the people under oppression, constantly controlled by the corrupt government and even sometimes persecuted when they tried to speak out. The church was a witness to the violations of human rights and this ruthless behavior by the El Salvadorian government towards its people caused a spark in the Catholic Church, a spark that ignited a flame of justice. Lead by Archbishop Romero, the church in El Salvador becomes a critic of the government, not because of political terms but because they are Christians looking for justice towards all people; so that all people have the potential to live life to its full meaning without any unnecessary obstacles holding them back. The movie "Romero" constantly portrays how the ideology of liberation theology plays a major role in the churches influence over the government, oppressed, and military in a search for social righteousness.
"Romero" is set in Latin America, in a country called El Salvador during the 1980's when poverty and corruption infested much of the country's four corners. The movie is a true account that follows the career and influential life of the Archbishop Oscar Romero. The film begins as Oscar Romero is appointed Archbishop, a role that deeply changed his life and his coun...
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...cs of the government, a government portrayed in the film as being corrupt and cruel towards its people. With his immense influence in El Salvador, he was able to encourage the church and its people to fight for justice, equality, and human rights for all. His and the churches actions displayed a sense of liberation theology. They saw the situation, assessed it, and then judged what needed to be done. The actions that the church raised served as critical actions towards the peoples struggle for what is right, and although justice was not fully fulfilled the footstones were set for a great upcoming. The church along with Romero served as a great authority towards bringing Gods kingdom here on earth. The struggle for social justice was a critical factor of how the church is a community of all people, and how everyone deserves an equal potential at life without obstacles.
Before reading or watching the film, I knew little about Cesar Chavez. I only knew that he fought for the rights of farm workers, but had no idea of how he achieved it. I was surprised to learn about some of his innovations that later lead to his success. Especially since some were already used by other strong leaders previously from him. The two innovations that stood out to me the most were the use of nonviolence and boycotting. Both innovations helped Cesar Chavez in achieving fair rights for other farm workers. These innovations are still used and seen today since they have been effective in accomplishing change.
Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz states how schools that claim they are following restorative approaches through their policies in discipline are not necessarily restorative, but have enough flexibility to allow a restorative response.
By comparing the two through very direct sentences, he indicates that nonviolence is more powerful than violence while violence leads to “many injuries and perhaps deaths on both sides or there will be total demoralization” (lines 19-21), nonviolence is “supportive and crucial.” Using contrasting diction and connecting violence to images of death and demoralization as well as explaining how it will affect both sides, demonstrates how violence is harmful to everyone. Then by highlighting the power as well as the morality of nonviolence, by using bold statements such as “support” “justice” and “powerful” appeals the the audience and further influences them to advocate and support nonviolence as well as view it as superior to violence due to the powerful diction Chavez used to bring attention to the values of
This film exhibited the lack of life Ramón was experiencing, and his fight to end the suffering. Because the Church had an impact on society and the court system, Ramón legally was unable to end his suffering. With the help of someone who loved him dearly, Ramón ended his life in 1998; however, he did suffer for over twenty-five years unable to end his life. Although Ramón ended his life through the help of another human, the Church opposed his right as a human to end his life, and fought against him. The function church plays in society is a dangerous role, and impacts the lives of citizens whether aware or
The first perspective to be noted would be that of Rodrigo Mendoza. His character is played by Robert De Niro. Rodrigo Mendoza ultimately decides to fight for the people. He believes this is the best way to accomplish God's purpose, by fighting with and for the people. In the beginning, Mendoza would capture the Guarani Indians and sell them into plantation slavery. After killing his brother Felipe, his penance is to work in the Jesuit missions in South America. He becomes a Jesuit priest. While working there, he befriends the Guarani people, the same people he once captured. Father Altamirano representing the Vatican was sent to South America to close down the missions. On learning this new information, Rodrigo Mendoza becomes angry and decides to renounce his vows as a priest to Father Gabriel. Father Gabriel encourages him that violence was not the answer but it was ultimately...
Beginning in the late 1970s Liberation Theology, Marxism, and U.S. Cold War policy collided in El Salvador culminating in a civil war that lasted over a decade and ultimately produced democratic political institutions that persist into the 21st century. Despite the prejudices against the church on behalf of government and media organizations in the U.S. and El Salvador, religious actors fought for human rights and the implementation of democratic institutions throughout the period of conflict. The Salvadoran Civil War, which occurred in the context of the Cold War, was one of the bloodiest and longest events in the history of Latin America after the Guatemalan Civil War. The conflict lasted from 1979 to 1992, left approximately 75,000 people dead, and a country in ashes. The conflict started after the fraudulent elections of the Coronel Arturo Armando Molina (1972), who focused his term on repressing the communist political parties that wanted to work for a social reform. This aroused the anger of the popular sectors, which started to organize groups and demonstrations demanding fair election and improvement of social conditions. The government responded to their demands with savage violence, focusing primarily on the oppression of campesinos because they were the ones who supported the revolutionary leftist forces. These actions alienated the Salvadoran population even more and caused many people in the Catholic Church to start denouncing the government’s actions. Thus, as the Civil War started to rise, the church started to radicalize and to and spoke up against the government’s actions. One of its most fervent advocates was Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero, who during his short time as the Archbishop of San Salvador manifested hi...
It applied all ethos, logos, and pathos perfectly and was very interesting to watch. Their argument was that people who go on a killing spree are not just doing it for fun, they suffer from mental illness and if people see these signs in someone else, then maybe it can be prevented in the future. This argument doesn’t justify the act of mass killing it simply explains what the cause may be behind it. With the helpful use of rhetoric for their argument, this film set up a very good evidence to back up their argument and open the eyes of viewers to spread
...eam, as Romero showcases the fact that the flaws shown within the characters end up turning their situation into something far worse than it had been in the beginning. It shows just how depraved, violent and absolutely terrifying humans can easily become when put into situations without consequences. Romero’s film is dredged in cynicism towards the modern American Dream, the way he deals with symbolism towards how “just” the American system is during battles and war, and how incredibly messed up our generalized view on racism and the ever ongoing struggle for certain ethnic groups to survive is. “The negativity of the characters extends, in fact, into every facet of their lives; indeed, the film implies the deepest denial of the goodness of effectiveness of every facet of human life in general. Every kind of human relationship is ridiculed or negated in the film.” 4
The first thing about this film that caught my eye from a sociological perspective is that the society in the film is not depicted as a “perfect society” as most films do, instead it shows the real conflicts that society had back then with certain subjects. The film shows us the prejudices, and misconceptions that people had about things like sex, and homosexuality at the time.
In the movie Crash, directed by Paul Haggis, John Stuart Mill's theories on Social Justice and Utility are depicted within the context of the 20th century. Haggis' representation of a multicultural society is one built on racism and inequality, which limits the social justice people can acquire. In this film prejudice and stereotyping are prevalent when discussing legal rights and moral rights. The social situation has profound impacts on the choices people make. This society's foundation is based on injustice, although in the end, justice is served through the concept of `justice of desert'.
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.
Oscar Romero was at first a quiet, ordinary priest in the democratic country of El Salvador. But things change once newly appointed Arch-Bishop. Romero quickly finds out the way the country is run by the military. The poor people of Salvador are missing and being executed by the military. Romero tries to stop these events through the power of the Church.
Love/hatred, redemption/forgiveness, power/faith are only examples of what the film represents. It shows that religion and politics definitely do not mix what so ever. Both can either empower or bring doom to a country and its people. The film kept me on my toes for which the Portuguese and the Spanish viewed the natives as “animals” and as slaves while the Jesuits didn’t. The Jesuits viewed the natives for what they are, humans. Since both views of both parties did not correlate, there was a lot of tension that kept me intrigued with the film. Another aspect that made the film interesting is the fact that the Jesuits live for love and peace while the Portuguese live for power and wealth no matter the cost. Even in our own current time, nothing has changed when it comes to that. I’m very glad to have had the chance to watch the film and get a glimpse into
Justice is part of revenge; as also for revenge is part of justice. “Justice” comes from a Latin word that means “straight, fair, equal”, it’s the quality of being righteous and loyal towards one’s state, although serves the interests of the stronger (Hourani, 1962), while revenge is the act of taking retaliation for injuries or wrongs. What ever the circumstances are being the individual who experiences a unjust act, results in the hunt for one of these two things: Justice or revenge. What are the key differences between the two? Justice can be defined as the concept of moral rightness, which is based on the rules of law, fairness, ethics, and equality among the governed citizens. Revenge, on the other hand, refers to an action taken by an individual as a response to an act of injustice. The principle of revenge is “an eye for an eye”…. Can revenge be justified and be as equally part of justice if they both seek retribution for a wrongdoing?
The ideal society we would all be considered equal, but reality often defies this idealism. When we think of police officers, we think of people working hard to keep us all safe, but this may not always be the case in today 's society. This is demonstrated in an opinion piece published in the Miami Herald, entitled “Need a ‘big, bad dude’? White criminals need not apply” by Leonard Pitts Jr. The article opens by discussing the shooting of African-American man Terence Crutcher, where the police officer who shot him stated it was due to him not obeying her orders and reaching inside his SUV for a weapon. However, the video of the shooting shows that this did not happen. The article also goes on to discuss other African-Americans shot in recent