Los Vendidos: Farm Workers' Views
Los Vendidos, the movie that we viewed was performed by El Teatro Campesino, the farm workers theatre. The movie was made to show the views and ideas of the farm workers, who were just regular people who wanted to be heard. They were not extraordinary, exceptional, highly skilled and paid actors. They were just normal human beings who wanted what everyone else wanted: equality.
The concept of Los Vendidos was, in my opinion, simple. The movie was a satirical view at how that Anglo-Americans chose to see the Mexican-Americans, Spanish-Americans, Latinos, Hispanos, etc. It was used to incite controversy. Los Vendidos was also used to show how some Mexican-Americans chose to ignore their ethnicity and upbringing in an attempt to separate themselves from their people.
The main theme was that the Mexican-American people needed to be a part of society, as a whole. They no longer, and never really, wanted to be separated for m the rest of the country. The Mexican-American people were just as intelligent and prepared for anything, as was everyone else in the U.S. It was used to make the Mexican-American people want to get up and say, "I no longer wanted to be treated like this."
The aspects of the movie that were brought out, for me, were the individual characteristics of each of the individual characters. They characteristics are drawn out and over dramatized, some came from generalities made by the Anglo-Americans but some were real aspects of the people. Most of the characteristics that came out were unfavorable but they did what they were supposed to. They told of the generalities that the groups place upon one another.
The story opens with Ano Sancho talking about how he previously was a labor contractor and is now a businessman. He now has opened "Ano Sancho’s Used Mexican Lot" This is a strike at those people who have been using the immigrants and the Mexican-Americans for their own personal gain. This brings the thought that no matter the place and time, there will always be someone there to exploit the weaker people. This person is sometimes someone that the people trust ands relate to, one of their own.
The next person that we come across is Ms. Jimenez (pronounced Jimmy-nes, not he-me-nez). The way that this lady was portrayed was, as stated earlier in the Introduction, an attack on the "white washed" Mexican-Americans.
In conclusion, details involving the characters and symbolic meanings to objects are the factors that make the novel better than the movie. Leaving out aspects of the novel limits the viewer’s appreciation for the story. One may favor the film over the novel or vice versa, but that person will not overlook the intense work that went into the making of both. The film and novel have their similarities and differences, but both effectively communicate their meaning to the public.
More and more health-conscious individuals are scrutinizing the source of the food their family consumes. However, even the most conscientious consumer is not fully aware of the exhaustive efforts and struggle to get a juicy, ripe strawberry or that plump tomato in the middle of winter, even in Florida. These foods are harvested and picked mostly by seasonal and migrant farm workers. Migrant workers hail, in large part, from Mexico and the Caribbean, and their families often travel with them. Migrant farm workers must endure challenging conditions so that Americans can have the beautiful selection of berries, tomatoes, and other fresh foods often found at places like a farmer’s market or a traditional super market. Seasonal and migrant farm workers suffer a variety of health problems as a result of their constant exposure to stress, the elements, and chemicals such as pesticides. They are paid minimal wages and are expected to work long hours of strenuous labor for pennies on the dollar per piece or per hour. The migrant families are expected to live in substandard quarters and transported to various work sites in unsafe transportation. The fresh fruits and vegetables consumers purchase with little thought reach supermarkets at a cost that is not reflected in the retail price. This cost is ultimately absorbed by farm workers in Florida and other areas throughout the country, who are among the poorest of American workers.
Slaughter I finally understand the meaning of the rebellion. Even though it was just briefly mention in our history book America, Past and Present Vol 1- by Divine, Robert A. in about half a page about the people from western Pennsylvanians protested the tax on Whiskey in in 1794 basically the end of the rebellion. (170) This revolution is way more than that, it created a precedent for future generations that when the people is not okay with laws created by government they can come together and protest against it. A few years later we see that this was the case on the civil war were the south was not happy with the government abolition of slavery and they came together an acted against the president and the federal government. In my case I am a true believer that we must learn from the past to be able to enjoy a better
I don’t think Alma’s decision to return to Mexico was a great one. She should have stayed and applied for another Visa, went and applied for assistance, and talked to an individual who could talk and help her with her current situation. I think the different voices throughout the story affect the main story because all of them have had some kind of negative experience. It poses many questions because you wonder how all Mexicans feel when they come to the United States, what makes them leave their families and come to the United States, do many of them return? I think reading The Book of the Unknown Americans, helps open up one’s eyes and realize that these individuals have faced so many problems coming to the United States that they shouldn’t face more here by being discriminated.
In the beginning of the movie the students have a day camp where the main teacher and supporter, Mr. Sal Castro motivates them to raise the Mexican American graduate rate. He reads the poem “I am Joaquin”, a poem that reflects the hardship that Mexican Americans and Chicanos have lived throughout the years. This poem was a very important part of the Chicano movement. It is a very strong and empowering poem and makes you proud to be Mexican American. Also another scene that truly shows Chicano power is in the third walkout. The students walk out of the school, but are blocked by policemen and are not allowed pass them. However, you then see the student’s family, mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents. All united together holding the Mexican flag as well as the American flag. This is a very touching scene that I believe shows the unity of Mexican Americans, and how there is a lot of pride in being Mexican
... a drunken brawl in downtown Toronto that was easily squashed by amateur policemen than a rebellion. In fact it is not even called a rebellion in the Canadian Encyclopedia but rather "an uprising with limited support and was largely a historical accident."
The movie opens up with rural images of thousands of migrant workers being transported in trucks with a short introduction by Edward Murrow and some occasional interventions of parts of an interview made to the secretary of labor after he saw the impacting images, and to the different people who have seen the lives the workers lead. Most of the secretary’s commentaries depict the exclusion that these people have since they are basically people who are silently crying out for assistance to stop harvesting the fields of their shame, or at least to hope for potential raises and better work conditions. From Florida to New Jersey, and from Mexico to Oregon, these people including women and children travel around the states following the sun and the demand from the seasonal goods while working around a hundred and thirty-six days earning and average of nine hundred dollars a year.
Shay’s rebellion was an armed uprising led by a veteran of the Revolutionary War named Daniel Shays. The goal of this rebellion was to to prevent the prosecution of debt-ridden citizens. Governor James Bowdoin of Massachusetts put down the revolution. While the rebellion failed to realize its goal, the underlying conditions that allowed the revolution to take place were present. The common people of the colony still remained resentful and discontented. As a result of the general discontentment of the people, “ popular resistance, and the election of pro-debtor governments in many states threatened the political notions of many political and social elites.” Shay’s followers were elected to legislature, went on to court houses and destroyed
This movie is a wonderful production starting from 1960 and ending in 1969 covering all the different things that occurred during this unbelievable decade. The movie takes place in many different areas starring two main families; a very suburban, white family who were excepting of blacks, and a very positive black family trying to push black rights in Mississippi. The movie portrayed many historical events while also including the families and how the two were intertwined. These families were very different, yet so much alike, they both portrayed what to me the whole ‘message’ of the movie was. Although everyone was so different they all faced such drastic decisions and issues that affected everyone in so many different ways. It wasn’t like one person’s pain was easier to handle than another is that’s like saying Vietnam was harder on those men than on the men that stood for black rights or vice versa, everyone faced these equally hard issues. So it seemed everyone was very emotionally involved. In fact our whole country was very involved in president elections and campaigns against the war, it seemed everyone really cared.
At this point, the readers create their own movie in a way. They will determine important aspects of how the character speaks, looks like, and reacts. Whereas, in the movie, the reader has no choice but to follow the plot laid out in front of them. No longer can they picture the characters in their own way or come up with their different portrayals. The fate of the story, while still unpredictable, was highly influenced by the way the characters looked, spoke, and presented themselves on screen.
The film stays in line with classic noir in many ways. The usage of dark sets and high contrast lighting, which creates heavy shadows on the actors faces, makes the movie feel like it all happens at night and in dark alley ways. The story focuses on the inhumane parts of human nature. Each of the main characters experiences some kind of tragedy. For Vargas his tragedy was in dealing with Quinlin who has set out to frame him and his wife. For Quinlin his entire life represented a man consumed with darkness who lives his life with a “Touch of Evil.” Menzies was a hopeful man who looked up to Quinlin but was let down. For the viewer, film noir represents truth, even if it is not a truth that all people would like to hear.
The words whiskey and rebellion both have the ability to entice a gambit of emotions, and in 1794 they did. Like most great uprisings the Whiskey Rebellion was preceded by the rich exploiting or taxing those who were already taxed out. Our country is infamous for its rebellion against taxes; one could argue that rebelling against a ruling class is the core foundation of our great country’s history and make-up. My goal is to explore why this rebellion deserves the place in history that it hold, whether it was successful or not, but most importantly what did our nation’s leaders learn from this event?
The emotional letter that Juan left for his mother might be one of the most emotional scenes in the documentary. The pure emotions that the letter was written by Juan to her mother leaves the audience with the bonds and emotions felt between the kids and families. Juan Carlos’s father abandoned the family years ago and left to New York, consequently Juan believe it is his responsibility to provide for his family. He also wants to find his father in New York and confronts him about why he has forgotten about them. The story of Juan is not just about migration of children, but also the issue of family separation. The documentary does not dehumanize but rather bring the humane and sensitive lens to the story of Juan where the human drama that these young immigrants and their families live. Juan Carlos is not the first of Esmeralda’s sons to leave for the United states, his nine-year-old brother Francisco was smuggled into California one month earlier. Francisco now lives with Gloria, his grandmother, who paid a smuggler $3,500 to bring him to Los Angeles, California. Once Juan Carlos is in the shelter for child migrants his mother eagerly awaits him outside. After she sees him she signs a paper that says if Juan Carlos tries to travel again, he will be sent to a foster home.
The film is concentrated on Mexican-American nationalism and immigration. In the beginning of the film, the main character sees himself more of an American rather than Mexican. He speaks fluently in English but does not know how to speak or comprehend proper Spanish. This is an example of involuntary language loss. Rudy, the main character, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, does not see himself as a white man but does not see himself as a pure Mexican either and is stuck in the in-betweens of both ‘Mexican’ and ‘American’ culture. Because of this, he is not of specific origin or descent but rather a Chicano. A mix between both cultures instead of just one.
The first theme uncovered in the movie is isolation, this theme is present throughout the entire movie. The viewer is introduced to the main character and narrator of the movie, whose name we are never told. By not providing his name this gives us the idea that he represents the average working class male. He never speaks of any family members,