Romero Film Themes

Romero (1989) is an American Hollywood biopic directed by Australian filmmaker John Duigan, and was the first feature film to be produced by Paulist Pictures; a Roman Catholic production company. Romero depicts the life and work of Salvadoran Archbishop Óscar Romero, a liberation theologist who opposed the tyrannical repression in El Salvador during the 20th century, and was consequently assassinated in 1980 while offering Mass in the chapel of the Hospital of Divine Providence. A significant theme explored in Romero is that of liberation theology; a movement that developed within the Catholic Church in Latin America in the 1950s and 1960s. Drawing on one particular sequence from the film, I will explore how liberation theology is used as a

During the 1960s and 1970s the demand for land reform, work, better wages, and respect for human rights by the rural and urban poor began to rise. The poor conditions of the region were initially created during the colonial period, upon the arrival of Pedro de Alvarado in 1542, however the poverty and repression of the poor was heavily reinforced by the dictatorship of Carlos Humberto Romero Mena that lasted from 1977-1979. Demands for better conditions were met with violent opposition from the rich oligarchy that controlled the military and most of the country’s land and industry, and severe repression was enforced (Lauria-Santiago, Aldo and Binford, Leigh, ch.1). Traditionally, the Catholic Church benefited from close ties to the government who provided protection and wealth. However, the Christian belief that many priests and bishops stood by; a mandate to work for justice and take the side of the poor and to aid them in their struggle, led to the establishment of the Roman Catholic Liberation Theology Movement in the 1960s and 1970s, which is heavily depicted in Romero. Liberation Theology first developed as a moral reaction to the poverty and social injustice in Latin America, in an effort to bring social change and political emancipation of the poor (Celis, Leila, p 72). The Catholic Church responded to the repression and extreme violence, and many priests became advocates for the poor. Consequentially, thousands of Salvadorans, including religious leaders were murdered, jailed, or forced into exile by the government forces or paramilitary death squads. Archbishop Romero was a liberation theologist who spoke out about the poverty, assassinations, injustice and torture he witnessed, and was assassinated because of his influence. The drastic divide in the country between the rich elites and