The movie Cocaine Cowboys starts as a documentary type-film that soon turns into a first hand account of how a number of people started and continued their business in the illegal drug business. Most of the men started out in the 60's and 70's with marijuana and then in the 80's continued to buy and sell cocaine from Cuba. The men used Miami as their main hub, keeping the drugs and money separate, always travel south with the drugs vs north to avoid being checked at a checkpoint. Instead they would fly the goods north and then drive them south, to avoid this particular chance of being checked.
Once everyone was introduced in the movie they introduce Griselda, whom we soon find out is a heartless woman. She is a drug-lord, who shows no mercy, even when it comes to children. If she does not get her money or someone makes her mad she believes that they should suffer, and anyone who is associated with them. Even if it is not by choice. There was said to be involvement of the governement which never came to talk in the film although according to National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 2, this was the case.
"Oliver North, who met with Noriega's representative, described the meeting in an August 23, 1986 e-mail message to Reagan national security advisor John Poindexter. "You will recall that over the years Manuel Noriega in Panama and I have developed a fairly good relationship," North writes before explaining Noriega's proposal. If U.S. officials can "help clean up his image" and lift the ban on arms sales to the Panamanian Defense Force, Noriega will "'take care of' the Sandinista leadership for us."" This is just one of the many different excerpt out of the archives that prove that the government had some involvement with illegal drug traffikation. The drug trafiking had an astonishing impact on the economy, which was in recession at the time.
The money which was seized from all of the drug busts and sting operations by the local government officials helped build the skyscrapers that one may find today. The local officials were not always trustworthy down in Miami, it had been easy to bribe them and at one point in time the government officials also had to start over, the same way the economy did. The movie shows that Miama has not always been a place to go for fun in the sun, that in the past it was dangerous to live, bad things did happen there and people including government officials were corrupt.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Che: Part 1
Che the movie is made in two different parts. Part 1 takes places during the July 26th movement, where at this time Che is interviewed by Lisa Howard. Che gives a speech in which he bashes American imperialism, stating : "Our share, the responsibility of the exploited and underdeveloped of the world is to eliminate the foundations of imperialism: our oppressed nations, from where they extract capitals, raw materials, technicians and cheap labor, and to which they export new capitals — instruments of domination — arms and all kinds of articles; thus submerging us in an absolute dependance." (Tricontinental)
Che's idea of fighting against imperialism is interested in that he thinks that fighting with militia against an army may lead to success. "There are three fundamental contributions in the situation in America. First, people's forces can win a war against the army. Second, it is not always necessary to wait for all conditions favorable to revolution to be present; the insurrection itself can create them. Third, in the underdeveloped parts of America, the battleground for armed struggle should in the main be the countryside" (Guerilla Warfare) This excerpt states that the fights should also take place in the country side versus in the urban area where potentially more damage could be done.
Che's idea of fighting against imperialism is interested in that he thinks that fighting with militia against an army may lead to success. "There are three fundamental contributions in the situation in America. First, people's forces can win a war against the army. Second, it is not always necessary to wait for all conditions favorable to revolution to be present; the insurrection itself can create them. Third, in the underdeveloped parts of America, the battleground for armed struggle should in the main be the countryside" (Guerilla Warfare) This excerpt states that the fights should also take place in the country side versus in the urban area where potentially more damage could be done.
"Above all, we must emphasize at the outset that this form of struggle is a means to an end. That end, essential and inevitable for any revolutionary, is the conquest of political power."(Guerilla Warfare)
This statement is a very strong one because with this you see that warfare is never about keeping the peace, no matter what anyone says. There is always the urge to gain power. History repeats itself and if someone is given the chance to gain power, in any shape, way or form. They are going to do so. This is what Che attempted to do through the Guerrilla warfare.
All in all, one cannot assume that because someone is trying to change something that it will go peacefully. One must assume that gaining power is always the main objective. In this case Che achieved the same through the supporters of the revolution.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
I am Cuba
I am Cuba is a movie made of four short movies that show the people during the time of the revolution. The four different mini-movies are:
1) Americans in a nightclub, one of them takes advantage of Maria, who is seeing the local town fruit seller, goes with her back to her shack and then in the morning pays for her services. The American is interested in her one valuable possession in the morning and leaves her extra money and takes it from her because he is not able to communicate with her. In the morning the 'boyfriend' walks in and sees what is happening and with that Maria's relationship with him is ended and she is left in the world alone. Ruined by an American asshole.
2) A farmer is bought out by United Fruit, although the farmer is bought out by a Cuban landowner. The farmer sends his children to town because he knows that their way of life is over, that everything that he has worked for in the past means nothing now. The children go to town and buy coca-cola's and listen to music which is being played on a juke-box. The father farmer in the meantime is in the field lighting fire to his crops which have given him work and money in the past years because he knows that from now on they aren't going to bring him anything.
3) A young teenage girl is walking in the streets and American sailors who are on leave in Guantanomo Bay see her. The sailors decide to follow her to an area where she is finally cornered. Ultimately she is rescued by a student who then the sailors 'give a break' and carry on with singing and going and walking through the streets enjoying their leave.
4) A family is bombed by Castro in the mountains and try to cope with losing everything that they had, to include one of their children who was hit by one of the bombs.
These four mini-movies show what the people go through during the revolution. It is interesting to read in " Born in Blood and Fire" that women did not have much education while living in slumlike conditions. Some of them were able to teach themselves certain things such as reading to make a living for themselves and family. One also notices the presence of American industrialism in the mini-movies. In each of the movies besides the last one there is always something that is American, whether it be American people or American modern items to include coca-cola and a juke-box. “This, the revolution transformed the domestic class structure, and it ushered into power a government more committed to economic expansion and diversification than the one it displaced” (Eckstein 504) In all of the mini-movies you are also able to see the separation of class. The farmer and the family in the mountain may be on the same social class but now have to both find a new way to live. The revolution is not something that was easy on anyone, just as no major change is. It takes time, time that the citizens did not have at that time.
1) Americans in a nightclub, one of them takes advantage of Maria, who is seeing the local town fruit seller, goes with her back to her shack and then in the morning pays for her services. The American is interested in her one valuable possession in the morning and leaves her extra money and takes it from her because he is not able to communicate with her. In the morning the 'boyfriend' walks in and sees what is happening and with that Maria's relationship with him is ended and she is left in the world alone. Ruined by an American asshole.
2) A farmer is bought out by United Fruit, although the farmer is bought out by a Cuban landowner. The farmer sends his children to town because he knows that their way of life is over, that everything that he has worked for in the past means nothing now. The children go to town and buy coca-cola's and listen to music which is being played on a juke-box. The father farmer in the meantime is in the field lighting fire to his crops which have given him work and money in the past years because he knows that from now on they aren't going to bring him anything.
3) A young teenage girl is walking in the streets and American sailors who are on leave in Guantanomo Bay see her. The sailors decide to follow her to an area where she is finally cornered. Ultimately she is rescued by a student who then the sailors 'give a break' and carry on with singing and going and walking through the streets enjoying their leave.
4) A family is bombed by Castro in the mountains and try to cope with losing everything that they had, to include one of their children who was hit by one of the bombs.
These four mini-movies show what the people go through during the revolution. It is interesting to read in " Born in Blood and Fire" that women did not have much education while living in slumlike conditions. Some of them were able to teach themselves certain things such as reading to make a living for themselves and family. One also notices the presence of American industrialism in the mini-movies. In each of the movies besides the last one there is always something that is American, whether it be American people or American modern items to include coca-cola and a juke-box. “This, the revolution transformed the domestic class structure, and it ushered into power a government more committed to economic expansion and diversification than the one it displaced” (Eckstein 504) In all of the mini-movies you are also able to see the separation of class. The farmer and the family in the mountain may be on the same social class but now have to both find a new way to live. The revolution is not something that was easy on anyone, just as no major change is. It takes time, time that the citizens did not have at that time.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Que Viva Mexico!
Movies made throughout history are typically made at one point in time and not over the course of many years. Movies such as Wizard of Oz and Bambi were made over the course of possibly one or two years, Que Viva Mexico was not the case, Eisenstein died before he was able to complete the movie. Someone else completed it for him in the way that they thought Eisenstein would want it to be made. The movie Que Viva Mexico had a big concentration on religion. Throughout the movies different religious practices reappear.
At the beginning of the movie it shows the celebration of the Virgin Mary, then it continues with the parade that happens throughout the days, and the movie also shows men carrying cactus poles with rope tied to their arms. The movie also shows the celebration of the Day of the Dead, there are also parts in the movie where marriage is a role. Religion is and has always been a big topic of debate in the world. Events take place based on religion, millions of Jews were killed because of their religion in German during the Nazi regime. This is just one of the many examples that occur in the world where people are killed based on religion.
Another theme that occurs in Que Viva Mexico is the romance story, the romance story in this movie is one between a man and a woman who are getting married, although the bride is being abused and held captive by the husbands boss. This makes the husband very angry and he attempts to try and save his wife, he and his friends who attempted to help him are then all captured, buried up to their chests and then trampled to death by horse riders. This is an imortant part of the movie Que Viva Mexico because it shows that many movies have a love story and the consequences that come from this. It also shows how the women were treated back then and what their social status was. Women were not treated as they are today and sometimes the ones that loved them and tried to save them from being used and abused could not even save them. This is what it looked like in the early 1900's in Mexico.
Eisenstein may or may not be satisfied with the result of which the movie turned out but one could say that it does depict what occurs in Mexico and the Mexican traditions very well.
At the beginning of the movie it shows the celebration of the Virgin Mary, then it continues with the parade that happens throughout the days, and the movie also shows men carrying cactus poles with rope tied to their arms. The movie also shows the celebration of the Day of the Dead, there are also parts in the movie where marriage is a role. Religion is and has always been a big topic of debate in the world. Events take place based on religion, millions of Jews were killed because of their religion in German during the Nazi regime. This is just one of the many examples that occur in the world where people are killed based on religion.
Another theme that occurs in Que Viva Mexico is the romance story, the romance story in this movie is one between a man and a woman who are getting married, although the bride is being abused and held captive by the husbands boss. This makes the husband very angry and he attempts to try and save his wife, he and his friends who attempted to help him are then all captured, buried up to their chests and then trampled to death by horse riders. This is an imortant part of the movie Que Viva Mexico because it shows that many movies have a love story and the consequences that come from this. It also shows how the women were treated back then and what their social status was. Women were not treated as they are today and sometimes the ones that loved them and tried to save them from being used and abused could not even save them. This is what it looked like in the early 1900's in Mexico.
Eisenstein may or may not be satisfied with the result of which the movie turned out but one could say that it does depict what occurs in Mexico and the Mexican traditions very well.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Gabriela
Gabriela starts off with a woman who is a cook, becomes a mistress and finally is a wife to the local bar owner. The story takes places in a costal town run by colonels ones of which would like to have Gabriela as his wife, she refuses and is not interested. Nacib, the bar owner is an educated man, may not be a business man but he has an education and has trouble with Gabriela's low level of education.
Gabriela is the typical 1920's wife. She cooks, cleans and pleases her husband. She is uneducated and is not necessarily interested in learning anything to further her education. In the article found in the Chicago Journal, Judith Butler is mentioned and her theory is that sex and gender are ‘phantasmic’ which means that sex and gender are defined by culture and not ‘natural’(material entities). This statement from her book Gender Troubles helps us understand that according to her the way that women behave is based on culture and the way that they are expected to, in the different time periods in history. For example, in the 1920's women were to 'wait on their men hand and foot' now a days women are allowed to have jobs in the business world, receive equal pay and have rights. During the time that Gabriela lived this was not the case and it was hard for Gabriela to do what she wanted. For instance in the movie she did not want to go to a reading by the poet that was in town but would have much rather gone to the circus with her younger friend. As an illiterate she did not understand what the big deal was about a reading and why she should go to it if she did not understand anything and had absolutely no interest in doing so. But because Nacib wanted her to go she had no choice and had to follow his order to do so. During that time Gabriela and other women were 'slaves' of their husbands or men that they worked for. Men on the other hand were allowed to do what they wanted. They were allowed to sleep with other men's wives without repercussions for their actions, as for a woman if she slept with another man she was condemned not marriage material and then was not a suitable wife. Through history times have changed and women have gained rights, they are no longer dictated by the men in society and can say what they want to. Throughout the movie Gabriela and the marriage between Gabriela and Nacib their relationship changes after they get married. Nacib tends to be more distant and not as caring as he was before, as it is with many men even in today's day and age that the lust is greater than the actual attraction. Following the relationship between the couple rise and fall during the course of the movie is very interesting and just shows what a woman's role was during that time.
There are many things that have changed in history, most for the better. Women now have a voice and rights, are seen as equals. Women can make choices without men and can have lives that do not have to involve men. If Gabriela were alive today and she did not want to go to the poet reading she would be able to go to the circus without having to sneak away from her husband so that she could do so.
Gabriela is the typical 1920's wife. She cooks, cleans and pleases her husband. She is uneducated and is not necessarily interested in learning anything to further her education. In the article found in the Chicago Journal, Judith Butler is mentioned and her theory is that sex and gender are ‘phantasmic’ which means that sex and gender are defined by culture and not ‘natural’(material entities). This statement from her book Gender Troubles helps us understand that according to her the way that women behave is based on culture and the way that they are expected to, in the different time periods in history. For example, in the 1920's women were to 'wait on their men hand and foot' now a days women are allowed to have jobs in the business world, receive equal pay and have rights. During the time that Gabriela lived this was not the case and it was hard for Gabriela to do what she wanted. For instance in the movie she did not want to go to a reading by the poet that was in town but would have much rather gone to the circus with her younger friend. As an illiterate she did not understand what the big deal was about a reading and why she should go to it if she did not understand anything and had absolutely no interest in doing so. But because Nacib wanted her to go she had no choice and had to follow his order to do so. During that time Gabriela and other women were 'slaves' of their husbands or men that they worked for. Men on the other hand were allowed to do what they wanted. They were allowed to sleep with other men's wives without repercussions for their actions, as for a woman if she slept with another man she was condemned not marriage material and then was not a suitable wife. Through history times have changed and women have gained rights, they are no longer dictated by the men in society and can say what they want to. Throughout the movie Gabriela and the marriage between Gabriela and Nacib their relationship changes after they get married. Nacib tends to be more distant and not as caring as he was before, as it is with many men even in today's day and age that the lust is greater than the actual attraction. Following the relationship between the couple rise and fall during the course of the movie is very interesting and just shows what a woman's role was during that time.
There are many things that have changed in history, most for the better. Women now have a voice and rights, are seen as equals. Women can make choices without men and can have lives that do not have to involve men. If Gabriela were alive today and she did not want to go to the poet reading she would be able to go to the circus without having to sneak away from her husband so that she could do so.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Camilla
There are many different movies that depict history. Some are more accurate than others and some focus on different things or themes I should say. In the movie Titanic for instance the movie focuses on the love story between Rose and Jack, while also telling a very accurate telling of what happened on the night that the ship went down. In the movie Camila the director attempts to focus on parts of the story that make the character Camilla more of a powerful woman.
Throughout the movie Camila is faced with different trials. Being the one that started a relationship with the priest she goes against everything, to include how she had been raised and what she had grown up with, to include how she grew up with relation to the church. Growing up a Catholic, it was forbidden to fall in love with your priest. In the end when she is shot she is carrying the priests child which did not keep her from being shot. She is just like everyone else. Being treated the same as if she were a man. If they were equals.
During the movie Ladislao shows that he cares about her, but when things get hard he turns to faith. Camila having left her family and everything she knew and while not being as religious as Ladislao she in return has nothing to turn to. It can be thought that she had a harder time running away than he did just because she was 'alone' and he had his faith. This is just another example of how she was depicted to be a strong powerful independent woman in the movie by Bemberg.
Not only does the movie show Camila being a strong and powerful independent woman. It also shows that throughout the movie the historical aspects. That the dictator sentenced people to death regardless of what the law originally stated. Not only in the case of Camila but in other instances as well. It is also interesting how the firing squad had no problem at all with shooting a man but when it came time to shoot Camila who was also pregnant the squad members had a harder time, but later did so because they themselves were threatened to be killed otherwise. Are genders still looked at so differently now-a-days? Would it be harder for a firing squad member to kill a woman as it would be a man? Why is this the case? Is it because women are portrayed to be weaker and put on the earth to have children and care for others and by killing one we are taking away more than just the one life that is at hand?
At what point in time did things change and people became equals? Has this ever happened? When is it that women no longer have to fight to be heard or to get what they want out of life, to be happy and not feel like they are over looked by men. Will this day come? As a female, one can only hope.
Throughout the movie Camila is faced with different trials. Being the one that started a relationship with the priest she goes against everything, to include how she had been raised and what she had grown up with, to include how she grew up with relation to the church. Growing up a Catholic, it was forbidden to fall in love with your priest. In the end when she is shot she is carrying the priests child which did not keep her from being shot. She is just like everyone else. Being treated the same as if she were a man. If they were equals.
During the movie Ladislao shows that he cares about her, but when things get hard he turns to faith. Camila having left her family and everything she knew and while not being as religious as Ladislao she in return has nothing to turn to. It can be thought that she had a harder time running away than he did just because she was 'alone' and he had his faith. This is just another example of how she was depicted to be a strong powerful independent woman in the movie by Bemberg.
Not only does the movie show Camila being a strong and powerful independent woman. It also shows that throughout the movie the historical aspects. That the dictator sentenced people to death regardless of what the law originally stated. Not only in the case of Camila but in other instances as well. It is also interesting how the firing squad had no problem at all with shooting a man but when it came time to shoot Camila who was also pregnant the squad members had a harder time, but later did so because they themselves were threatened to be killed otherwise. Are genders still looked at so differently now-a-days? Would it be harder for a firing squad member to kill a woman as it would be a man? Why is this the case? Is it because women are portrayed to be weaker and put on the earth to have children and care for others and by killing one we are taking away more than just the one life that is at hand?
At what point in time did things change and people became equals? Has this ever happened? When is it that women no longer have to fight to be heard or to get what they want out of life, to be happy and not feel like they are over looked by men. Will this day come? As a female, one can only hope.
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