I watched a movie last night that caught my eye at Blockbuster. I'd never heard of it and after watching, I want everyone to see it.
The name of the movie is "A Day Without a Mexican". The film addresses the subtle prejudices that many hold: Using the term, "Mexican" to describe anyone of Latino origin. Someone ignorantly mentioned speaking "Mexican" instead of Spanish. The assumption of many that by looking at an individual one can determine their immigration status. The film took place in the state of California and a mysterious fog around the state has stopped all communication outside of the state. People wake up to find no one of Latino heritage remaining in the state except one newscaster, Lila.
A scene in the film showed a Border Patrol Officer on camera agreeing with a "MinuteMan-like" group of protesters who claimed that "Mexicans were stealing American jobs." Cut to a scene of an orange grove minus the regular migrant workers. The orange crop remains on the trees - there are no competent workers to pick the fruit.
The film went on to show how schools were closed (20% of teachers in California are of Latino heritage)based on the absence of Latino teachers. Supermarket shelves quickly emptied of fresh produce and restaurants were forced to closed due to a lack of supplies and workers.
A state senator had to assume the role of acting governor since the Latino politicians in office were all gone. His wife was forced to actually fix breakfast and deal with laundry since their Latino nanny disappeared.
Latino businesses were looted since their owners weren't there to watch the stores. Major league baseball had to cancel games since many starting rosters include superstar players of Latino heritage, leading to a riot outside the ballfield.
The movie occasionally cuts to a professor quoting statistics on Latinos in California. (It's improtant to see how spin doctors in 2005 have used edited statistics to create a mob mentality of hate in this country)
I won't give away the ending.
Take 98 minutes of your life and give this film a try.
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17 comments:
i WISH I had 98 minutes to watch something with a bit more meaning than Playhouse Disney. Soon. Soon. Soon. (enjoy them while they're little) Who am I trying to convince!?
~d heart Jali
I'm trying to learn "Hispanish" myself. :)
You know I can't dedicate 98 consecutive minutes to anything. I will have to divide it up into smaller, more manageable bits. Say, 4 - 6 minutes at a time.
Several months ago, Hispanic people in California went on strike for a day. Businesses were crippled. Public transportation dwindled. Sporting events were cancelled.
They were sick of being taken for granted. It made quite an impact. For a day.
I'll definitely put it on my Blockbuster Q miss Jali. Hey, I'd like to hear your take on 2 films. Children of Men and Death of a President. Very interesting films. Thanks miss Jali!
Sounds very interesting, I may have to find this one and check it out. It is amazing how "soft" this country has become and how dependent it is on the immigrants we gripe most and loudest about. I love when you said the senator's wife had to actually do housework... too freakin' funny, but all too true.
My only complaint is having to choose if I want english or spanish when I'm trying to get my credit card balance... just tell me how much I can spend already :D
I will add it to my movie list. I once was told I couldn't be latina because I spoke english well and had an education. go figure
While referring to a Mexican language can be racist or ignorant, it's not entirely wrong. I use it it to refer to the dialect. There are at least as many dialects as there are Spanish-speaking countries, yet some people don't realize they exist, just as British English spawned American English and the Australian dialect.
The Spanish language is actually called Castillian, and I speak the Andalucian dialect (my source is Sevilla). I learned Castillian pronunciations and words from songs. Salma Hayek is Mexican and tends to pronounce things the way I would; her good friend Penélope Cruz is from Madrid (though her mom may be Southern), and therefore speaks Castillian. The most notable difference is that the the former pronounces C and Z just like S, and leaves off endings, as U.S. Southern English does, while the former pronounces Z and some C's as "Th."
Hey Jali! I've seen you around and thought this might be a good time to drop in on you.
I live in Arizona, and the place would fucking collapse without the hispanic population. 25% of the state is hispanic. Can you imagine what would happen to the economy without them?
I always get a kick out of hearing people complaining that illegal immigrants and/or hispanics are sucking up all the public services, blah blah. Well, if every hispanic person left the state, we'd all be out of work and the tax system would dry up.
The movie was big here.
Interesting post, Jali. I'll certainly try to check the movie out.
I remember a play like that, but it was about all the black people vanishing for a day in the south...right after the slavery era.
Having lived in California and Texas, I couldn't NOT watch that movie. Very interesting, and I enjoyed it.
I'll plan to see it.
It burns me when someone says hispanics are taking all the jobs...heck, they are the ones going after the jobs! They can't take something you aren't trying to get!
I'll have to check this out. Thanks for the recommendation!
HURRAY FOR JALI! As a Mexican, I loved, loved, loved that film. Sadly, it was in the theatres for all of three days before it was yanked - for obvious reasons.
It infuriates me to no end how badly hard-working Hispanics are treated and how very few people really appreciate their positive impact in society. How I wish we could all strike for an entire month. Just watch that stock market plunge... Ah, it would be a thing of beauty!
Im going to see if I can use it to teach...I must see if there is a book that goes with this...My students (85%)hispanic would really get into it!
The play was called, "A Day Of Absence" by Douglas Turner Ward.
It was shown on PBS years ago. A small town in the South panics when all of the black people disappear.
(I had to look on the internet for Mr Ward's name, but remember watching it 2 or 3 times)
Jali's Little Sis
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