History usually forces itself into the present in Juan Jose Campanella’s film “El Secreto De Sus Ojos” (The Secret in Their Eyes). Although it was filmed in 2009, the story is an attempted memorization of the violent reality in 1970-1980s Argentina, an era in which the country was rapidly sinking into military rule-ship. Campanella offers flashbacks into Argentina’s dark days, a period where violence homicide, rape and injustices ruled. Through memory, the film narrate a era in which it was impossible to be an innocent person as the innocents were falsely accused, tortured and even murdered for crimes they never committed, all these for the whims of those in power. Even though, the film is set in the 1970s, it does not call immediate attention to the animosity, the hopeless feeling and the constant struggle between the desire to forget vs. the attempts to remember the chaos and confusion of these years. However, through the use of memory Campanella allow the views to portray an almost perfect picture of what happened in Argentina.
Memory is a tool through which Campanella attempts to uncover the dark days in Argentina’s political history; the country was moving away from democracy and into a military regime, despite having democratically confirmed Isabel Perón as president . Through memory, the film becomes a political narrative of the terrible violence, murder rape and other forms of injustices associated with La junta Militar (The military Junta) overtaken of power in the mid-1970s. “El Secreto De Sus Ojos” (The Secret in Their Eyes) is particularly noteworthy as it is among the fewest forms of art, including existing literature that peeks into these chaotic years in Argentina. A time of terror known as the Dirty Warm, seven y...
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...his house, not able to leave for long periods or even socialize living in a total isolation to that resemble the hopeless feelings of Argentine’s during 1970s. Through Colotto’s memory and constant attempt to relive its pass, Argentina’s own dark past is revealed. Thus, memory becomes a tool, through which the past is made relevant .
The film uses instances of flashback to reveal what happened in Argentina during 1970-1980s, as such most of what “El Secreto De Sus Ojos” (The Secret in Their Eyes). Depicts about that period in Argentina’s history is borrowed from memory. In this film, the influence of memory is captured through certain crucial events, characters as well as their imagination. Since these historical events are narrated from memory, they reflect the passage of time and as such underline the social political transition that this country has undergone.
Alfredo Corchado — is the author of the book named " Midnight in Mexico:A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness”. We are, probably, all interested in finding out the facts, news, and gossips about Mexico. This country was always associated with something mysterious. For me personally, the title of the book seemed to be very gripping, I was interested in revealing the secrets of life in Mexico, thus I decided to read this book. I was really curious, what can Alfredo Corchado tell me about the life in this country, the country, where the constant massacre is the picture, people used to see. In his book, the author tells the reader about the real situations, which took place in Mexico, reveals the secrets of the people’s lives and tells the story from the “inside”. He describes the way he lives his life, and does his work. The " Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness” is a memoir. Author tries to transform his own experience into the story line. Corchado shows the reader the darkest episodes of Mexican society, while relying on his own experience.
Derby Lauren, The Dictator's Seduction: Gender and State Spectacle during the Trujillo Regime, Callaloo 23.3. Summer 2000, pp. 1112-1146.
Since the Nazi’s had been in Argentina in 1946, and the short story was written in 1946, Julio Cortazar could have made a connection to the invasion of Nazi’s in Argentina.
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.
Junot Diaz’s “Otravida, Otravez” depicts a perspective of life where one’s present and future always reflects their past in some way. Diaz’s representation of symbolic figures, convey how a person’s past can be carried into the future. Diaz’s use of symbolic figures includes the dirty sheets washed by Yasmin, the letters sent by Virta to Ramon, and the young girl who begins working with Yasmin at the hospital. These symbolic figures and situations remind the readers that the past will always play a major role in one’s present. Additionally, Diaz’s word choice, where Spanish words appear in many different parts of the reading, suggests that indirectly, one’s past habits are not easily broken.
Author Steve Lopez persuade his readers to accept his idea of finding the brutally beaten victim that many witness during the riot, the author does so by finding Fidel and having his story told, which in my perspective was a success, because Fidel was meant to have his story told so a great outcome would occur. In addition as the reader it kept me alert and curious to know more. Fidel Lopez argument was to remain undiscovered as a victim of the LA riot which persuade me because Fidel’s daughter Vanessa stated in the article “ He does things his way, doesn’t like asking for help and is more interest in providing for his family than revisiting the past” (Lopez, pg. 5). This statement was well brought out because Fidel did not do it for his family, the fame, nor for the sadness people would feel for him. Article “The forgotten victim from Florence and Normandie” brought well life learn lessons that are relevant today as many are still able to forget those who need to be remembered most as time passes, because we can easily forget, but once it is gone, sometimes we cannot bring our memory back, memories are always with us lets not take that away from
Taylor, Diana. "Trapped in Bad Scripts: The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo". Disappearing Acts. Spectacles of Gender and Nationalism in Argentina's "Dirty War." Duke Univ. Press: 1997. 183-222.
Blanca Varela receives several prestigious awards as a result of her work being considered as surrealistic and radical, a recurring hem with many poets from Peru at the time. It is this unique form of expression that earns her the exposure making her one of the leading voices of Lain America. The style in which she writers offers both a literal message to be read and comprehended easily, as well as, a figurative message which can imply a number of different things. Moreover, she paints specific pictures to help the reader truly conceptualize what she is trying to say. “Secreto de Familia” or “Family Secret” by Blanca Varela demonstrates her use of several meaningful and insightful poetic elements in order to voice an opinion or convey a message she has.
Between the years of 1976 to 1983, the period known as the ‘Dirty War’ was in full force in Argentina. During this period, thousands of people mysteriously went missing, and are referred to now as the ‘Disappeared’. It is believed that many of the disappeared were taken by agents of the Argentine government, and perhaps tortured and killed before their bodies were disposed of in unmarked graves or rural areas. Whenever the female captives were pregnant, their children were stolen away right after giving birth, while they themselves remained detained. It is estimated that 500 young children and infants were given to families with close ties to the military to be raised. Within this essay I would like to touch on the brief history of the Dirty war and why the military felt it was necessary to take and kill thousands of Argentina’s, and also the devastating affects the disappeared, and stolen children are having on living relatives of those taken or killed. It is hard to imagine something like this happening in North America relatively recently. To wakeup and have members of your family missing, with no explanation, or to one day be told your parents are not biologically related is something Argentina’s had to deal with, and are continuing to face even today.
The film’s setting is in 1988 during Chile’s Berlin Wall moment. The genre of the film is drama and historical fiction. The film was directed by Pablo Larrain in 2012. The major actors in the film were Gael Garcia Bernal, Alfredo Castro, and Luis Gnecco. There was only one actress in the film and that was Antonia Zegers.
Every person lives in their own personal world; their own sense of reality. However, sometime these realities are not as they seem. As everyone is caught up in their monotonous lives, they become accustom to their own view of the world, not always realizing the world of their fellow man. Being sheltered from the reality of the world can only be challenge as one begins to question their privilege and look at the worlds who others face. Luis Puenzo’s The Official Story follows Alicia, an upper class women with a husband and an adopted daughter, as she is exposed to the corruption of her country Argentina. While other films may focus on the governmental aspect of the dictatorships, Puenzo shares a relatable retelling of how a military dictatorships
...e role of women but also keep alive the struggle between civilization and barbarism during the begging of the oil era and the political criticism to Venezuela’s president Juan Vicente Gomes (1857 – 1935) regime. Romulo and De Fuentes used themes such as Mr. Danger, Coronel Pernalete and Doña Barbara to describe his presidency. Coronel Pernalete, and specifically the scene of dotting the H to have them sound makes reference to Gomez illiteracy; a man who rose to power due to his ample knowledge of military strategies. Doña Barbara and Mr. Danger represent Gomes mismanage of the country; on one side, Mr. Danger serves as an example of the US domination in Latin America while Dona Barbara on the other makes reference to his violent way of governing and the fact that, during his presidency, a significant percent of Venezuela’s wealth ended up on his hand and Wall Street.
In 1967 deep in the Bolivian Jungle a group of Bolivian Special Forces, trained by the American Green Berets were hunting down Che Guevara, a Marxist revolutionary, who had been attempting to overthrow the government. Guevara had gone to Bolivia in the hopes of instigating a revolution among the poor Bolivian peasants but to his surprise his ideals were met with either indifference or contempt and it was one of these people that betrayed his location to the Bolivia government, and so the Special Forces were sent out to kill Guevara. They tracked him down in the middle of the jungle where he was killed, his hands cut off for identification and his body buried in an unmarked location so as not to become a martyr’s grave (1967: Che Guevara). This story, although centered around one very famous man, is just one of the few that mark Bolivia’s tumultuous history of instability and military action.
...epresentative of the detrimental effect of silence and lack of expression on the mind and body. When joining the guerillas Huberto “learned the meaning of silence”. However, this lack of expression is demonstrated to lead to detrimental impact for both his mind and body. This can be seen clearly further through chapter seven where Huberto “stopped smiling (…) his expression cold”. This transformation symbolizes the corrosive impact of silence – as Huberto appears to lose his human qualities such as happiness and empathy following his silence. Evidently by contrasting the benefits of verbalization with the corrosive implications of silence Allende encourages the reader to align themselves with the traditions of verbalization commonly associated with the colonial Latin Americans., and to reject the oppressive silence shown to be imposed by the colonizing oligarchy.
...s presented in “Facundo” not just in a critical sense but also as a form of admiration. Sarmiento is trying to say that although the gaucho does not have the academic or cultural advances that the city men have, he almost makes up for them in courage, in valor, he lives in way that assures his next generations will live in the same conformity. They will also posses the same strength. They will have the same lack of education yet they same unyielding attitude towards the challenges of country life. Sarmiento holds a certain admiration for the gaucho because of this. Yet he implies it that it will not attribute to the progression of Argentina or South America like the city men will because the gaucho lives for the gaucho, he is disconnected from the needs of South America he is to committed to his current way of life to contribute to the advancement of South America.