This paper explores information gather from several articles that report on the Mayan Civilization throughout the years of their rise, their conquering, and their fall, as well as their interactions with other civilizations, specifically the Spanish. The Mayan civilization dates back before the 16th century, before they were conquered by the Spanish Conquistadors and the civilization diminished. During their reign, the Maya civilization thrived in what is now parts of Southern Mexico and Central America. However, their supremacy was struck down when the Spanish and their beliefs
Ultimately, the Mayan civilization was the most brilliant cultural stage not only in Mesoamerica, but throughout America, and his mysterious disappearance became an obsession for many investigators and people interested in the topic in the middle of the twentieth century. There have been many myths about the Mayans, but archaeological and historical research will allow us to know and admire who they were, how they developed their skills, and how they built their wonderful cities. In fact, as a Mexican immigrant in this country, I can also see the Mayan communities as the descendants of my culture and Mexicans feel proud of what they were, and the permanent mark that they will leave not only in Mexico’s history but the whole
Imagine yourself as an Ixil Mayan at the local marketplace. You wander around the stalls, viewing the hand-crafted goods. As the midday sun beats down on you, the sound of footsteps coming towards you becomes audible among the chatter of your fellow Mayans. Suddenly, the voices stop, and a gunshot echoes in the air. For what seems like an eternity, the marketplace is drowned in the slight whimpers of children as their mothers’ skirts muffle their moaning. You are still frozen in your place in front a stall. Then, a quick moment of common sense drives you to hide behind a wall. Before you know what is happening, the space around the market is filled with screams. A man falls down beside you with his eyes rolled back and a gaping wound in his chest. Blood trickles through the wall. The pleading cries of the women have a chilling effect. As more bodies fall down beside you, you suddenly become aware of an officer standing above you. A gun is pointed at you. Up until now, you didn’t think of running, but once the trigger is pulled, you know you don’t have a chance. Moments later, you are gone. The genocide that occurred in Guatemala tragically cost thousands of Ixil Mayan lives and ruined many others.
Medina, Laurie Kroshus. 2003 ‘Commoditizing Culture – Tourism and Maya Identity’. Michigan State University, USA. pp 353-368
The history of the Western hemisphere is full of war and conquest. One of the most significant and defining of those conquests is the downfall of the Mexica/Aztec Empire. While there are many other events to choose from, this one stands out since it was one over one of the largest empires in Central America. It is also important to look at because of the immense cultural impact it had. The story of this takeover reads like a movie script, a small band of Spaniards single handedly takes down the most powerful empire in Central America. It was an epic battle, which unfortunately led to the destruction of a magnificent culture. As in any major historical event there are many underlying themes and storylines that come together to make the event happen. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec is no different. Three major themes are seen in this struggle. One of them is the incredible advantage that the Spaniards technology gave them over the Aztecs. A second major theme is the greed that fueled the conquests in the New World. The last major theme was the effect of the political divisions and rivalries within Montezuma’s Central American Kingdom. As this historical event progressed each one of these themes began to intertwine until they became an almost unstoppable force.
Enough is a 2002 thriller directed by Michael Apted and written by Nicholas Kazan. This film is very similar to the Stephen King’s 1995 film adaptation of Dolores Claiborne directed by Taylor Hackford. The protagonists in both these films find themselves trapped in abusive relationships and turn to drastic means to protect themselves and their daughters. In the film Enough, Slim runs away with her daughter from her abusive husband to protect her life whereas, Dolores, in Dolores Claiborne is trapped in her little small town with her husband who is abusive to her and is now sexually abusing their daughter. These women find themselves in these abusive relationships and become empowered to take control of their lives. The writers skillfully use literary elements in these films to convey this message.
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
In the documentary “Fed Up,” sugar is responsible for Americas rising obesity rate, which is happening even with the great stress that is set on exercise and portion control for those who are overweight. Fed Up is a film directed by Stephanie Soechtig, with Executive Producers Katie Couric and Laurie David. The filmmaker’s intent is mainly to inform people of the dangers of too much sugar, but it also talks about the fat’s in our diets and the food corporation shadiness. The filmmaker wants to educate the country on the effects of a poor diet and to open eyes to the obesity catastrophe in the United States. The main debate used is that sugar is the direct matter of obesity. Overall, I don’t believe the filmmaker’s debate was successful.
... into society also came with a new social responsibility to make sure that the crops would never fail. For once a society had made this unique and vital bond with the crop, with deep meaning. For a modern mind, the Mayan methodology of working with maize, and how it became to dominate life far beyond a means of food, becoming the backbone of their religion, it is truly amazing and great, the Mayans for one were not simple folk their attitude towards maize was clearly one of great spirituality. The Mayan mind believed or realized that not only had the gods given them maize, the gods would continually need to be thanked for giving them a great crop and they cultivated it and through it thanked and worshiped the gods for feeding them, and allowing them to grow and excel. In the end, the relationship between Man and maize was a contract between the gods and the earth.
The film, Fruitvale Station, is based upon a true story of a young, unarmed African American male, Oscar, who was shot by a Caucasian BART police officer. The film displays the final twenty-fours of Oscar Grant’s lives going through his struggles, triumphs, and eager search to change his life around. There will be an analysis of the sociological aspects displayed throughout the movie that show racism, prejudice, and discrimination.
In this sense, the film tests the resiliency of good human nature. The modern world is becoming increasingly set in its extremes, as the lifestyle of the poor vastly contrasts that of the wealthy. The implementation of NAFTA reflects this movement toward separation, despite the fact that it was intended to boost trade between regions and create more prosperity on both sides of the United States-Mexico border. The Mexican elites saw it as their salvation. Others saw it as “ a death sentence.” The Chiapas region itself exemplifies this gap, as well. The region was split between the relatively prosperous west, which was fertile and characterized by commercial development, and the poor, subsistence-oriented east. It was not by accident that the Zapatista movement began in Chiapas as the struggle between ranchers, landowners, and subsistence farmers was intensified by NAFTA.
The Three Here’s for Cooking The romantic comedy, Today’s Special, expressed the worries of Indian parents becoming at ease. Also, expressed the struggles a parent faces in search of a better life, the passion and dedication going unnoticed in the work field, and the connection between friends, a lover, and family. However, the film centered its attention more on the development of Samir’s “cold” cooking within the Indian food, with the help of Akbar. In addition, the main actors in the film looked the part and associated with the main idea of the culture of an Indian family. For instance, Samir’s appearance showed he had drifted away from his family’s culture and developed a professional understanding and love for the cooking industry.
In the Central America, most notably the Yucatan Peninsula, are the Maya, a group of people whose polytheistic religion and advanced civilization once flourished (Houston, 43). The Maya reached their peak during the Classic Period from around CE 250 to the ninth century CE when the civilization fell and dispersed (Sharer, 1). Although much has been lost, the gods and goddesses and the religious practices of the Classic Maya give insight into their lives and reveal what was important to this society.
The movie, “The Perfect Dictatorship” (“La Dictadura Perfecta”), directed and produced by Luis Estrada and released in 2014, is a political, satirical comedy story of two reporters attempting to repair the image of a corrupt governor after he signs a deal with the boss of their television company, Television Mexicana. That’s one way we could describe the plot of the movie. Another would be that the movie depicts the inherent corruption of the Mexican government and the lengths to which they will go to retain (or regain) their reputation. Equally, we could see the movie as a demonstration of the corruption of the Mexican media and the ways in which the media influences and effects politics. In fact, the
The trailer of Kaashmora has set expectations high for the film among the audience, it gave the impression that the film is more likely to make audience cower in horror sequences, bite their nails in action sequences and laugh their lungs out with its comedy. The result, I'm afraid, is not what was expected of it.