Religion And Christianity In Bless Me Ultima

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There are major contrasts behind the different views of curanderismo and brujería in 1940s New Mexico. Curanderismo, a traditional holistic Mexican healing system, is highlighted in the 2013 film Bless Me Ultima. The film’s director, Carl Franklin portrays both sides of religion and spirituality through the Catholic Church and the pre-Christian natural beliefs. The social-cultural conflicts between the two are underscored through the characterization of a curandera, Ultima in the 2013 film, Bless Me Ultima. The doctrine of the Catholic Church relies on the fear installed in its people to appeal to religious duty. For example, upon arriving late to church, Florence is berated by Father Byrnes. He is made to hold his arms out like Christ for the duration of the service in penance for his mistake (Franklin, “Bless Me Ultima”). This is a relatively strict and demeaning. Overall, the Catholic Church is controlled by a strict …show more content…

Uncle Lucas is suffering from a curse placed on him by the daughters of Tenorio. They women are highlighted to be witches dabbling in dark magic; specifically, animal sacrifice (Franklin, “Bless Me Ultima”). This sort of negative energy embodies the ideals of ‘evil.’ When Uncle Lucas watches the women as they do their sacrifice, he makes eye contact with one of the girls and is cursed. Ultima leaves with Antonio in the hopes to reverse the curse placed upon his uncle (Franklin, “Bless Me Ultima”). Through natural herbs and remedies, the uncle coughs up a green, living organism. He heals quickly as Ultima removes the curse from his body. But just as quickly as she was welcomed to the home, she was shunned again (Franklin, “Bless Me Ultima”). Ultima is wanted when it is helpful to whom it concerns, and even though she has a different approach to this type of spirituality (Curanderismo) she is still looked down upon by the Catholic

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