Taught to Hate (2009, 27 min) A film by James García Sotomayor

This film objectively captures the human tragedy that unfolds as consequence of misinformed decisions on both ends.  García Sotomayor does a great job at humanizing the often times criminalized figure of the day laborer by recurring to intermittent flashbacks that bring back memories of the mother he left behind in his home country.  In the same vein, the director portrays a middle-class, suburban family, whose upbringing is deeply rooted in compassionate moral values, even in the private setting as Mary (Helen Proimos) vehemently scolds her brother after the incendiary assertion that "Mexicans are taking our jobs."  The film director skillfully brings to the table the fears and tensions that have arisen due to the presence of Hispanic day laborers in many Long Island towns, while managing to maintain his integrity and objectivity.  In the absence of a father figure, uncle Ethan (Nick Raio) fills the void with his rhetoric of hate, racism and fear of losing "the little we have left" to the presumed undocumented immigrants.  Mary and her daughter's rebuke is not enough to prevent John (Brandon Hannan) from internalizing this rhetoric of fear, disseminated by the uncle he looks up to.  This amplification of unfounded hatred is reinforced by his high-school peers who are mere spokespeople for the intolerance of some adults, some public officials, and some media outlets.  These teens embody the archetype of the typical perpetrator of a hate crime: a young student with no previous disciplinary record, outstanding academic or athletic prowess, who simply sees himself as the defender of a nation his elders yearn for, a nation that promised a good living with just a high-school education. 

The opening scene, a flash-forward in which we see uncle Ethan broken down in tears as he holds a family portrait, reminded me of Jeffrey Conroy's father covering his face with both hands, as his son was escorted to the courtroom in handcuffs.  At this very moment I understood that tragedy had not only struck the Lucero family but the Conroys as well.  A reporter covering the trial at the Riverhead Court House commented that even if Conroy was found guilty of a lesser charge, his family would still be devastated for life, not only emotionally but also financially.  This tragedy could have been prevented if someone (a friend, an uncle, a teacher, a public official) would have told Jeffrey that it is simply wrong to make fun of the suffering of "other" people, no matter where they come from.

Twenty years in the making

I still remember Paul Caliguiri's goal against Czechoslovakia in the 1990 World Cup (hosted by Italy), the first U.S. soccer goal in the modern era.  The 1994 World Cup, hosted by the United States, marked the coming of age for the U.S. soccer program as they pulled a major upset, defeating Colombia- one of the tournament's favorites.  Fast-forward 16 years later and the U.S. soccer squad has established itself as a solid second-tier powerhouse in the same league as England, France, Mexico, Japan, and Ghana.  Despite the loss in quarterfinals to the latter, the U.S. team remained faithful to its disciplined and passionate style that got them through the first round.  Soccer (football as its known throughout the globe) has gained a lot of popularity in the United States in the past  decade as it is evident in the increasing number of fans that gather to support the national team. 

Those of us who have followed the beautiful game our entire life, understand (and accept) that the rules of engagement have a few imperfections.  U.S. fans have learned that the game has its ups and downs, a bipolar roller coaster that takes you on an ecstasy high one minute and on the verge of depression the next. We tied England thanks to Green's miscalculation as the official ball (Jabulani, $150) spun out of his hands into the net...beginner's luck? not really.  We came from behind against Slovenia to tie the game at 2-2, and were then robbed of the winning goal in a legitimate play...poetic justice? maybe.  Against Algeria we scored in the last minute, in the fashion of Uruguay, Italy, or Argentina; soccer passion at its peak!

After many years of following fútbol, I've come to realize that the game reflects each nation's take on life itself.  The U.S. squad embodies tenacious American ideals, devoid of stoicism but rather a serene attitude, fueled by the conviction that anything can be accomplished with hard work and effort.  Giving up is not a choice, as Yogi Berra used to say, "It ain't over till it's over."  Despite elimination, the U.S. soccer program has earned the respect and admiration of the soccer world- that is, the entire world.  After twenty years in the making, the United States has finally become a full-fledged soccer nation.

Sex and which city?

Despite the fact that the movie portrays alternative models of filiation, the underlying subtext insinuates that everything can be fixed with expensive gifts, preferably Spring collection designer items. The tension between tradition and progressive modernity permeates every major scene in the film. The luscious gay wedding at the start of the movie, in which Liza Minelli performs to Beyonce's "single ladies" (a new must at weddings), is embedded with five minutes of artificial language aimed at recapitulating each character's personality, particularly for aficionados of the series. Despite the exuberant display of subversive, same-sex marriage vindication, the couple culminates the ceremony with the Jewish ritual of the breaking of the glass, after which Carrie reaches the conclusion that "tradition sneaks in whether you like it or not". Although the movie presents four different types of women, that range from traditional (Charlotte) to unrestrained (Samantha), their common thread is their penchant for fashion, which contradictorily turns them into mere consumers of the latest trends if fashion. None of them wears "vintage" clothes purchased at a thrift store, or accessories made of recycled items, let alone garments manufactured in fair-trade zones.

This glorification of expensive bags and Manolo Blahniks is challenged when Carrie realizes at the Abu Dahbi market that beautiful things don't need to carry an exorbitant price tag. The elegant yet simple shoes that Carrie picks up for a mere twenty dirham evoke Western fable topoi (Cinderella) intertwined with "exotic" references (Scheherazade). Big is the modern Persian king that embodies traditional forms of masculinity reminiscent of Gary Grant (thus the intertextual black-and-white movies) who is about to behead Carrie's ideal of a marriage devoid of societal expectations when he insinuates to spend two days apart every week. Carrie confesses, over a long-distance phone call, to having kissed an ex-boyfriend she encountered in the market. Big reacts in anger but in the end secures the deal with a black diamond, wedding ring (tradition sneaks in...put a ring on it!). The Cinderella tale resurfaces as she returns to the market to retrieve her passport (she had left if on the counter at the shoe stand when she encountered the mirage of her former prince charming). As the shoe vendor refused Carrie's monetary reward she decided that the best way to compensate this old man's good deed was to purchase "shoes for everyone" (Of course!).

The deterritorialization of Carrie and her girls to Abu Dahbi, the city of the future, enables them to put their lives in perspective; after all, they are not wearing burkhas as their Islamic counterparts, right?. Nonetheless, the girls take a shot at masculine insecurities back home as Miranda realizes that her former partner in the law firm was not afraid of her because she was a woman but because she had a voice. A voice that may not be silenced with a veil but rather by a sense of conformity, both in the sense of conforming with societal expectations and in the sense of choosing not to break through the glass ceiling. The feminist, egalitarian part of the movie seemed promising until the local women that helped the four girls escape (after Samantha confronted the men) disclose that they get tips from Suzanne Sommers' book and wear the latest fashions under their burkhas, again, globalization and rogue consumerism at its best.

The movie glorifies the rhetorical topic of escaping to distant and exotic lands to find ourselves, places that tend to be more distant and less affordable to the average citizen. Had Carrie and her friends revised Emerson's writings on self-reliance and American exceptionalism, they would have found their new selves in their own back yard, imitation bags and vintage watches included. The priciest is not necessarily the most genuine.

Simulacra of post-consumerist societies

James Cameron’s latest film revolves around traumatic images of Imperialism, deforestation, and rogue capitalism; the same self-destructive behavior that has fueled global warming and the demise of sustainable environments. Earthlings failed attempt to colonize Pandora, a remote moon inhabited by elongated Smurf-blue natives, that carry themselves with the solemn stature of Egyptian pharaohs in the guise of characters from Cats, is reminiscent of Western imperialistic endeavors. In the same vein, military contractors set out to colonize vast territories in order to extract valuable raw materials as they try to impose their “civilized” language and culture on aboriginal peoples who maintain a holistic connection to their environment. Colonel Quaritch refers to the Na’vi (the indigenous population) as savages who “want to kill,” thus adopting the paternalistic tone of the conqueror who perceives them as soulless bodies worth wiping off the face of the Earth (Pandora, that is) should they refuse to adopt “civilized” ways.

The Na’vi struggle to preserve their sacred land in the face of multinational interests is as relevant today as it has been for the indigenous peoples of colonized nations. The film Crude (www.crudethemovie.com/) documents the over-half-a-century ordeal that Amazonian tribes have gone through in order to preserve their lands and spirits from the speculative interests of Chevron. Although Western and westernized societies have come to respect the symbiotic coexistence of ab/original tribes with their natural surroundings, neither modern science nor sorcery has been able to trace, let alone explain, this communion between man/woman and nature. In the film Avatar, Cameron does a good job at conveying this symbiotic communion by employing mechanisms familiar to the audience such as the plug-and-play connection of the natives’ long braids to tree branches, a horse like animal and the pterodactyl. It is perhaps in the jurisdiction of aboriginal peoples, in their rudimentary, translucent devotion to their surroundings, where lies the cure for maladies brought about by the excess of post-industrial societies. The film emphasizes the power of the human mind and the axiomatic connections that bring the Avatar (an updated version of Frankenstein) to life.

Perhaps the underlying message is that Nature has a mind of her own, as ancient civilizations have understood for centuries, a wisdom that the Age of Reason relegated to the realm of superstition and fairy tales. In our current climate, Mother Nature has brought about global warming, drastic changes in weather patterns (droughts, floods, and unstable seasons) as a reminder that we are mere avatars, a mechanical reproduction of mercantile interests, outcasts of the original human tribes.