Extra Entry: Art & Leisure
Objective: I planned to go and view a film presented by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at the Hulsey Recital Hall of UAB on the day of March 30, 2010. The film El Otro Lado (The Other Side) was a documentary about the difficulties facing Mexicans as they attempt to cross the border into the U.S. I decided to investigate and attempt to gain insight into the culture and point of view of that group of people.
Detail: My roommate planned to see the movie for his foreign culture credit and he told me about it on the day it was showing. The documentary lasted one hour. The music style of corrido held huge significance in the movie. Many of the issues presented in El Otro Lado made it difficult for me to think like an objective anthropologist because I felt so strongly about certain things. I felt strongly against how drug dealing was as acceptable practice as well as the religious tradition of praying to a saint of the church rather than praying to the God who created them. The people made it very clearly that they loved Mexico, but they had no options left and needed to seek opportunities in the U.S. They made it so clear because they compared it to America's own impoverished sections like the ghettos. Corrido was compared to rap music and the way in which it was significant for the people as an expression of what lifestyles are like for certain people.
Final Thoughts: I gained a clear understanding when the film compared the rap and corrido music styles and the cultures they represent. Though I found myself sharply disagreeing, I suspended my personal views briefly to allow myself to make that connection.
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