Anyone interested in the Immigration Debate should visit Blockbuster and rent the movie "Bordertown." This movie tells the powerful true story of life in the border town of Juarez, MX. It is based on the book written by Diana Washington Valdez, an El Paso journalist. Ms. Valdez spent years investigating and documenting the deaths of thousands of women murdered in Juarez since 1993. These murders are called femicides, or gender murders. Hundreds of women working in American-owned factories (maquiladoras) were brutally raped and murdered in Juarez, a city gripped by fear. The attacks have been covered up by the local authorities, and still continue today.
This movie details the inner work processes of the Maquiladores and their link to NAFTA (and CAFTA). It explains the working conditions, low pay and exploitation of workers all so Big Business in Mexico and the USA can reap larger profits. It also details the corruptness of both the Mexican and the American government, the greed of Global Corporations and the role/reason for the cover ups of these murders which are still going on today.
I ask that all commenters who see this movie provide us your feedback and share your thoughts with us.
Caution: You may feel guilty watching TV, using your monitor or PC after you see this film!
Note: User Reviews gave this film very, very high ratings, yet it was not widely distributed. I believe Corporate America and Mexico did not want you to see this movie.
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10 comments:
This movie has been on my mind all day. There is so much corruption in the Global Economy. Who is to blame? Is it the greedy Multi National Corporations who exploit their workers? Is it the corrupt governments who instill fear in their people, sometimes forcing them out of their own lands into the near slavery of the maquiladores? Is it the Rich in all countries who are only worried about the Wall St ups and downs? Or is it us? All of us who want to buy cheap TVs, Computers, Electronics, Toys, Objects of our Affection, etc. etc.
Maybe its all of us! Maybe we are ALL Guilty!
"All of us who want to buy cheap TVs, Computers, Electronics, Toys, Objects of our Affection, etc. etc"
Except that most of those objects are made in China, not the US.
Personally, I blame the government of Mexico. They have the 3rd largest economy in the world, and yet they treat certain elements of their society like garbage (I am aware of the racism in Mexico between those with Spanish backgrounds and those with "native" backgrounds).
If the highly corrupt was finally removed by their own people, the whole of Mexico could finally stand up. Then the need for them to willingly enslave themselves in the US would slowly diminish.
There is a reason we don't see the mass immigration from Canada.......
Arizonian,
Without a doubt, I agree with you about the corruptness in the Mexican government. I agree there is racism by the "elite" against the indigenous people there. However, they would not be successful without their alliances to our government, our corrupt politicians and with multi national corporations.
This movie depicts all of this.
The movie struck a chord with me. There was a line in the movie, "I could be one of the women in those factories. It could be me. I cant let this go."
It could have been me. I could have been one of those women. My family, my mother comes from the indigenous people. The indigenous reside in the US and on the Mexican side of the border. I was lucky. My family was lucky we were born here. My family has been here hundreds of years, true, so we did not have to suffer what people born on the other side have to suffer.
I love being an American. I am grateful for every ounce of freedom I have, that my family has.
Those on the other side look to escape or be killed. Those in power (there and here) do not want a change. Those who support them do not want a change.
Which is why the problem will never really be solved without a real revolution in Mexico. It's interesting what lengths and threats people will endure just to get here, but won't stay and fight for real prosperity in Mexico.
Arizonian,
Will you do me a favor? Will you rent the movie and let me know what you think? Remember that statement when JLo says:
"I could be one of the women in those factories. It could be me. I cant let this go."
Let me know how you feel when the young girl said she longed to go back home but her family was driven from her land by the government taxes.
Let me know how you feel when you see the malquiladora - the working conditions there.
Juarez.. what a scary place.
There was another line in the movie that weighs on my mind. Lauren, the reporter (JLo) says, "You can´t be Mexican in America." She said this because she was blocking in her mind her own ethnicity. She did not want to remember her childhood, the death of her parents and her eventual adoption into an Anglo home. JLo played this part very well and very subtley. She didn´t say this. Instead it was evident in her mannerisms. It became obvious as we learned she didn´t speak Spanish. As she initially observed the murders. As she found her former partner noticed she was "different." As she blended in with the rich elite and started to ask them questions about themselves and as she saw how the indigenous girl was not a member of the elites. She started having flashbacks of her own childhood, then she recognized her feelings herself, when she didn´t dye her hair back to blonde and she made her statement aloud: "I could be one of the women in those factories. It could be me. I cant let this go." That is when she decided to go undercover into the maquiladores herself.
I found myself feeling what she felt and angrier at what is happening there.
Dee,
The problem is, I can't stand Jeniffer Lopez or Martin sheen. "J'Lo" isn't that good of an actress(although she did do well in (Selena), and Marin Sheen drives me crazy now. But I did see part of this, and the quality was there, and the acting was better than most dribble pumped out by Hollywood.
"You can´t be Mexican in America."
I would assume that meant less of "ethnicity" and more to do with nationalism. Just my take.
Juarez is a hellhole that should see a nuke "accident", but I'm just being cynical.
I like JLo. Selena was probably her best movie. I liked the chemistry she had with George Clooney in "Out of Sight."
In both movies you could feel her emotions coming out of the screen.
It was the same for Bordertown. I am still amazed that all the user reviews provide the movie very high marks, yet, Yahoo movies has no Critic reviews. I didnt even see it released last year. If it was released, it didnt get much hype, not even for DVD. I just happened to see it at Blockbuster and remember reading an article about it last year, thats why I rented it. When I saw it, it just blew me away with its subject matter accuracy and with the emotions portrayed by both JLo and her young female costar. This movie should have been put up for some awards. I suspect it received no attention because of the subject matter.
I read an article that JLo and the Crew received death threats throughout the production of this movie.
I don't care for J.L. either. She comes across as being very conceited and arrogant to me in person. Not my kind of woman. She is ok as an actress though.
I keep quoting these dead white guys for a reason. We seem to be repeating some particularly nasty history, right now.
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