Consuming Latin America--My responses

Calle 13 is a  well known Spanish language music group with an experimental approach to music, and has also been acknowledged for creating conversation about issues that plague Latin America. As a focus to one of their many songs aimed at bringing awareness and calling people to action, I will today focus on " cancion para un niño en la calle," or "song for a child on the street." The song focuses on poverty in particular and how poverty affects the youth in Latin America--providing for the listener striking imagery such as " Lluvia sin techo, uña con tierra, soy lo que sobró de la guerra Un estómago vacío, soy un golpe en la rodilla que se cura con el frío."  Aside from poverty, however, the group also discusses the cause of such povery: greed by a government that has pushed its citizens to the side and cares only for the labor they provide in order to line their pockets. This is shown in particular with the line, " Soy oxígeno para este continente...

The money montage in the cult-classic, "Scarface" is not only iconic, it says a lot about the movie and it's characters and serves as a distinctive turning point in the film. Through the money montage we can see that tony has not only embraced capitalism, he basically represents it now. After the turning point of Tony killing Mel and Frank, Tony reaches the height of his riches and happiness, but also reaches the point of no return. This is further emphasized by the song playing in the background, “Scarface” (push it to the limit). In the montage, the song talks about limits and pushing the boundaries between what one currently has and possibility. The song also talks about winning and fighting to keep what has already been amassed. This represents tony’s situation for the rest of the film perfectly as he works, negotiates, and even kills, while he desperately tries to cling to the life he has built for himself; consequently though, the tighter he holds onto this power ...

Media and politics have always been closely tied in not only the internal affairs of a country but the international as well. Latin America has been no exception and if anything may probably be seen as a case study in the realm of media influence on politics. It is no secret that the US has interest all over the world, but especially so in Latin America; this includes oil, mining, and agriculture. When the US has perceived that their assets and interests are in jeopardy, they mobilize and use any means they can to protect and fight for their interests--they not only consume but they create for others to consume. The New York Times obituary for Agustin Edwards, the owner of Chilean conservative paper, El Mercurio gives a brief breakdown of his life and his legacy. Though his ties to the Times are acknowledged, his and his family's interests in politics and their role in bringing down the Allende government in the 70s are touched on. to further explore the topic of the Edwards an...

The three caballeros seems to be a play of the Three musketeers, however the irony of the title is plain as day, especially in this movie. Though caballero means gentleman, the make characters are anything but. The stereotypic image of a gentleman would be a man who fights of the honor of women and to protect her virtues. However, in this film, the meaning of the word caballero is turned on the head and becomes more superficial. Instead of protecting the virtues of the women they come across or respecting their virtues, they instead exploit them and try to consume them, as seen the numerous times that they call Donald a “wolf in duck’s clothing.” In fact, a great majority of the film is spent focusing on women and the feminine assets of a culture that is much more diverse than women and food. In an effort to be representative, the three caballeros instead appropriates, manipulates and sexualizes almost an entire hemisphere. Instead of creating an image meant to be wholistic and au...

The petroleum industry is known not only for its vital role in the modern world, but also its lucrative implications. Even in cartoons, the trope of striking "black gold" can often be seen--followed by scenes where the cartoon character who came across the oil is swimming in gold. In the section "The Balck Curse of Petroleum" Galeano explores the underhanded means that have put U.S. and European based multinational fuel corporations into the profitable throne they sit on today.   when talking about the petroleum industry, Galeano refers to the whole affair and its main beneficiaries (big wigs) as a cartel. And like a cartel, the petroleum industries’ leaders use all kinds of tactics from coercion, to coups, using their money to put into power people who would benefit them and expand their power. And  Though the price of petroleum production in the united states is higher than in latin America, the U.S. sees greater profit. In countries like Mexico and Colombia for...

Fitzcarraldo is a 1980s film about an ambitious, aspiring rubber baron who will do just about anything--climb any mountain--to make sure that an opera house is built in his home settlement along the amazon river in Peru. Though one would assume this film to be lighthearted in nature, the undercurrent of racism and bordering preposterous scenes serves to highlight the absurd yet long lasting effects of colonization, displacement of natives, and the view that the natives of the land may serve for nothing more than hands of labor and are to be exploited--all while taking the phrase "it was music that soothed the beast" to new heights. Seen in many scenes throughout the film is the role of people who would have been referred to as civilized natives or mestizos; people of native descent who in some way have been tamed of the "savage" instincts and now serve their European (and significantly lighter) saviors. There are many mestizos in this group who rarely talk, but no...

In a certain way, it could be said that the banana business homogenized different parts of latin America; though expression and certain details on topics regarding the business were unique due to each countries’/regions uniqueness, there were definite patterns to be seen among the players. Though all the players would be affected by things such as labor problems, each country involved would have a distinct way of dealing with these issues. Moving away from political and business issues however, there have been shifts and changes in the topology of the landscape, the representation of peoples, and general mindsets when the banana business is concerned. No matter where the banana trade went, even if it was dense jungle, with it, it brought some form of development to the region of use and also brought people. In fact, according to Moberg and Striffler, “Wherever the banana trade established itself, it generated broadly similar demands for labor, land, and capital, causing common patter...

1492 was a momentous year for Spain, it marked not only the discovery (or perhaps rediscovery) of the New World, but the recovery of Granada, which had been previously taken by the Arabs almost 8 centuries prior. This was the war against islam, a war for Christianity (which also resulted in the expulsion of thousands of Jews). It was the time of the holy inquisition and this in a way fueled the fire to claim new lands. In the early Spanish voyages to the Americas, wealth seemed to be the ultimate goal—they were there to conquer in the name of the royals, as well as acquire riches that had been previously describe by Marco Polo. They saw these riches as a divine right to be bestowed upon the crown and by extension themselves and they thus saw themselves as the masters of the land, divinely privileged with discovery. They also acknowledged that he who possesses gold may reign—over people and the world. Though spices were expensive, silver and gold “opened the doors to paradise” and g...

Consumer Culture (1997), Celia Lury 1.        How is the concept material culture defined by Lury in her text? Lury defines material culture as a culture of the use or appropriation of object or things. She see’s consumer culture as a type of material culture—the consumer emerges as an identity. o    But what is meant by master category of identity? o    A master category of identity is a consequence of the growth of reflexive object worlds o    “Consumer culture concerns itself with the significance and character of the values, norms and meanings produced in associated practices—this not only includes buying commodities, it includes the consumption of gifts, services, self produced objects, etc. “ §   “Consumption is to do with meaning, value and communication as much as it is to do with exchange and economic relations” §   “gods are not only ised tp dp things but they also have a meaning and act as mea...