Cidade de Deus

          The City of God introduces its audience into the world of crime in Ghettos in Brazil. Commonly called Favelas, these poor shantytowns are spread through out the suburbs around Rio de Janeiro. From 1940 to 1969, Rio experienced an increase in urbanization and population in the city and surrounding areas. Up until 1947, the most common area of work in Brazil was a Lavrador, or farm hand. Many of these farm hands were former slaves who lived on plantations. However due to a lack in the advancement in mechanization technology and an increase in labor intensive health issues; the production of rice, sugarcane, and oranges decreased by almost one-half. Thus many workers were forced to immigrate to the city and the surrounding areas for any work that they could find. This immigration led to the expanses of poor ghettos, and here we find the subject of Cidade de Deus.

            In the beginning of the movie we are introduced to a famous local trio who rob local business to support themselves, friends, and family. Crime in the Favelas increased due to population growth and a consistent lack of steady jobs. According to Julio César Pino in his article, “Labor in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro, 1940-1969”, the population in the ghetto can be split into three distinct elements. First is the proletariat: who were citizens holding stable employment with steady wages, most likely living around the city before mass migration. Secondly, the subproletarians: who worked short-term jobs with out contracts, steady wages, and job security. And lastly, the majority of the ghetto consisted of the unemployed. This distinction in class led to violence, forcing youth to lead a life of crime and drug trafficking. The main character Rocket lived in a family that would be classified as subproletarians. His father didn’t have a steady job, but made a living selling fish in the Favelas. Rocket doesn’t want to carry on his father’s profession but dreams of becoming a photographer. His brother is a member in the crime trio, who becomes a hero to young rocket and his friends, and becomes a model for continuing crime in the Favelas. Eventually the youth become old enough to think and kill for themselves and a new generation of crime lords is formed. We see this trend with the rise and fall of Li’l Zé; to the creation of a gang of “runts” who decide it is their turn to run the ghetto and regulate drug trade. This never ending cycle of killing continues with out a better future of work and school in the City of God. Rocket is able to find a career, but the majority of youth will continue to be trapped in a life of crime.

Che, Part 1

              Ernesto Guevara has been the focus of our class for the last two weeks. We have seen his character grow from a youthful traveler to a radical revolutionary. Some of his character transition can be attributed to worldly issues occurring at the time. After the Second World War, South America’s economic and political identity became more defined. Due to an increase in guaranteed foreign trade, Mexico and the rest of South America gained much needed revenue increase. President of Mexico, Miguel Alemán was committed to capitalistic expansion and creating closer ties with the United States. Along with Mexico, Guatemala and Argentina experienced an increase in foreign capital investment. However, with an increase in capital comes an increase in greed, and an ensuing war broke out through out South America.

            There is a time gap between the Ernesto Guevara we see in Motorcycle Diaries and the man we see in Che. According to Jorge Castańeda who wrote a biography of Che, he states that Guevara was a “wandering photographer, underpaid medical researcher, a man in permanent exile, and an insignificant husband.” His time away from his family in Mexico was the final staging in creating the revolutionary duo of “Che and Fidel”, a team that would forever reshape the political identity of South America. 

            The movie Che introduces Guevara in his intense recruiting and training of his soldiers in guerrilla warfare. He is portrayed as a strong and pragmatic leader. His revolutionaries are completely under his command, they must adhere to his policies or they are ordered to return home or be executed. Guevara is a military genius in this type of warfare. In his, Guerrilla warfare: A method, he explains the guerrilla is the vanguard of the people, and for them to be successful they must have the support of the local peasants and workers. In the movie, three guerrillas wander away from Che’s group and harass a local family. Once they are found they are executed as examples to the rest of the soldiers; this sort of action is not tolerated under Guevara’s rule. From these examples, Che is able to maintain discipline in his regimes allowing his soldiers to function as a whole and under the command of their leader Che Guevara.

            The end of the movie we see victory for Che and the revolutionaries. In the victory scene a guerrilla asks Che what they are suppose to do now, and Che says they will make their way to Havana a city that until then they could not control. With Fidel Castro in power, they worked to create a better sense of social nationalism for Cuba. The revolution’s success is rightfully credited to Ernesto Guevara, and until his execution by Bolivian soldiers, he was the image of revolution and a more prosperous future to the many youth in South America.    

Motorcycle Diaries

             Che Guevara is seen as a revolutionary image in South America for his radical views for a new equal society across the continent. Although his parents were from established families; his adolescence was full of travelling due to his dad’s lack of a steady job. A lack of a central home allowed Che to grow a personality of that of an explorer; one who looked to defy conventional thoughts and to look for new ideas in the world. In the Motorcycle Diaries, Che teams up with a companion Alberto Granado on a journey to discover what South American culture, women, and landscape was all about. A twenty-two year old Che experienced exploration in his teens, and was also well educated due to his interest in reading. Leaving just before his entrance into medical school, Che was ready to discover South America for himself, in hopes of finding the truth behind the land.

            During the mid 1930’s through the 1960’s, South America had a vast amount of tourism both domestic and from visiting foreign tourists. The Peronistera in Argentina (nation’s largest political force) hoped to improve the nation’s domestic economy by increasing paid vacations for regular labor workers. Argentina along with Peru experienced mass migration from rural to urban areas. The metropolitan region of Buenos Aires saw an increase from 8,000 to over 115,000 migrants to the city. Peru had an increase from 35% to 50% population in urban areas by the 1960’s (Elena, 28. Drinot, 109). Che’s family is included in the number of migrants who moved into Buenos Aires; a move that would create interest for Che to explore areas of the continent that he hadn’t seen.

            Che was described by Eduardo Elena as a “Social Investigator”. His interest in helping people grew as he continued in his study of medicine. On his trip with Granado, they stop at numerous clinics, hospitals, leprosariums, along with a famous doctor of leprosy. He wanted to go farther than anyone else would to discover people from different social backgrounds. Motorcycle Diaries creates an interesting parallel describing Che’s character. On his birthday, he has a great time celebrating with everyone at the clinic, but what he really wants is to spend his birthday with those suffering from leprosy on the island isolated across the river. Ignoring Granado’s advice, Che jumps in the moving river and swims across to the dismay of the rest of the nurses, nuns, doctors. He risks drowning along with potentially succumbing to other dangers living in the river. However, Che’s reliance along with motivational jeers from the sickly on the island, push Che to finish the swim. This scene in the movie shows Che’s revolutionary personality as one that could think contrary to the norm of society.

            Che’s interest in helping those in need led to many revolutions in South America. His strong image gave many citizens the courage to rebel and to believe in ideals Che Guevara created.