MEDIA ANALYSIS: Mexican Farmworkers and Cinema
Farmwork and especially seasonal and migrant farmwork can be categorized as a marginal type of work. A job is considered marginal if it does not satisfy the following norms: " a. the job content should be legal; b. the job should be institutionally regular; c. the job should be relatively stable; d. the job should provide adequate pay with sufficient hours of work to make a living" (Hodson & Sullivan 2008, p.327). It is thus no surprise that in such a type of work the overrepresented populations are those ethnic minorities that are not coincidentally among the most vilified and itself marginalized ethnic groups in the U.S. in general. Negative social perception of a minority group is further reflected in the mainstream media presentations of the ethnic group and the occupations related to it. Popular culture, more specifically the cinema, offers, on one side, a very narrow image of farmworkers in general that reflects the marginality of the job and social position of its occupant, and a more realistic image on the other side that attempts to shed the light on these issues .
When it comes to Mexican farmworkers, which represent the largest demographic group within this type of work, the “classic” or “typical” portrayal is the one of a very limited screentime. The characters are often only present for the purpose of worldbuilding, as a backdrop to the story, a context, or as a point of reference against which the main character, predominately a typical "hero" character in the form of a white male, is realized. Often, agricultural-worker characters are there to provide a comical relief to the audience, through their “funny looks” and even more "amusing way of talking.” Such comical imagery often appears to be harmless and well-intended, even though they are harmful as they provide a very limited, often inaccurate, snapshot of a culture that is seen and shown as different from the one celebrated in the movie. The imagery reproduces and reinforces stereotypes of Mexicans as only capable of menial work, and further, menial workers as being uneducated, dirty, lazy.
McFarland, USA (2015) While the movie McFarland, USA (2015) is yet another feel-good sports genre movie, it does relatively good job portraying Mexican farmworkers in a more realistic light. However, there are some positive and negative stereotypes lingering throughout the film. In one way, this film does a good job of exploring how, with a little bit of hard work and determination, you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to, even if you are a minority. This approach is an excellent example of the (inevitable) American Dream metaphor. In reality, this is not the case for millions of people in the U.S. People of different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic background have different access to opportunities and resources in this country, For many, no matter how hard they work and are determined to succeed, this success remains elusive. On the other hand there are those who are more privileged, whose social background is favored by the society and whose life chances allow for their hard work and determination to be fruitful. So, the movie indeed shows that people can succeed, but it requires much more than hard work and determination (even though, these certainly did play a huge role in the success of the team). These factors are quite complex, and they played out in a specific socio-historical context of the movie. One of the important factors behind the team’s success is the overcoming of xenophobia, the achievement of social inclusion, the reduction of social distances between the two cultures, and overall, the humanization of the “other”. Even though the boys were the ones who had run and won the race, they did it because someone provided them not only with an opportunity to do it but also with moral support (this is a typical "white savior" movie trope, but here luckily, with a very slight twist). This opportunity to do something is also quite a complex concept; it is founded in White’s own personal growth and willingness to understand others and change. Throughout his interactions with McFarland's students and its community, he learns about his own privilege which allows him to humble himself and gain their trust and respect. His previous employment involved training students coming from more privileged segments of society. As it is portrayed in the scene in which Jim throws a shoe at one of his students, students may have increased sense of entitlement to behave in the way they want and a lack of respect towards JIm. Jim obviously has his own problems and lacks patience but also skills to deal with such undisciplined students. He gets fired for losing his control and hitting the student with a shoe. Jim’s approaches his McFarland students in a different way. Their behavior is already different comparing to his previous students. They are more disciplined and respectful toward others. This comes from their relationships with their families but also from their very disciplined work/school schedule. As an outsider with completely different experiences in his life, Jim recognizes the need to get closer to the families. He exposes himself to their culture, their way of living, which not only includes having diner (eating a ton of enchiladas) with a (typical) large family, but working hard in the fields among them. His actions not only allow him access to the students, but also gaining the trust and respect of the families. The most important is that he realizes his own privilege and starts to appreciate struggles of less privileged. His personal growth and transformation is demonstrated in his words to the students. The following quote is the most crucial point of the movie. It si relevant for the character's growth, but also it acknowledges their life realities: "When I went out into the field with you Diaz kids, I'll be honest: that was the worst day's work I ever had to do in my life. And I said to myself, whatever kind of crappy job I wind up in, it will never be as tough as that. You kids do it every day. Your parents hope they can do it every day, and they'll do it for a lifetime if it means a better life for you. You guys are superhuman. What you endured just to be here, to get a shot at this. The kind of privilege someone like me takes for granted. There's nothing you can't do with that kind of strength, with that kind of heart. You kids have the biggest hearts I've ever seen. Go run your race." Another “character” whose support was behind the success is the community. The movie is called McFarland, USA, which is the name of the town. I argue that this title reflects the importance of the role of the community (seen as the context in which the narrative of the movie occurs and a “character” in this story) in the success of the team. Most Latino ethnic groups, in this case Mexican Americans, are very community-oriented as people heavily rely on each other for survival. The community is made of blood and fictional kinship constructed between the members of the group. By providing its moral and financial support for the team, the town was directly contributing to the success of the team. On the other side, the success of the team further increases the social cohesion of the group and sense of solidarity among its members which maintains the importance of individual’s dependence on their community and vice versa. The survival of this town depends on such social relations. Thus, these social factors were crucial to the success of the McFarland team. I find that the movie showed these social bonds and solidarity in a satisfactory way. REFERENCES: Randy Hodson and Teresa Sullivan. 2008. The Social Organization of Work. 4th edition. Thomson Wadsworth Publishing |
WHAT THE MOVIE
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