kdelgado

Karen Delgado

Blackman-Richards

English 120w

05/06/09

Under the Same Moon

This movie is an extraordinary touching film. It represents the struggle of this nine year old child and how it is very hard for him to cope with the away ness of his mother. Carlito is the boy’s name and his mother is Rosario. Both personas are going mad trying their hardest to be by each others side. In addition, this movie depicts the hardships that illegal immigrants deal with in the America. This movie touched me because it shows the love that a mother and son have for each other. Also, because of the reality that many immigrants have to tussle with in their everyday life. For example, Rosario in the way of how she had to manage to work two jobs to support her son and herself. I can say the part that really touched me and the person who touched me as well is Carlito because of the braveness he put together in him to cross the border to be by the side of his mother.

I can connect with both characters in certain ways. Carlito reminds me a lot of myself. I am the type of person who would also built up braveness as Carlito did, to reach something or someone I love. Rosario connects to me in the way of how my mother is with me. My mother would send me money in order to live a comfortable life when I was in Ecuador for two years. However, the conditions that they faced are details that I never faced and wouldn’t want to face them either. My mother didn’t pass through the situation Rosario did and I never faced the situation Carlito faced. I would recommend this movie to many people in order for them to visualize the cruelty that immigrants receive and to try to change their views towards immigrants; they are not invaders, they are humans just as you and me.

In the movie "Under The same Moon" the character of Kate Decastillo who plays Rosario is a person who experiences an internal conflict in her life. She is a young mother who had crossed the border in order for her son to have a better life. Many Latinos cross the border everyday and many as Rosario cross it to obtain a wealthier life even if it isn't so wealthy. It is wealthy for them because of the fact that in their homeland many face poverty because of their economy. Moreover, Rosario's desperation is for her to get her papers so that way she won't have to be an illegal immigrant in the States. In addition, she is hurting inside for the reason that she had to leave her son behind and it has been four years since she haven't seen him. This desperation is common of all mothers so there is no need to blame Rosario of wanting to be united with her son Carlito. Mother's need the love and kin of their children to feel completed. Furthermore, Rosario is in the United States all by herself, no family or friends and this also drives people mad but what it does do is make them stronger. This is what Rosario shows in the movie. Rosario goes through all this everyday but there are ways of how she handles them.

            Rosario as an illegal immigrant was working as a house cleaner and baby sitter. She worked as a house cleaner in the mornings and at night she would baby sit. This is basically what illegal women who enter the United States would have to do as to working. In addition, Rosario worked to save up for her working papers and to send money to her son Carlito's who was in Mexico. As to what Rosario is doing with her money is normally what many immigrants do because they do want their papers fixed to no longer live as a refugee and also want their families to live healthier. Something that Rosario does to stay in touch with her son is calling him every Sunday to see how he is doing. Telecommunication is a general way that immigrants can stay in touch with their families. Therefore, this is what Rosario does to cope with her conflict. Rosario now has gotten a resolution and that was to be united with her son.

            Her son Carlito had crossed the border to find her and now them finally together. Even though Rosario was planning on leaving to head to Mexico to be together with her son but Carlito had ran out of patience and headed to the United States to find her and he did. Now, Rosario no longer has to live with the fact of not having her son with her. Immigrants such as Carlito would risk their chances of life to be united with their family and many immigrants as Rosario would too plan on going back to their homeland because they can't stand the fact of not being with their families. The non-resolution that Rosario couldn't accomplish was to get her papers fixed because she still was short on the 4000 dollars she needed to pay the lawyer that was willing to help her. But who knows maybe someday she'll get the opportunity to be an official American citizen. This is very common of immigrants to not accomplish because of the lack of money they seeking for and because of the low wage paying they receive from the work they do makes even harder for them to accomplish getting their papers fixed.

            As for me Rosario is a woman who had showed so much courage and patience. She is hard working and has strength to face many obstacles of life. Not many women would cross the border as Rosario; many men would but not many women. Rosario must of all is a mother who risked her life crossing the border to support her son because she cares for him and loves a lot. She is a true mother because she showed the desperation of her cravenness of being together with her son. Rosario was always calling him to know how he was doing and stay on top of all the things he needed. This is how mothers show their true caring of their children and therefore Rosario is one. All I can say is that Rosario is a person that I admire for all the vulnerability that she gave.  

La Migra

Immigration is when most people who cross the border experience la migra

I can't stand la migra; full of border patrols that are like the hell with these mojados but then

There are those who are oppose but can't do much but to live with the irony

La migra that cannot understand the desperation of these people

Cannot understand the sacrifices that wetbacks make to live a better life, that's the migra

once again

leaving behind a past to conquer a future in a place where they are not welcomed

Why can't la migra understand these reasons of us immigrants?

Don't they see all those souls left behind in that Sonora desert or in that Rio Bravo (Rio Grande)

And those gloomy expressions on the families faces when they are told they have lost a relative

The scenes that are put in the media showing the gallons of water and materials that

immigrants need to survive the excruciating path to enter the United States

Once again, why can't the damn migra understand?

 "Women are especially cruel judges of other women's sexual behavior, mostly because we are so ... These terrible judgements from other women are an important part of what keeps all women in line"( Rereading America 425).

The power of media portraying unhealthy self image is something very strong in America. It plays an unhealthy self image on both genders females and males. Moreover, I am more concerned on how women are view through the media. In addition, not only are women portrayed of having an unhealthy self image in the media but because of their cruel judges towards other women they are perpetrated as hoes. However, just because the media shows such absurdity from women it doesn't mean that all women are really hoes. The media tends to make women scandalous all over the world. 

            According to women, the media makes many people; especially men view them as sex objects. It either can be because of the way we are dress or because of how we as women treat each other. Many of us call on another such profanity words such as bitches and hoes and therefore when man seem to be near the situation they too feel as if they have the right to call us bitches and hoes. It looks like the only way that men will seem to stop treating us as bitches and hoes is when we ourselves as women start to respect on another. As to the media, it seems like the music videos and commercials that clothing brands put out for the world to see show women as if they were selling themselves. Now, the media may be showing this to the public but nobody knows the reasons women are in such videos and commercials. Most may be there working for the money and others because they have no moral for themselves and just explicit themselves they want to. But to think of it if they tend to have no moral for themselves it might be because in some point in life they had had experienced sexual abuse. Therefore, many just give up with themselves and just start doing irrational things.

            Furthermore, I myself had experienced disrespect from guys because of the fact that I had called my friend a dumb ho and they thought it was ok for them to call my friend and me that. I felt violated when this had occurred and told them that for a guy it is not right to call us ladies that. They had questioned me why if ya'll say it to each other. When that response came out I just stood quiet and thought hey I guess they are right. Then after a couple of seconds I told them to not call me a bitch and feel that its right to call me a bitch because I myself will stop calling my girl friends such things. Finally, they agreed to stop calling us those profanity words because we girls agreed to stop treating each other like that. These are a few reasons why the media and we as women make people feel as oppressors towards us because they give the world a reason to and we ourselves as women give the world a reason for too.

Fine the way I am

"I saw a new product advertised on T.V. Wate-on. They showed skinny men and women before and after taking the stuff, and ... except me. I was going to have to join a circus someday as skinny bones, the woman without flesh" (Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, Bonnie Lisle 397).

            This quote was the one that I chose because I can relate to it. Young Ms. Ortiz is talking about size and how she wants to get thick. She wants to get thick because she doesn't want to get picked on anymore by her peers at school. The name calling and isolation from her friends was having her make decisions unhealthy for her body. Therefore, she was on planning to get this product that helps gain weight but before her trying the product she should've have done some research. For example, like what were the side effects and if she was able to use it. Furthermore, most of the time young teens aren't allowed to use such products because their bodies aren't as developed as grown ups. However, thankfully her mother had told her that the best way to gain weight was by eating her food. Her mother did right by telling her that the best way to add on some weight was by eating her food because not only will her food do the job but it is also allowing her to stay healthy. Moreover, I don't blame Ortiz for wanting to look better and wanting guys/friends to notice her more frequently because I have had gone through a similar situation like hers.

             I on the other hand want to lose a couple of pounds. I too had friends and guys not wanting to hang out with me because I was fat. In my childhood years I was a chubby little girl. The pretty girls in my class didn't want to be my friend because of my chubbiness and the boys obviously thought of me as ugly. Then there was the time that I have seen diet ads appear on T.V. When seeing these ads and commercials I used to get anxious inside because I felt like having them already in front of me. Moreover, I stopped my self and thought for a while. I stood thinking about my mother and of some of my chubby friends and how they had tried many ways to lose weight. But everything they tried never seemed to work. I remember my mother wasting a lot of money on diet pills and machines but never working on her. Instead we had noticed that those things were making her gain more weight. Therefore, I stopped myself from making such mistakes. Furthermore, my mother told me that that I am fine the way I am and encourages me to eat healthy, to cut off many fast food, and do some exercising. My mother had told me that my chubbiness is hereditary because most of my family members are thick but they are not obese persons. I believe that Ortiz‘s mother was correct of telling her that her food was the right way to get thick. A mother's food is the best ingredient to maintain a nutritious diet. This is why I feel fine the way I am and not so self conscious anymore.         

"Is my neighbor latino?" Now this vidoe clip was very tricky and funny. Tricky because as the video clip stated and showed that there are latinos that show an appearance to be an American with not a bit of spanish to represent. It is funny in the way of how the American man that send the letter to the broadcaster had the interest of getting to know latinos because he actually was pleasant in shaking hands with his latino neighbor. Furthermore, it was also comical in the way of how the broadcaster automatically seemed to look fully American but proved to be a latina in the end with her linguistic language. Moreover, the video clip was the most intriguing one for me because I understood its message in a instinct.

This vidoe clip relates to me in the way of how when i go to Ecuador, my birthplace, many of my relatives and friends tell me that my english is perfect and that i do not have an accent at all. Now, when they say this to me I feel American but also latina because as good as my english is my spanish is as well. I can relate to the vidoe clip because i believe im an American and latina. Im an American because i speak the english language and eat cold cuts as many of them do. I am a latina because i speak the spanish language and eat many spanish delicatessens as well. As much as i am latina i am American so do not be fooled by my appearnaces to judge me in a second.  

The message of the video clip is that there is a lot of latinos in the U.S. that have all the aspects of an American but when they start speaking hey guess what im a latino as well. Many people/American get tricked into not thinking that latinos can look just as them but when their latino side come out in the open they get surprise because they are like wow i would have not thought you would be latino/a. Most certainly latinos thought of this is that just of them being latinos they are American as well. The video clip showed it perfectly with the young lady who eats her beans and rice but is a republican of the U.S. and with the young man whose name is Jorge but pronounces it George because that is his way of being an American. However, the video clip shows that latinos show both their cultures of living and that they stick to it because of the customs they grew up with. Their customs of an American is and also the customs of how a latino lives, keeping being an American and latino balanced.