mvlahaki

     The movie "Under the Same Moon" is about immigration and the struggles that come along with it. The protagonist is Rosario, a young single mother who left her motherland in search of a better future. In her country she was unable to support economically her son. So she had to migrate to the United States in order to have more economical opportunities and to make money. When she moved here she did not bring her son, Carlitos, with her. As a result, Carlitos was left behind with his grandmother alone to survive emotionally. Unfortunately, this separation between the two of them had devastating outcomes. Both of them were sad, miserable and unhappy. Carlitos was missing his mother very much and he was lacking the mother figure as well. Rosario, on the other hand, had to bear with the fact that she will not see her son growing up.

     The story of this movie somehow relates to my life. Thus, is has touched me. When I was still very young my family and I were living in Greece. We were a family of five members and so my parents had a difficulty with supporting the family economically. Hence, my father decided to move back to America, since he had been here before, in order to get a better job and be able to provide everything to his family. I perfectly understood the reason why he had to leave, but yet I was so confused. I just wanted to have a normal family just like my friends and my classmates had, but I did not. Everyone had both of their parents and I did not. I felt exactly how Carlitos felt in the movie. Of course, for him it was harder because he had no parent at all. However, it was hard for me as well. I remember I would anxiously wait for my dad's call to hear his voice and to ask him when he was going to come back. Day after day, year after year I was missing my dad even more. Carlitos and I share this experience and when I was watching the movie I saw parts of my life in his life. I was able to see my self in him and understand exactly how Carlitos felt.    

     Carlitos is a character in the movie "Under the Same Moon" who under goes a serious problem at a very young age. His mother had migrated to the United States in search of more opportunities. Unfortunately, she had left him in Mexico with his severely sick grandmother. Due to this, Carlitos faced many problems within his "inner world". Just like all the children of his age, he wanted his mother to take care of him and share experiences of his childhood with her. However, this was not how it was working out for Carlitos. His mother, Rosario, was not there while he was growing. In other words, he was lacking the figure of a mother. In a children's childhood it is unfortunate if the mother is missing because the mother is the only person who is really close and emotionally tied with the child. As a result, Carlitos was very sad and miserable. He was waiting for his mother to come back every day with nostalgia and tears in his eyes.

     While his emotions were building up, something devastating occurred. His grandmother, his only support, died. This incident was the reason that made him take the big step and cross the border illegally. He thought that since his grandmother died he would be left alone and helpless. So looking for his mother was the only choice he had. He did not hesitate for a second. The will to reunite with his mother was so strong that he was ready to do everything. He even had the courage to get into a trunk where he could barely breathe in order to cross the border. Fortunately, his braveness gave him what he desired in life the most. After going through a series of unfortunate events he finally found his mother and the two of them reunited again.

     Carlito's action could be characterized as insane. He decided to cross the border illegally without taking into account the fact that he is just nine years old. Such a journey is very dangerous because one's life is put at risk. In fact, many people who attempt to cross the border die. However, Carlitos did not think of the negative things that can happen instead he went ahead to find his beloved mother. I believe that Carlitos choice to actually cross the border was correct. If he had stayed in Mexico his life would have been miserable. He would have been pressured from his uncle and aunt to stay with them even though he did not want to. Moreover, Carlitos would have been depressed because of the sadness in his heart. Leaving Mexico was proven to be the best choice because it caused him to achieve his dream. In my opinion, what happened at the end was what both characters, the mother and son, deserved. They finally came together which most likely gave strength to both of them to continue on with life.    

You leave to begin again

No choice, no questions

You leave to begin again

But what happens to what you have left behind

Seeking for a better tomorrow

An illusion or a conclusion

A better tomorrow

Is it going to be for every body?

Now that I am here

What do I do?

Now that I am here

Where do I start off?

Time passes and I get lost in the years

I feel lonely and my eyes are full of tears

No one to turn to, no one to understand

Perhaps I should take command

You leave to begin again

Is it really so?

You leave to begin again

But your past is still there

Nowadays media plays a big role in our lives. On a litany basis, we are exposed to what the media brings about. As a result, media becomes part of our lives and influences many aspects of our society. Unfortunately, the influence is negative because media hides many harmful messages. Most of the time, these messages are anticipated to hurt individuals and our society as a whole.

          One negative outcome that the media promotes is violence. In whatever source people have access to, violence is included. For example, in the internet, movies, television, advertisements one can find violence in a high degree. In the documentary, "Two ways a woman can get hurt" is stated, " Ads do not directly cause violence of course. But the violent images contribute to the state of terror. It    is very difficult perhaps impossible to be violent to someone we think of as an equal, someone we have empathy with, but it is very easy to abuse a thing. The person becomes an object and violence is inevitable. This step is already taken with women. The   violence, the abuse is partly the chilling but logical   result of objectification " (Kilbourne 428).The media presents women as objects and men take advantage of that. They treat women with disrespect and cruelty. Thus, women became victims of men. They often get abused, assaulted and raped.

          Since violence is present everywhere people bring it into their relationships as well. In many cases we do not view this phenomenon as irrational because it exists around us. Thus, many couples who are cohabiting live in unhealthy relationships. The documentary also illustrates that, "Battery is the single greatest cause of injury to women in America, more common than automobile accidents, muggings and stranger rapes combined, and more than one third of women slain in this country die at the hands of husbands or boyfriends" (428). Although, we live in a modernized culture, women are treated inadequately. Sadly, we do not give emphasis on it intentionally and we act like it is systemic. So we ignore this trend and we live by it.

          Many women suffer battery and this is mainly caused by the media. Women are portrayed as sexual objects and as inferior so men feel like they are powerful and superior. Battery in relationships has become so common that any of us can experience or hear about it at some point. I remember once, I was told by a family friend a story about a married woman who was been assaulted. In the outside world they portrayed the picture of the perfect couple and the awesome family. However, when the door of their house was closed this picture faded away. This family friend lived next to them so she often heard them arguing in intense tones. Once, the husband beat the wife so badly that the neighbors had to call the police. It is very sad to hear about such incidents that may occur in our society. The oppression on women gradually becomes a big part of our society and media definitely contributes to that.     

      In America I am person of color, obviously a Latina. On the Island I have been called everything from a paloma Blanca to la gringa (Cofer 394). This quote illustrates how each culture varies. In every culture people have their own perceptions, behaviors and ideologies. Thus, a person can be viewed differently by each culture. He or she may be viewed as a person of color in America and as white in a different part of the world. This happens because, we the people, tend to classify each other based on our skin color. Throughout history skin color has played a major role in our lives and continues do to so. Unfortunately, still today in the modern society the stratification of race exists in a high level.

     I strongly disagree with the classification of race because we are all human beings and we all look the same. A black person is exactly the same as an Asian person and an Asian person is the same as a white person. Every single one of us shares similar features. Consequently, the color of our skin must be an insignificant characteristic. Our color does not distinguish our personality and who we are. Unfortunately, in many cases we prejudge a person based on his or her color. We may say that that person is bad and loud because his or her skin tone is dark. I believe that we are all the same and we should be viewed equally by any culture and in every country in the world. Furthermore, in our time all the races should be treated equally and with the same respect. We are living in the 21^st century and theoretically we have enhanced our education dramatically. As a result, we should be more open-minded about certain issues. Hence, the perception of race must be altered and even erased. After all we are all human beings and we co-exist in the same society. 

     My family has given me many values. One of them is to respect others no matter what race they are. I have been taught that I should respect others the way I would respect my parents. To me it does not make a difference where a person comes from.   My parents have told me that the individual you have beside you, regardless of what the person is, should be treated with regard. They have told me if the person is black or white, poor or rich should not interfere with the way you are going to treat him or her. Also while I was growing up my parents encouraged me to interact with people other than my race. As a result, throughout my school years I made many friends who were different from me. As of today my best friends are girls who have a completely different background than I do. Doing as my family told me helped me to view all of the people the same way and to not differentiate them. 

      America for Dummies is a video that portrays America today. The main character of the video, a Bangladesh immigrant, came with his family to the United States for a better education. On the first day of school he was asked where he was from. As he says "I proudly answered I am from Bangladesh". Then his classmates started calling him names and described him as Hindu. He was bothered by that so he decided to go in the streets and interview people about American history. Paradoxically, the American people were able to recognize celebrities like Paris Hilton but not important American historical figures. In addition to that, in the interview many Americans said that we should be aware of things that are going on only in the United States and forget about the rest of the world. 

     Certainly, the teenager's interview indicates where America is today. Our children have big gaps when it comes to education and they do not know much about the outside world. Unfortunately, a big percentage of American students do not even know our own history.  Moreover, the majority of the American people refuse to learn about issues that concern our society and the world in general. Consequently, our youth follows the same path. This is the message of this video that the American people tend to live in ignorance and apathy. Furthermore, the video conveys the message that the American youth lacks a proper level of education.

     I believe that the majority of today's youth can relate to this video. Thus, I my self can relate to this video in many ways. Nowadays, we do not receive an appropriate education, so we can have strong foundations for the future. As a result, as we grow up we face many obstacles. We have less knowledge about everyday issues and for the most part we are less educated than people who live in other countries in the world. Also, I can relate to this video because I feel that I am unaware of many things that concern the American society and the world. Until last year I thought that I lived in a perfect place. But when I took a course that discussed issues that people who live in the United States face, I realized that this is just an illusion. Many of us suffer on a daily basis and many of us show ignorance by turning our backs to people in need. The American people are clueless of many issues. Unfortunately, we are not well informed about problems in our society and we are way behind in terms of education. The majority of the American people are part of this and so am I.