nnehal100

     The movie which has touched me the most was "Under the Same Moon", which we watched towards the end of this semester. This movie made me cry at the end when finally Carlitos got reunited with his mother in Los Angeles. This movie is based on a true story of an illegal immigrant. Many illegal immigrants suffer from getting separated from thier loved ones. Between America and their loved ones they have to choose one, and they choose America because they have  good reasons for it. In the movie, Rosario migrated to America to find work so that she can support her son back home in Mexico who was living with his grandmother. This movie gives us an insight to how it feels to be separated from our family members who we love the most in this world. Eventually, life moves on and we get adjusted to the changes. But, first few years are very difficult to pass when we are in a situation like this. Living away from your family or one or two of your family members isnt that easy because you have spent so much time with them in the past and when they are gone you happen to miss them in every little thing. For example, any special occasion or anything that reminds you of that person/people.

     One thing that I found most interesting about this movie was that Carlitos who is only about 9 years old has so much desire to meet his mother after his grandmother passed away that he alone took the step of coming to America on his own without consulting anyone. For him, his mother was everything to him and he made it his goal to migrate to America and meet his mother who he hasnt seen for approximately 4 years . This movie is very emotional because it demonstrates how the mother and the son are living in different countries always remembering each other while crying. This movie makes us realize that how fortunate we are to have all our family members living with us under the same roof. It also makes us feel that how much life is easier for us because we did not have to experience what Carlitos experienced at such a small age. This movie is one of the best movies I have ever watched in my life - it makes me appreciate my life because of everything that I have acquired in this small journey of my life. Parents are God's biggest blessings. When we lose them, then we realize what we have lost. It is better to appreciate what we have in our lives right now because nothing stays with us forever.             

      Rosario was experiencing an internal conflict throughout the entire movie. She was an illegal immigrant residing in Los Angeles. She couldn't sponsor her only son, Carlitos, who she loved dearly. She kept telling him that he'll soon be living with her in L.A. She used to work as a maid in people's house and send money to her mother for Carlitos in Mexico. Rosario had been away in L.A separated from her son for 4 years. She's deeply hurt to acknowledge that Carlitos never had an opportunity to see his father and now his mother has also left him with his grandmother.

      One of the ways Rosario chooses to help resolve her conflict was to marry Paco. Paco is a legal immigrant and works as a guard. After marrying him she would get her citizenship and ultimately she would be able to sponsor Carlitos. At first, Rosario didn't agree to marry Paco. Her close friend kept insisting her by saying he's a very nice guy and he likes her. She told him that he would be more than happy to help her out with her problem. Afterwards, when she saw there was no other option in her way, she agreed to marry Paco. 

      At the end of the movie, on her wedding day, Rosario refused to marry Paco. She told him that she can't take this step. I assume she couldn't accept  Paco as her husband either because she was still in love with Carlitos dad or she didn't want to share her love between Paco and Carlitos. She saw a good friend in Paco but I guess she couldn't find love in him. Living away from Carlitos was very difficult for her. She was physically in L.A but was mentally with her son in Mexico. Living there, all she would think about is her son and nothing else.

      My personal opinion about the non-resolution of the conflict is that she made the right decision of not marrying Paco. Carlitos whose only 9 years old ran away from Mexico alone to meet his mother and after seeing her mother married he would have thought that his mother never loved him and never cared for him because now she's marreid to some guy. He would've been very disheartened especially now that he knows his father left him again knowing the fact that he's living independently and can do anything to meet his mom.   

Coming to this nation was a nice experience

Here and there I saw different kinds of people

Russian, Chinese, Dominican and African Americans

I see all these people blending in 

Then , I look at myself and try to do the same

But do I realize in doing so

I would erase the past that I have been connected to

Without a past

A person is an empty entity

Without a past

There is no future to await for

Without a past

Life is not complete

Assimilation is good and bad

Depending on the persons viewpoint

Whether you like it or not 

Assimilation is necessary

The power of media to promote violence in relationship is quite strong. Many women get abused by their husbands and boyfriends while living with them. They usually don’t go out and tell people outside- they keep it to themselves. Women are treated as objects by men. It is the problem of objectification when a guy thinks of woman as an object and not as a human being. Most women think it is futile to tell others about what is occurring in their personal relationship because they believe it’s their matter and they should keep it inside the house. In addition, some women are still dependent on their husbands- they need a financial support from them.   

“Throughout the world, the biggest problem for most women is simply surviving at home. The Global Report on women’s Human Rights concluded that ‘Domestic violence is a leading cause of female injury in almost every country in the world and is typically ignored by the state or only erratically punished.” (pg. 428)

            Almost in every country, women are seen as a weaker partner because of their physique. So, it gives a reason to the male to express his power on the female. We normally don’t get to hear stories like a wife or a girlfriend beating up her husband or her boyfriend. But it is very common to hear news related to a guy beating up a woman for various reasons. Women tend to be very calm and patience when it comes to some serious relationships. They are willing to give up everything for the sake of their relationship. Guys show a range of immorality when they sexually abuse women at home. They don’t think of the consequences which leads that woman to get addicted to drugs and alcohol. If a guy is abusing his wife/girlfriend every other day, then it is very blatant that he doesn’t love her and he should be left alone and not be cared of. Every  relationship is a solidarity between two people. If one person starts to dehumanize the other partner then gradually the relationship falls apart. Violence in a relationship is very overt these days. We should all work on it to diminish the suffering of women.        

" No matter how familiar the story is, every child who is the last chosen for a team knows the torment of waiting to be called up." (Cofer p.396)

 One incident in my life can relate to this particular quote. When I was in Junior High School, I rememeber in 8th grade I used to be one of the last kids to be called to join some peoples team. Some girls on my team who played very good basketball thought I was not athletic like them. The captain of the team mostly selected their friends who they talked to in class. Ever since then, I started to hate my gym class which I had to go through everyday. Me and my friends used to stand in the corner every single day and waited to be called by the captains. I still rememebr at times everybody used to forget about us as if we seemed invisible to them. Afterwards, the gym teacher used to remind the students that not all students are taken. I never volunteered to become a captain, because I would never know who to pick and who to leave out from my group. I do not like to give out instructions to others, rather I like to be instructed as long as poeple are doing it politely. I hate choosing between my friends especially thinking that they might take me the wrong way if I choose someone else over them. I like treating all my friends equally, but I have realized not everybody think the same way as I do. Its not that easy to find a true friend, If someone finds it he\she  should be very grateful to God. Our happiness lies in our friends !

In the video clip "America for Dummies",  a guy from Bangladesh attempted to show us Americans how ignorant we are when it comes to politics. We Americans have far more knowledge about celebrities than we know about the significant political figures in our nation who have shaped United States for the better. After watching this particular video, it has been proven that we lack knowledge on American history and the world history as well. People living in other parts of the world know much more about us than we know about them. The video shows how the guy went around and did much research on this to find out what the majority of the people know living in America. He asked some general questions from people who were walking on the streets. Americans could recognize Lindsay Lohan and other celebrities but they were not able to recognize famous individuals in our American history. For example, Niaz's friend thought that Frederick Douglas was the man who invented peanut butter. It is a huge disgrace on all our Americans for not knowing who Frederick Douglas was and what he did during his lifetime. Today’s generation watches TV for hours so I assume this is the answer  to our question: why Americans know more about popular celebrities and not about important people who have changed our nation to make it a better living place for the future upcoming generation. 

       Americans are very lazy and ignorant. They don't like to be educated as years pass by. They don't bother to advance through their lives by learning something useful that might benefit them in the future. All Americans want to do is to relax and enjoy their luxurious lifestyles. We have the best education system in the world and the best technology in the world as well. We have everything within our reach. On the other hand, people living in other countries have to work really hard to acquire what we already have here. It doesn't completely relate to me because I do get interested in knowing what is going around in my country. I do have some  general knowledge about few of the historians who have affected United States positively and that was the reason why we were in prosperous years until now when Bush administration have spent billions of dollars in the Iraq war. That money was supposed to be used for our transportation system, healthcare system and etc.  This video was just an overview of how much Americans are aware of their surroundings. Despite dwelling in a great nation like United States where opportunities to learn are sufficient we Americans still don't bother.