Subject Area
Film and Literary Studies
Abstract
Smuggled is the latest of a vast repertoire of films focusing on the issue of the illegal border crossing between Mexico and the United States.
Directed by Ramon Hamilton and released in 2012, Smuggled tells the story of Miguel, a 9-year-old boy, and his mother as they attempt to illegally cross the border into the United States hidden in a compartment underneath a tour bus.
That same year, the well-known Mexican actor Gael García Bernal produces a documentary titled Who is Dayani Cristal?, in which he himself retraces the steps and circumstances that led to the disappearing of this mysterious individual in the Arizona desert while trying to cross the Mexico-US border.
The theme is neither new nor original. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2012 “there were 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S.”, many of whom have certainly experienced the perils of undocumented border crossing. This reality has therefore been the subject-matter of innumerous works, from full-feature film to short film, from literature to television series.
In that context, I propose to offer a compilation, however inevitably incomplete, of films that deal with the broader subject of undocumented immigration in general, and illegal border-crossing in particular. I will focus on short film, documentary and full-feature films, both highly-acclaimed (such as the ones previously mentioned) to lesser known works, exploring both the similarities and the contrasts among such films, as well as the particular sub-issues they raise.
Brief Bio Note
After completing his undergraduate studies in Portugal and obtaining his graduate degree from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, he has taught in different regions in the United States. He is currently an Associate Professor of Foreign Languages at Lander University in South Carolina.
Keywords
Illegal immigration, Undocumented, Border, Crossing
Location
Room 218
Presentation Year
2015
Start Date
3-26-2015 1:30 PM
End Date
3-26-2015 2:45 PM
Embargo
5-23-2017
Recommended Citation
Lopes, Pedro J., "Crossing Borders: From Indifference to Empathy, Stimulating a Humanist Perspective on the Issue of Illegal Immigration through Film" (2015). South East Coastal Conference on Languages & Literatures (SECCLL). 82.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/seccll/2015/2015/82
Included in
Crossing Borders: From Indifference to Empathy, Stimulating a Humanist Perspective on the Issue of Illegal Immigration through Film
Room 218
Smuggled is the latest of a vast repertoire of films focusing on the issue of the illegal border crossing between Mexico and the United States.
Directed by Ramon Hamilton and released in 2012, Smuggled tells the story of Miguel, a 9-year-old boy, and his mother as they attempt to illegally cross the border into the United States hidden in a compartment underneath a tour bus.
That same year, the well-known Mexican actor Gael García Bernal produces a documentary titled Who is Dayani Cristal?, in which he himself retraces the steps and circumstances that led to the disappearing of this mysterious individual in the Arizona desert while trying to cross the Mexico-US border.
The theme is neither new nor original. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2012 “there were 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S.”, many of whom have certainly experienced the perils of undocumented border crossing. This reality has therefore been the subject-matter of innumerous works, from full-feature film to short film, from literature to television series.
In that context, I propose to offer a compilation, however inevitably incomplete, of films that deal with the broader subject of undocumented immigration in general, and illegal border-crossing in particular. I will focus on short film, documentary and full-feature films, both highly-acclaimed (such as the ones previously mentioned) to lesser known works, exploring both the similarities and the contrasts among such films, as well as the particular sub-issues they raise.
