Us and the Others: illegal immigration as a subsidiary theme in recent film productions.
Subject Area
Film and Literary Studies
Abstract
Desierto (2015) represents the latest appearance of Gael García Bernal in a film whose leitmotif is centered on the issue of the illegal border crossing between Mexico and the United States.
Directed by Jonás Cuarón, Desierto tells the story of a group of migrants attempting to cross the southern border into the United States. Besides the treacherous terrain and elements, they also become targets of a vigilante who takes it upon himself to play the role of border patrol agent.
The theme is neither new nor original. However, this film – as just one among a few I bring to the forefront – draws upon the issue of illegal immigration obliquely, and thus much more subtly, but still fully deserving of our attention as they accurately describe a reality unbeknownst to most Americans.
Other films I propose to analyze in such light are The Visitor (2007), Inocente (2012), and Frontera (2014), as well as the documentary Cruzando (2008).
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, migrants, border.
Location
Room 212
Presentation Year
2018
Start Date
4-6-2018 9:15 AM
Embargo
11-27-2017
Recommended Citation
Lopes, Pedro J., "Us and the Others: illegal immigration as a subsidiary theme in recent film productions." (2018). South East Coastal Conference on Languages & Literatures (SECCLL). 29.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/seccll/2018/2018/29
Us and the Others: illegal immigration as a subsidiary theme in recent film productions.
Room 212
Desierto (2015) represents the latest appearance of Gael García Bernal in a film whose leitmotif is centered on the issue of the illegal border crossing between Mexico and the United States.
Directed by Jonás Cuarón, Desierto tells the story of a group of migrants attempting to cross the southern border into the United States. Besides the treacherous terrain and elements, they also become targets of a vigilante who takes it upon himself to play the role of border patrol agent.
The theme is neither new nor original. However, this film – as just one among a few I bring to the forefront – draws upon the issue of illegal immigration obliquely, and thus much more subtly, but still fully deserving of our attention as they accurately describe a reality unbeknownst to most Americans.
Other films I propose to analyze in such light are The Visitor (2007), Inocente (2012), and Frontera (2014), as well as the documentary Cruzando (2008).
