January 2010 Latina Flick Picks

Sister Outsider Entertainment - Flick Picks
By Elisha Miranda & Sofia Quintero

GIRLFIGHT

In her unforgettable debut in this 2000 film, Michelle Rodriguez plays Diana Guzman, a Brooklyn high school senior who finds herself – and love – when she decides to train to become a professional boxer.  GIRLFIGHT does more than put a feminist twist on the typical sports film. It’s perfect for this month’s theme because Diana’s journey is one that demonstrates how first knowing and accepting who she is not leads her to discover who she is.  That discovery, in turn, gives her life meaning and otherwise makes available to her some of the best that life has to offer.  So watch GIRLFIGHT, take out your journal and answer the following questions.

1. Who are the people who tell Diana who she is? Make a list of these people and what they say to her.  What do you believe are their motivations?  Who are the people in your life who tell you who you are, and what do you believe are their motivations? Make a list of these people and the things they frequently tell you that reflect their perceptions of who you are or should be.

2. Sometimes Diana agrees with other people’s assessments and sometime she does not. Furthermore, over the course of the film, how she sees herself change while, in other respects, Diana remains true to who she really is.  For example, she knows that she is not a girly girl, and nothing anyone says or does makes her try to become. Meanwhile, when Adrian acknowledges that she is “someone,” Diana embraces that; she no longer stands for her own father looking right through her as if she is not there. Look over your list of people in your life who tell you who you are. With whom do you agree? With whom do you not agree? As you journal about this, ask yourself if your agreement with other’s assessment of you is a matter of accepting who you are or betraying yourself to satisfy others.

3. Diana knows that she is not a “girly girl” and yet she is pressured to conform to this model of femininity.  Meanwhile, being who she is and pursuing her goals does not stop her from experiencing the things that only the “girly girls” like Veronica and Karina are supposed to get. In your journal, write about at time when you defied the pressure to conform to the expectations of your gender, ethnicity, culture, religion, etc. because that was being true to who you were and what you gained that you were not “supposed” to for defying expectations.  Are there ways that you comply with the expectations even when they do not resonate with who you are? Does doing so get you what you want? If so, is at the cost of other things you want?

4.  Diana explains to Marisol that she enjoys boxing because in the ring, “You’re all that you’ve got in there.” Where are the places or moments in life where you are all that you have?  How does being in that place or moment make you feel? What does being in those places or moments tell you about who you are?  Identify ways in which you can take the insight into who you are to create even more places and moments where “you are all you have,” and it feels good.  For example, if you are a lawyer by profession who feels the most “you” when you are painting over the weekend, the insight may be is that part of who you are is a creative person. Therefore, can you bring your creativity to your work as a lawyer during the week? Make a list of how you might do that.

Be sure to follow Elisha, Sofia and Sister Outsider on Twitter at @elishamiranda, @sofiaquintero and @sisteroutsider. We are also on Facebook.  Drop us a note to let us know you learned about us from Power Latinas.

December Latina Flick Picks

MALDEAMORES

Maybe it’s because Latino culture values its elderly or perhaps because our ancianos tend to be youthful. For whatever reason, we did not find any shortage of older Latina characters to serve as the focus of this month’s flick pick. (We were hard pressed, however, to find a vehicle that placed una anciana at the center of the story.)  We found Flora of MALDEAMORES to be the most compelling of these characters (although Doña Genoveva of HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS SPENT THEIR SUMMER and Sister Peter Marie – played by the unstoppable Rita Moreno – on HBO series OZ were strong contenders.)

Set in Puerto Rico, MALDEAMORES consists of three distinct stories about lovesickness, and we found the most compelling of these to be Flora’s story. At the age of 72, Flora finds herself living with her two ex-husbands who vie for attention.  It is both a funny and poignant depiction of time’s inability to squelch desire, and Flora models many of the ways we can respond to desire no matter our age.

1.    When asked her age at her birthday party, Flora responds that she has lived seventy-two springs. Why do you think she chose to reveal her age in that way?

2.    Make a list of all the various moments when other characters attempt to make Flora bend to their will. What tactics do they use?  How does she respond?  Journal about how you relate to these attempts and what you learned from Flora’s responses.

3.    Flora is no stranger to getting her way either.  It can be argued that this is precisely what makes her so desirable to both Pellín and Cirilo. List the moments in which Flora gets her way, how she goes about getting what she wants, and why she is effective.

4.    When Flora tells Cirilo that she loves and needs him, do you think she was telling him what he wanted to hear or that she truly meant it? Regardless of her motivation, what role do you believe her age played in her decision to respond to his question in that way?

5.    Journal about the ways in which you would like to be like Flora when you are seventy-two.  Which of these qualities do you already possess and which do you think you may have to cultivate over time? Are there any qualities that you believe can only be achieved through the process of aging i.e. just living life, accumulating experiences and learning the lessons they bring? How, if at all, does experiencing Flora’s story enable you to (re)imagine what kind of anciana you would like be?

November Latina Flick Picks

TORTILLA SOUP

This Mexican-American adaptation of Ang Lee’s EAT, DRINK, MAN, WOMAN centers on widowed chef Martìn Naranjo (Hector Elizondo) and his three adult daughters who live in modern-day Los Angeles.  All the characters come to crossroads in their lives, each yearning for change yet struggling to take action towards who or what they genuinely love.  Oldest daughter Leticia (Elizabeth Peña) returns to Christianity after heartbreak but finds herself longing for a more temporal kind of love.  Middle sister Carmen (Jacqueline Obradors) plays it safe in the gray areas of both her love romantic and professional world.  Youngest daughter Maribel (Tamara Mello) follows her impulses in an effort to run away from her late adolescent existential angst.  Furthermore, the film alludes to a sisterhood that extends beyond bloodlines with the character of Yolanda (Constance Marie).   As with all ensemble pieces, the fate of the group is as important as that of its individual members, and TORTILLA SOUP definitely ties up all the loose ends. Get your media journal, cue the DVD and reflect on this month’s theme with help from the following questions.

1.    Sisters can be very similar and quite different all at the same time.  How are Leticia, Carmen and Maribel unique from one another?  In what ways, however, are they all Martín’s daughters?  What are the things they have a common that seem to stem from the fact that they were born and raised in the same family? If you have female siblings, what personality traits do you share that you attribute to the fact that you were raised in a similar environment? How has each of you distinguished yourself from the family traits?

2.    Make a list of your closest female friends i.e. the sisters you have chosen.  Beside each name, make another list of the qualities you most appreciate about her. Now ask yourself what role does the family traits you reflected on in Question #1 play in your choice of sisters outside the family? That is, what characteristics do your closest female friends share with your family of origin? Which of your friends’ traits are you drawn to precisely because they’re the opposite of what is natural to or valued in your value?  Things to consider:  communication style, spiritual or religious beliefs, attitudes toward money or sex, political beliefs, approach to handling conflict, etc.

3.    Although they are all adults, Leticia, Carmen and Maribel each has at least one moment in the film when she has to assert herself with Martín? With which of these instances did you most identify and why?

4.    Maribel’s “big moment” also becomes a scene in where certain unflattering things are revealed about her two sisters.  Even though Leticia and Carmen resist in the moment, Maribel’s outburst becomes a catalyst for each to move closer to their heart’s desire. Thus, her decision to speak her truth actually helps sets her sisters free (even if they would have much preferred a less awkward wakeup call).  Have you ever had an experience when a sister (whether by blood or choice) revealed her truth in a way that exposed one of yours?  How did that instance compel you to make a necessary change?  Have you ever been that woman whose truth set another sister free?

5.     The Naranjo sisters do not seem to have other significant relationships with other women outside of each other and, for the most part, lead separate lives although they live under the same roof.  Furthermore, their lives outside the family appear centered on men (and not exclusively romantic interests).  How might some of their choices have been different if they had sisters outside the home?  For example, how might Leticia’s response to her breakup been different if she could turn to other women than Carmen or Maribel?