The film “When the Mountains
Tremble” was an excellent textile of non-fiction which brought to light the
struggle of
a large group of indigenous Guatemalans against state and foreign powers. This struggle was represented through
interviews, direct addresses, re-enactments, and on the spot footage, which
allowed for a spotlight to be shown on this social-political movement. Rigoberta Menchú one of the Mayan indigenous
leaders shared her testimony throughout the documentary which was quite moving.
By her testifying to the atrocities that the Guatemalan military inflicted on her people, it was apparent that capital over community and power over people was always first on the political agenda.
“The
Government uses us when it is in their
interest, they exhibit us in our native dress as if we are in a zoo.” This was
said by an indigenous woman in the film, This statement had allowed me to reflect on one of
the first paragraphs of Farmer’s Pathologies
of Power “The poor are a by-product of the system in which we live…They are
the oppressed, exploited proletariat, robbed of the fruit of their labor and
despoiled of their humanity.” (Farmer 112) This is present in many indigenous
communities all over Latin America and the ideology of power and colonialism
makes for a clouded view of the injustices that are essentially covered
by people in power.
The
social movements in the film highlighted that communities can make a difference
and that they are defenders and stewards of their land and ultimately “have the
right to the full human potential” as one of the female guerrillas had
said. They were are not only fighting
for a sense of freedom but a way to preserve and nourish their indigenous
folkways, an essential characteristic in order for communities to overcome hegemonic
ideologies of oppression, so that they can continue to create sustainable
livelihoods.
Adding Fuel to the Fire
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 5 of Pathologies of Power, Farmer digs deeper into his idea of structural violence, and concludes that denying people of their natural rights to survive is a branch of evil. However, in a system where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, there is no room to give the poor an education or decent health care, because as Sonora stated, “Capital over community and power over people” will always prevail.
Farmer brings up the idea of false charity and how it will never help out the poor in colonial Latin America. The idea makes sense especially when connecting it to the liberal slogan, “Think globally and act locally”. The slogan is a false charity, because even though we are thinking about the unfortunate people in the south, we are not helping. Our actions only help our communities, and the poor of Latin America are disregarded. As Bailey stated in her response, “Everything costs money.” Our global thoughts do not restrict us from consumption, which drives the capital machine into the further oppression of Latin Americans.
Farmer then suggests that we should think locally and act globally. The suggestion ventures far from the liberal slogan, because the idea gets people to think about the people close to them, and then act towards the people that really need the help. Without a change of consciousness, our consumption in a free society contributes to the evils of the world, as well as prevents the poor from their natural rights of knowledge and survival.
Which leads to me to talk about some social justice issues such as fair trade. The quote Sonora uses from Farmers POP “The poor are a by-product of the system in which we live…They are the oppressed, exploited proletariat, robbed of the fruit of their labor and despoiled of their humanity.” (Farmer 1&2) Here we have started trying to make equality and to have social justice for those who provide food and give their labor for only a quarter a day. It is completely unfair. This is where fair trade comes in, we now pay the actual price for the goods we get from another country, i'll use coffee per se, only If there is a fair trade label on the product of coarse. That is our actions as activists in the U.S so when Josh says our consumption in a free society contributes to the evils of the world, I would have to agree that we need to be aware of the issues as the movie has documented and have conciousness in order to cause change.
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