I have watched four videos from the previous class of LATN 100. Here is my commentary.
Speaking Truth to Power
This video attempts to cover oppressive history which Latin American countries endured in 1970’s. Las Madres de Mayo is an important and still relevant movement in Argentina many of those who disappeared are still unheard of. It is also known in Argentina that a lot of the disappeared actually fled Argentina in an attempt to save their families lives as well as their own. It is controversial because there is a deep emotional anguish within the Argentine society that has persisted for generations and the argument of Argentines having fled instead of been captured is often discarded because of that emotional rancour. That is one of the factors that divides Argentine society because people have been mislead so often that they chose to believe one thing alone even if disproven. I am not disregarding that the dictatorship in Argentina during the 1970’s captured and murder Argentine people, but I will say that us Argentines have a hubris when it comes to educating ourselves and we often become fanatics of one source.
A Revolutionary Process: The Cuban Revolution in the 1960s
What my overall feeling about this video is that the information that is provide is rather a monotonous. They very briefly touch on the important topics like the sovereignty, ongoing revolution, and identity. What I did enjoy was that they mentioned Che’s New Man philosophy which is something I think people often over look, as it is vital and controversial to Che’s legacy. I also did like how they talked about Che’s machismo’s perspective though I don’t believe they mentioned the word itself. I felt one key factor that they missed was the importance of what the Cuban Revolution meant for the rest of Latin America.
The Meeting of Two Worlds: Aztec Edition
I was impressed by the animation in this video. They did a quick recap on how the Aztecs where conquered by Cortes. I believe they could of been emphasized the devastation in the actual conquering and the modern day after affect a little more. For example, describing how the stones of the Aztec pyramids were used to build the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven and was actually built over the pyramid itself. I did enjoy how they mentioned some of the Aztec traditions were upheld in Modern times.
I do not believe this was a student video, but I ended up watching it and wanted to write about it because it is important to my own education. I found this video enlightening because of the resourceful language Professor Dawson uses. The prominent figures in the Mexican Revolution are, such as, Emilio Zapata and Pancho Villa, remind me of just of the fact that the hardest thing to find in this world is a true leader, possibly more so than true love. I wonder when and if, modern society will produce another natural born leader and it also makes me wonder why we haven’t seen one in so long. Then again, I may have to pivot my thinking and redefine what I think is a natural born leader. I look to my own references and I see that all of them have a sense of charisma and romanticism attached to their stories. The charisma aspect is something that cannot be defined because that’s what it is, unique to the individual. The romanticism always seems to be lead by some story of self enduring sacrifice and a revolutionary becoming.
The question I’d like to propose is: has modern day society softened the character and conflict needed for an individual to discover their potential?