Third Cinema and Film Comparisons

Third Cinema and Film Comparisons

 

            The movie entitled ‘The Mission’ focuses on the conquest of Spain and Portugal over South America, and depicts the events related to the Treaty of Madrid in 1750, when Spain relinquished part of South America to Portugal, and turns this episode into an allegory for the mid-80s struggle of Latin America (2005). The focus of this movie is on the clash between religion and political power, which determines the fate of the South American natives that time. The movie entitled ‘1492, Conquest of Paradise’ tackles the conquest of Christopher Columbus of the New World, and features also the desire of the conquistadors’ for colonization, gold, power, and influence. Both the films discuss the political, religious, social and historical influence of the European conquerors to the natives. It should be kept in mind that during these times, the number of territories and colonies, and gold reserves are the means of measurement for a nation to be considered to be performing well in their economy. Due to the competition between Spain and Portugal to expand their territories and resources, many lands have been conquered, including parts of South America, Asia, and the Native Americas. With the discovery and fast development of science, Europeans during those time had the power and the means to further expand their knowledge and at the same time, to fund and support the explorations and colonization of other lands.

            One scene in the movie ‘1492, Conquest of Paradise’ shows Christopher Columbus kneeling on the shore to show his happiness of stepping onto the ground again. This scene not only depicts Columbus’ desire to step out of his ship, but also is symbolic of showing that his goal of discovering new lands and other personal goals can already come true. This action signifies the conquistadors’ hunger for land, knowledge, power, and gold, and the movie ‘The Mission’ depicts this as well. Both the movies’ dramatic developments include the slow drama of discovering the land, of loving the land, then the need to fight for the land and its inhabitants. The goal of both of these movies is not only for entertainment or for illustrating history, but also as a means of expressing the desire of the natives for freedom and liberation, as described by the concept of the Third Cinema by Gabriel. The general role of the Europeans as both the movies progress is as a villain, who are responsible for the destruction and the deaths of many natives in the land because they have the weapons and means to do so. The maltreatment and the violence of the Europeans during that time reflects the concept of the Third Cinema, as the movies become a means to fight oppression from the colonizers, and to bring about realization that the Westerners’ possess the characteristic of “ethnocentrism” over other cultures. The movies depict the concept of the Third Cinema during the fight scenes in the movies between the colonizers and the natives. The fight scenes also become symbolic as a way of the natives to fight for their freedom against the colonizers and to avenge their situation of violating their rights and humanity.  Aside from culture, religion also plays a vital role in these movies, as this aspect underlies the intentions of the colonizers to gather resources, specifically gold, from the natives. The use of Christianity ‘lures’ the natives to pay tribute to religion and to the missionaries as well, and this resulted to the colonizers’ abuse of their power. This also gave them the access to the resources of the natives, especially their gold reserves, and the greed of the colonizers for gold gave them the reason to abuse the natives, which paved way for the natives’ desire for freedom and peace.

            Both the movies ‘Yo, la peor de Todas’ and ‘La otra Conquista’, were portrayed in Mexico, during the time of its intellectual and religious development, and the characters’ dilemma regarding religion. The movie ‘Yo, la peor de Todas’ or ‘I, the Worst of All’ describes the life of Sor Juana Ines dela Cruz, a famous nun, whose reputation as an incisive and erudite writer, scholar, and poet has reached the intellectual and social elite of Spain (2002). The story illustrates how a nun is torn between her religious responsibilities and her desire for expression through writing. This movie is related to ‘La otra Conquista’ or ‘The Other Conquest’, by depicting Topiltzin’s conquest of merging his cultural Aztec beliefs and Christianity. Both the movies’ dramatic developments include the leading characters’ confusion with their religion and then the realization of possessing a great faith for Christianity by the influence of the people around them. The goal of these movies is not only to illustrate the lives of the leading characters, but also to inform that the role of religion is very crucial for a person to adopt a certain way of life, perception and belief. Similar with the other films mentioned earlier, the role of the colonizers in these films determines the decisions and the choice of the way of life of the leading characters. The colonizers influence their decisions and most especially how they perceive religion, which becomes essential in changing their lifestyle and culture.

Aside from the desire of the colonizers to acquire power and resources from their colony, religion deepens their relationship with them. In relation to the concept of the Third Cinema, the use of religion to repress the culture and traditions of the natives was a very effective way of inculcating the values and teachings of Christianity. This is somehow related also to the fact that gender becomes an issue in the society, as women are regarded inferior than men. The Church and the State, being patriarchal during those times, adds to the struggle of women to establish their rights in the society. In addition, being in favor of the elites, the Church and State implement justice subjectively, resulting to abuse of power and the demeaning of justice. The use of the shadows and bars in the movies illustrate the movies’ depiction of limited expression during those times, leading to the realization that religion plays a vital role in the different events happening in the society. The power of the Church and the State to control the perceptions of the people that time determines the issues being faced, such as gender inequality and injustice. Being an expression of the Third Cinema, these movies were able to communicate its desire for freedom from colonial influence and fight against cultural repression ( 2001). The continuous fight for gender equality in the recent times was one achievement of the goals of the Third Cinema, and the quest of the indigenous peoples to be recognized as part of a nation’s identity and culture.

 

Both the movies ‘Camila’ and ‘Martin Fierro’ depict the extraordinary lives of certain citizens in Argentina during the 19th century, and considered having the context of the Third Cinema. The movie ‘Martin Fierro’ exhibits the harsh living conditions experienced by a gaucho named Martin Fierro, and depicts the social injustices and political evils present during those times in Argentina. The concept of the Third Cinema reflects the people, the culture and traditions in a particular society, and treats the films as a weapon to fight oppression (2001). The situation of Martin Fierro is not exactly the same with the situation of the culturally oppressed natives in the earlier mentioned movies. However, this movie is considered a Third Cinema movie for it aims to inform the public of the moral degeneracy and the political abuse of the government officials during those times, which also becomes an expression of the desire of the people, such as Martin Fierro, for political liberation and equality. The movie ‘Camila’ depicts the forbidden relationship of a priest and a daughter of a diplomat, having an romantic affair. This movie illustrates the reality that amidst the social and political repression, there will still be unanticipated events such as what happened in the movie. This movie is a good example of a modern Third Cinema, for it does not only reflect and express the historical, political and social situation of a nation, but also tackles gender, religion, and sexuality. The movie ‘Camila’ goes beyond the concept of Third Cinema, and becomes a good venue to show the public of the reality that humanity is a complex issue and involves a good deal of understanding and study. This movie is considered a Third Cinema, for communicating to the public the reality of wanting for freedom of expressing emotions, traversing religion and social responsibilities.

 

The movies entitle ‘Vamonos con Pancho Villa’ and ‘Viva Zapata!’ depicts the strong regard of Mexicans for revolutionary heroes during the 20th century, and somehow represents the views and perception of the Mexican citizens during those times regarding liberation, equality and ‘machismo’. The movie of Pancho Villa is about the story of young men who joined the revolutionary army of Pancho Villa. It may not be clear how this movie becomes a Third Cinema, but it is may be because of the fact that it discusses and covers the historical, political and social situations of the citizens in Mexico in the 20th century, which illustrates their quest for liberation from hard labor under oppressive landowners. In relation to this, the image of the revolutionary hero in Mexican films was somehow altered with the concept of being “macho”. The concept of machismo somehow affected the perceptions of the revolutionaries during that time, and encouraged them to be involved in duels and fights. One scene from the movie showing the Mexican’s high regard for machismo is when Don Tiburcio denounces the idea of playing a silly game of chance with a loaded revolver in a crowded bar and then goes through with the pointlessly deadly ritual because honor requires it (2005).  (2005) also adds that showing that they are tough will cement their reputations as real men, which also motivates them to fight. In relation to the concept of Third Cinema, the idea of fighting could be a way for the revolutionary heroes to build up their ego and character in possessing a “macho” image, and be able to ward off and intimidate their enemies. In this way, their fight for freedom and equality will be easier and much more effective. Another movie is ‘Viva Zapata!’, which also tackles the issue of the Mexican revolutionary heroes, and is related to the movie of Pancho Villa. This movie is about the life of Emiliano Zapata, a child of a tenant farmer, who was joined by Pancho Villa in his rebellion against the tyrant president Porfirio Diaz (2006). Zapata fought not to conquer Mexico but to free the land for the peasant of Morelos and other southern provinces (2006). Relating it to Third Cinema, it clearly depicts the character’s longing to be free from the corruptive influence of power of the government. This movie effectively communicates to the public the effects and consequences of oppressive political power, such as exploitation, and the longing of citizens for liberation and equality in the Mexican society.  

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