What thoughts do you have about the interaction between these two children?
Father McEnroe was a Priest/Principal at St. Patricks private all boys school. Father McEnroe took on students from the "shantytown" in an attempt to democratize education. Among the "shantytown" students was Pedro, who seems to be a loner but soon becomes the brunt of the rich kids' prejudice. Gonzalo, a rich kid, who seems to be a loner too, who takes the brunt from the rich kids as well, befriends Pedro, and gradually the two boys form a strong bond. This bond leads the boys to learn about their seperate families and life styles. Pedro is amazed by the luxury that Gonzalo lives in, with his closet full of clothes, Nike shoes, and seperate rooms to live and sleep in. While Pedro lives in a shack, shared by many, with dirt floors and outhouses, Gonzalo finds warmth in family, something that he is lacking at home.
Were you able to see the differences between two social classes, the rich and the poor in Chile?
Yes, you could definatley see the differenes between the two social classes. When Father McEnroe brought the boys in the class from the shantytown, they way they were dressed, in old tattered clothes, they didn't have swim trunks to swim in, their shoes old. Then you had the rich kids, who had the nice expensive uniforms, they all had matching gym clothes, name brands gym shoes. Another time when you really saw the difference in the two social classes was when Father McEnroe was having a meeting with the parents about why it will work with the boys from shantytown going to St. Patricks, how the rich parents sat on one side of the room and the poor parents on the other side. Although Pedro lived not far away, the shantytown was nothing but a bunch of "huts" built with boards, and scrap, with no running water or electricity, but Gonzalo had a nice house with many rooms, electricty and running water.
What messages can you obtain from this film?
The message I obtained from this film, is even though there was turmoil in Chile, Pedro and Gonzalo was able to overlook that, and overlook "status" and still become close friends. They didn't care what each other had from a material stand point, what they cared about what each other friendship, and having fun.
This was a good film, it really makes you look at what goes on here in the US. Everything is based on status, money, and class.
Heather, I especially liked your comment in the first paragraph about Gonzalo finding warmth in Pedro's family, something you felt he was lacking in his own home. I think Gonzalo was confused regarding his mother's relationship with Roberto and how this infidelity fit into "family". I don't think he had anyone to confide his feelings to in his family, certainly not in his relationship with his sister. Nor do I see this with his mother or father. I see Gonzalo more as a loner who was tolerant of whatever life was dealing him. I see this exemplified in his reaction to those that bullied him at school. He tolerated it and never really fought back. I think this is also one of the factors that unified Gonzalo and Pedro's friendship initially. The common bond of being bullied brought them together as friends.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your point regarding the boys not caring about one another's status, the friendship was what was most important. Until the end of the film,when Gonzalo was riding away from Pedro and the shantytown, I don't think Gonzalo ever really used his status of affluence in their relationship.
I agree with what you said about Pedro liking what Gonzalo had in his home as far as material things. This child came from a place where they have absolutely nothing but dirt floors and outhouses and yet if he really thought about it Gonzalo would probably prefer to have what Pedro didn't have. Meaning that each boy lacked something different in each of their lives. Gonzalo lacked a loving and caring family. The family that he had just seemed to care about material things as opposed to Pedro's family that was happy with what they did have and just loved each other for who they are not what the other person can give to them. They may not have had the best of things but they had a rich sense of family values and good morals. ( this is not really obvious when all of the kids start kissing each other)This movie was very hard to follow as far as the political content was concerned however it was a pretty good film.
ReplyDeleteDanielle Gardner
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