Here are some questions to get the conversation started:
- What did you learn about Brazilian culture by watching the film? How does that help you understand your own culture better?
- In the film, Ramão says, "Children should respect their parents but do not own them." Do you agree with this statement? Why? Do you have any personal experience with this idea?
- As mentioned above, the film begins after the inciting incident (they're already on the road) and ends in a way that feels very abrupt compared to Hollywood. Do you like or dislike this story structure? Why?
Or, you can do some research and report on the following cultural questions that relate to the film:
- What is a patron saint?
- How much money is 1,000 reales? Is it more or less than you need to feed a family of five for a month?
OK, now dazzle and amaze me with your responses (no pressure but they better be so good they make the tops of my socks move up and down my legs when I read them):
1,000 Reais is equivalent to $548.85. That WOULD NOT be able to support a family of 7 for a month.
ReplyDeleteWikipedia says, " A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person.[1] Patron saints, because they have already transcended to the metaphysical, are believed to be able to intercede effectively for the needs of their special charges.[2]
Saints often become the patron saints of places where they were born or had been active. However, there were cases in Medieval Europe where a city which grew to prominence and transferred to its cathedral the remains of a famous saint who had lived and was buried elsewhere, and made him or her the city's patron saint – such a practice conferring considerable prestige on the city concerned. In Latin America, Spanish and Portuguese explorers often named location for the saint on whose day the place was first visited – that Saint naturally becoming the patron saint of a town or city which developed there.
Professions sometimes get a patron saint who was himself or herself involved in that profession. Lacking such a saint, a profession would get a saint whose conspicuous acts or miracles in some way recall the profession. For example, when the hitherto unknown profession of photography appeared in the 19th Century and needed a patron saint, this role was assigned to Saint Veronica. According to Christian tradition, Veronica gave Jesus her veil to wipe his forehead as he was being taken to Golgotha and the image of his face became miraculously impressed upon it."
I learned that music and dancing is very popular in the Brazilian culture, i can connect to that because I love to sing and dance. I like the way they movie was set up because it was different from what we're use to when it comes to the set of of a film.
Great research, Bree. Thanks for sharing. The musical moments were pretty fun weren't they. They talked about the themes and characters and it was great that they felt so spontaneous and there was no background music -- just the characters singing in their beautifully imperfect way.
ReplyDeleteI still wonder if 1,000 Reais (thanks for correcting me on the spelling) might feed more than we think. Even though the rate of exchange puts it at $548.85, you have to also consider how much it costs to feed a person for a day in Brazil. For example, if it only costs 4 reais (around $2.50) to feed a person for a day there, then 1,000 reais ($548.85) would be enough.
So this movie was less about a journey, plot, protaganist and antagonist and more about, in my opinion a troubled boys relationship with his father,
ReplyDeletethe story was definetly centered around Antonios difficult relationship with his father. the most intense scenes in the whole movie were about them.
In the end it sent a messege about growing up. manhood. and learning to let go of family for the best and forgetting the past. I rather enjoyed this movie more than i thought i would. hollywood could take a few pages from this more realistic aspect of cinema.
I'm glad you liked it, Tavis. It's great to see students getting into something other than the Hollywood establishment!
Delete(Isn't it clled The Middle of the Earth?)
ReplyDeleteIn the film, Ramão says, "Children should respect their parents but do not own them." When this was say, I shook my head approvingly at the screen.
Speaking from very personal experience, I agree with this statement. I think that children should respect their parents, always. They SHOULD be thoughtful to everything their parents have, and will do, for them. And up to a certain point, your parents do take care of you and make your decisions. But it's like when you reach that point, whatever it may be for whatever person, a parent does not OWN their child. They gave the child life, and that's beautiful - you could never pay that back, but it does not mean you have the right to control any part of them, whether it be their mind, body, or soul.
My birth mom used to tell me that she 'owned' me. That I was her property. That she owned my body, that she could do what she wanted with it - I find there's a difference between say, objecting to a haircolor that your kid wants to dye their hair, and doing whatever the hell you want with it against what they, because the parent wants it. My mother used to tell me that even when I was eighteen, when I was thirty, fourty, etc, she would always be my mother (which is true. I will never forget that.) and that she would always be on top, that she would always be in control and I couldn't do anything about it because she was the mom, and because "I said so."
When I watched this film, my attention seemed more directed on the family and the relationships. I overlooked the journey and the hardship, and focused more on the characters and their interactions. I feel that Antonio really loved his parents. He loved his mother and father, despite their flaws - they are famly, and always will be, right? He loved his sisters. He stuck around. He helped out. He made things work, he's a good kid.
But I saw a young boy growing up on the road, which wasn't for him. He was transitioning from being a young boy and going into manhood. I saw Antonio dealing with the typical child vs. parent ordeal. Who was right, who was wrong - and in the end, the parent is right, even if they're wrong, because they're the parent. I think Antonio was doing what he had to do FOR HIMSELF. To take care of himself, to make sure he was okay, that he would have a good life. He made sure to take care of his family along the way, too, he did it all, or at least he tried to. But his parents could not accept that.
(I will probably explain more later. The bell is about to ring and I have more to say I just don't know how to say it.)
I have to say that I agree with Ramao’s statement of “Children should respect their parents but do not own them,” because children should always look for guidance from their parents, and respect the opinions and decisions that their parents may have or make. But it is also important for kids to learn how to make their own decisions. If children never learn how to make decisions on their own, even if they’re poor ones, they won’t know where to go anymore once they no longer have their parents to guide them. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely think that there are decisions that parents need to make for their kids, but I think these are important things for all children and parents to consider.
ReplyDeleteAs far as personal experience, this is exactly how my mother has always raised my brother and me. She thought it was important to guide us to the right decision, but a majority of the time she left the final decision up to us. This is an important element to the people that my brother and I have become, in the best way. If I ever have kids I hope to be half as good of a parent as my mother has been.
With personal experience, I’ve also seen the other side of it. My step dad is very old fashioned and thinks that kids should obey parents and do whatever they say (which is true, to an extent). He thinks that kids are unable to make the right decisions for themselves and that children have no sense of integrity or responsibly. I’ll be 18 this month, and he still doesn’t trust me to make decisions for myself. Having a parent with this view on things has only made me more thankful to have my mother.
Something that I did like very much about this film was that it did not follow Hollywood’s three-act story structure. Since it began after the inciting incident and ended very abruptly, it allows the audience to kind of build their own story for this family. It made it possible for you to reflect on what happens to the boy living on his own, and what happens to the family, who finally reach their destination. Even though the father wants to leave, I think that they’ve finally found the place where they can settle and no longer have to travel.
-Ryan Ditta
PS- I think I was only in class for the last day of watching the film. I watched the rest at home and was hoping that it would make up my missed participation points.
What a wonderful and elaborate response to Ramao's statement about parents and children. I love your examples of how parents allowing their children to make decisions and even fail can be a great benefit to the children. I hope that I will do this well as my little kiddos become bigger kiddos!
DeleteFrom what I remember in the film, and the sense I got from it, it seems like family is one of the most important things in Brazil. It's still important in America, but here there's more of a "go your own way, and make something of your dreams".
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement that parents don't own their children. They should treat them with respect, and love them. But at the same time, everyone is their own person. They all have their own mind, and their own ways of thinking. As a parent you can try to shape your kids into what you want. But ultimatly they are going to turn into what they want to be.
I did think the movie ended really quickly. What I got from the movie, was that the main goal was to get a job in Rio de Janeiro, not just getting to the city. But maybe the main goal trying to be accomplished is the son trying to get out and become his own man. In which case, I guess that story was resolved enough to be satisfying. He got a job and started living on his own, but there's more you could say about what happens after that to him. But even then, that would seem more like something you would tell in a different movie.
Yeah, the Ramao definitely did not reach his goal of getting of job but, like you said, his son did become a man and learned to appreciate his family and the wife did finally stick up for herself at the end. The movie ends with the punchline of her sticking up for herself and then we're out. I like your thoughts about parents and kids and shaping.
DeleteI could have sworn I already commented on this! I guess I didn't.
ReplyDeleteI did notic that there really wasn't a whole lot of personal character development but more of a family development. It was intereasting the relationship between the boy and his dad, I think that's where the story was based around. I also saw some stuff between the dad and mom, he should really treat her nicer but I guess that's part of the culture.
Onto the culture part, it is VERY different then the U.S. The towns and cities were run down and dirty and there were mostly (or atleast had a lot of) dirt roads. They were also less strict on their kids then here. The mom didn't want her son to smoke or drink but the dad just handed it to him. They also left him on his own to work and live by himself. Every teenagers dream, right?
I like the film part of it too. They told the story well but still had some confusing parts that makes you need to watch it more then once to get. I thought they conveyed the journey well and how long it was. They also showed how hard it was with money and everything, and how bad it got with the kids going hungry.
I enjoyed it though.
Sir Whovian, Out!
I'm glad this film did so much to help you engage with another culture. That's awesome! You raise an interesting point with your comment. You said, "I also saw some stuff between the dad and mom, he should really treat her nicer but I guess that's part of the culture." This raises a few questions for me: is it ok or not ok to judge another culture for issues like sexism? To what degree does being part of another culture excuse being sexist? Is sexism universally bad or is it just taboo in our culture?
Deletehey sup.
ReplyDeleteto mee it seems that brazilian culture has alot to do woth their religion. obviously in the movie the family is very religious because romao wants to go to the city of his parton saint because he believes that the saint will give him luck and help him find a job and what not.
and it also seems that family matters alot in this culture as well, which could just be the case for this family in the movie or it could be for the whole culture. i guess i couldn't really say. but i will say that to me it seems like family is a big deal to them because of the religious aspect of the culture.
and the macho manlynessosity the romao has and passes onto his son also kinda seems like it comes from the religion because, well in my opinion, religion always says that the man provides and the woman nutures.
yeah . the bell just rang. so bye.
zak
Zak, this is a great example of using international cinema to make guesses about the culture of other countries. Now, the next step would be confirm your suspicions by talking with someone from that country, reading about the country, watching more films from the country, of, best of all, VISITING THE COUNTRY!
DeleteThat's a good point that the movie did jump right into the story so it made it more fast paced to start but then it was more slow in pace in the middle. It's like it starts with a pace that's quicker than that of Hollywood but then moves into a slower pace. I find that fascinating.
ReplyDeleteHey it's Tucker:
ReplyDeleteI found this movie very interesting and thought it had a well develomped stories and good actors to support it. I find the idea of biking across Brazil would be both very difficult and allow for some character building/family bonding. The only things I didn't like were the beginning and the ending.
This movie was well done because it showed a family that was in poverty fight for their break while still having their problems with getting along. It also shows that with dedication and the right mind set, you can go anywhere and do anything thats needs to be done.
The beggining was bad to me because it starts almost in the middle of their journey and we as the viewers miss out on a lot of the needed plot build up. THe end was bad to me because it ends suddenly and doesn't tell me if they made it or if they had to find different work.
All in all this was a great movie and was very interesting.
I love your posts because you do such a good job of analyzing all the good and all the bad of the films we watch and you back up what you have to say. Well done, Mr. Tucker. I notice that in this post, you seem to gravitate to talking about the hard stuff the family went through as well as their ability to overcome those things. Do you think you typically gravitate to these kinds of stories? Do you have a sense of what in your life experience has left this mark on you?
DeleteI only have like 5 minutes to write this so it’s going to be kind of short. I forgot all about this movie, and I thought I already wrote a response but I guess not. But I really did like this movie, I like the Brazilian culture and it was fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteI did notice how much they focused on the family as a whole and not just one person. Like how they were homeless going on this great adventure together. Also how the main kids whole point of the movie was to get a good relationship with his father. And it also showed how they treat the kids and it made me sad how the mother was treated. I guess it is just obviously so different than America and interesting to see all those little differences.
I also saw how into their religion they are. Like how like that giant statue thing that the father thinks will help him get work, and how they made the kid stealing money from that church place so sinful. Although it was bad of them to steel it was just the ay they made it look through editing that made it look like ten times worse. Welllllllll the bell is going to read any second, but all in all I really enjoyed tis film and I wish we could have gotten more into the Brazilian culture. I just find the Hispanic culture so interesting and I wish/hope we can watch more. From like Spain or other places in South America.
Glad you loved the film so much and are gleaning so much about other cultures through all the films. Makes me so happy!
DeleteOne note: Brazilians are not Hispanics. They have no connection to Spain at all. But it is correct to call Brazilians and all people in Latin America (includes Mexico, Central America, and all of South America) Latinos or Latins.