So I've been thinking about the show that we watched in class today (the 30 days episode about immigration).
Perhaps shows like this are made with the intent to show both sides of an argument, however, I think it's still important to remember that in order for these shows to continue, they must sell, and in order to sell they must be dramatic.
From the beginning of the show, it was obvious that the minuteman picked to spend 30 days with the illegal immigrants was picked for a reason--to create drama. This lead to a very unbalanced presentation of the immigration issue. On the one side, a cute, hardworking, good family. On the other side a crazy,unfeeling, and uncouth man.
Furthermore, although the show puts up a pretense of showcasing both sides of the argument, it clearly does not. Yes, it was insightful to visit the hometown of the illegal immigrants, and terrible to see the living conditions they had come from. This footage makes every student in the room want to sell their laptop computer and Ipod to help this family. However, perhaps these warm charitable feelings would be diminished if the show mentioned the huge amount of crime that illegal immigration perpetuates or the fact that thousands of crimes are never reported to the police by illegal immigrants because of their fear of being deported.
Of course, if we could, every normal, slightly-compassionate American would say "yes" to helping a Mexican family, like the one in the show. However, the fact is that continuing to allow illegal immigration is a lot more complicated than how compassionate or cruel the U.S. is being.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
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I agree that the show did overdramatize things. What I took from the show, however, was that prejudices clearly exist- on both ends of the spectrum. And while there are certainly defects in our government policies , I think that so many issues could be resolved if people just took the time to understand each other and put themselves in other peoples' shoes. Clearly this wouldn't solve everything, and may not even solve anything at all. But I think it is an important start, or catalyst, that we're lacking. How to get everyone to be more understanding is a different story... But I do think that shows like this one, overdramatized or not, can spark a change in people. It certainly did for me.
ReplyDeleteI agree, although you failed to mention that the Minuteman selected was also an immigrant himself, from a Latin country, Cuba. I found this interesting, and illustrates yet another means in which the producers can create conflict in the episode.
ReplyDeleteSomething else I found interesting was the girl who was applying for college, I forget her name, and her argument that the first "Americans" weren't legal, so this should justify illegal immigrants claims to be here. I wonder, if laws can be rationalized out as not being important to follow, where does it end? And to which laws does one prescribe?
I also wonder why the LDS Church says that it believes in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law, yet illegal immigrants can be baptized and fully fellowshipped while breaking a U.S. law.
I feel that laws are established, and while not convenient for all, they still must be enforced to maintain peace in society.
I do not know if it is possible, but it seems as if there are several people from all over the world wanting to come and partake of the living conditions in the U.S. I don't blame them one bit for wanting to have a better life--but I also wonder, if these same people worked as hard trying to better their country, couldn't the situation be improved for them and their fellow countrymen? It's not as easy to illegally immigrate to the U.S. as some would want the world to believe--sometimes people spend their life savings, hide in vans with limited water, and often immigrants die at the hands of those smuggling them in. I just wonder, is it possible that they could spend all that time and energy in bettering their country of origin?
If everyone who wants to comes to the U.S., then what happens to the society in which they have left? How does it improve?
I think you might be kind of missing the point, Jules. The show is not trying to make a political statement, but a social one. It's trying to find people who think badly of other people and then has them live with those "bad" people. So, for example, one episode involved a woman who thought gays getting the right/privilege (however you view it) to marry and raise kids would bring about the downfall of society. This guy thought that illegal immigrants would be the cause.
ReplyDeleteSee, you can think well of illegal immigrants and still be opposed to illegal immigration. It's more difficult and rarer, but it's possible. Also, you can think well of gays and still be opposed to gay marriage and gays adopting kids. Again, it's more difficult, but it's possible. This show is focuses on those that think badly of the people, and not just the ideology/idea.
Does that make sense? I hope so. I'm not sure how well I explained it though. The show is not trying to say that opposing gay marriage is necessarily bad, rather that thinking badly of gays probably is. Thinking badly of illegal immigration isn't so bad, but thinking badly of illegal immigrants probably is.
Watch the movie, "A day without a Mexican."
ReplyDeleteThis comment is not relevant to the post, but I don't have acces to posting and thought this could be an interesting topic of discussion in this class. (I'm a previous student of Charlie's class.)
ReplyDelete"School policy requires that senior prom dates be of the opposite sex. The ACLU of Mississippi had given the district until Wednesday to change that policy, arguing that banning same-sex prom dates violated McMillen's constitutional rights."
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/03/11/us/AP-US-Lesbian-Prom-Date.html?ref=global-home
I also found this "Thirty Days" video very interesting and have been thinking about where i stand when it comes to immigration. I am from a small farming town in Idaho and there are many illegal immigrants in my town. When watching the video i felt sympathy for the family, especially how much better their lives has gotten when they had come to the United States compared to their home and lives in Mexico. This issue makes me question why Mexico's economy can't support its citizens? Also, i feel that some families don't have a choice and they only way to survive is to come to America where they can work horrible jobs, but they are just grateful to have a job. I think that with the immigration issue there should be a balance. In one aspect i don't want to kick out Mexicans that have immigrated to America, or not let anymore come across the borders. But i also do not believe that it would be fair to keep people in our country when they are breaking the law, and although we feel bad for them, breaking the law is breaking the law. Also, with regard to medical care and insurance and comparing how much Mexicans give to our country and how much they take, is not close to balancing out. What we are doing right now is not working, something needs to change. But decisions like this affect millions of people's lives and is a very complicated issue.
ReplyDeleteI, like the rest of you, found that the "Thirty Days" video was very dramatic. However, it is a pretty clear depiction of how many families live once they arrive into the U.S. While serving as a missionary in Southern Mexico, I became very aware of the situations of many individuals and they were very comparable to the family that is depicted in the episode. They are impoverished and starving and many FEEL that they have no other way out, but to flee to America. The television and media in Mexico depict America as a land of plenty and as an outlet for Mexican citizens. Thus, they flee and begin to start a new life in America.
ReplyDeleteHowever, once they arrive, they start to understand the challenges and barriers that they will face on a daily basis. They are different than the previous ones they faced, but arguably just as difficult to overcome.
I feel that the Mexican government needs to take a more direct role in supporting its own citizens through governmental aid and economic recovery programs. They media could also address the hardships and problems that the immigrants will face once they arrive in the United States.
If this information is better known, then immigrants will be less likely to leave their homelands illegally searching for something better. I have seen the determination and cries for help firsthand and I do believe that the Mexican government needs to take a more proactive role to inform their citizens of the potential risks of migrating to the United States.
Immigration is such an interesting issue because there seem to be such good arguments on both sides. i mean, while we were watching the 30 days program in class my heart went out to those people and I really felt strongly that they deserved more rights in our country. But then as we have continued studying the issue there seem to be such good arguments on both sides.
ReplyDeleteFor me one of the biggest problems with allowing illegal immigration is that they can move a lot of drugs accross the border. Over the last few years my opinion on the drug wars in Mexico has gotten a lot stronger as I have learned more about the violence that accompanies these drug wars. I really do not want that crossing over our borders...and I fear that it is already doing just that.
On the other hand, I think that if we somehow managed to close down illegal immigration, a lot of businesses that are making profits in the U.S. would chose to outsource and move to other countries where they can find cheaper labor. It seems logical that we should keep the jobs and revenue from U.S. businesses in the U.S.!
Derek,
ReplyDeleteThe LDS church actually says that a person should not usually get baptized if here illegally. Whether or not Bishops and missionaries follow that is a different story.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteWhere did you read that?