Discussion – The Mean World Syndrome
Been a long time fan of the Media Education Foundation. It turns out we can watch their films free if we don’t mind preview-grade low-res. Full length versions are thus available at the MEF website here.
Click onto the site, then go to the little icon below the giant preview pane, and click The Mean World Syndrome, the film under examination on this thread. That opens a window with another preview pane, and a button below it that says “VIEW A FULL-LENGTH PREVIEW.” Click that, and you’re in.
What are your reactions to the film?
Do you take anything new away from the film?
How might you use this film?
sam:
Very good program, though I noticed something that didn’t fit. When showing how Latinos are frequently portrayed in the media as hostile and deserving of “white violence”, they played a clip from the film “Machete” where the title character, who is Mexican, attempts to assassinate a politician, but is shot by a white sniper before he can pull it off.
Out of context it seems like an appropriate example, but in the movie, Machete is actually the hero. The audience is supposed to root for him as he doles out violence to villains, who are mostly white Americans. His getting shot is not meant to be seen as a positive.
I point out this reversal of the status quo not because it’s positive or profound in any way, but because the controversy the movie stirred up is a perfect example of the attitude of exceptionalism that still pervades our culture.
‘Machete’ drew quite a bit of fire from the right when it was released for its depiction of violence by Mexicans against Americans.
19 November 2010, 3:31 amGasp! But the countless movies where American action heroes barge into other countries and wreak havoc? Those are okay. No controversy there. Nary an eyebrow was raised regarding Sylvester Stallone and “the Expendables” invasion of South America. It’s U.S. and them…