Latinos films Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Latinos films - Essay Example The Latino community has been faced with numerous problems ranging from labor problems to social problems. This can be rooted to the fact that the community is considered as a minority race in the United States alongside other races like the African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans among other minority races. Like others races which had these kinds of problems, there are some movies which have been produced to highlight the problems of the Latino community in the United States. This paper will look into some of these movies and highlight the problems that have been highlighted in these movies. One of the movies that have been produced to highlight the plight of the Latino community is movie titled, 'The Fight in the Fields.' The Fight in the Fields is a Latino documentary movie produced, directed, and written by Rick Tejada-Flores and Ray Telles. The documentary covers the eventful life of Cesar Chavez in his epic struggle. The documentary movie is based on newsreel, archival footage, and interviews with California Governor Jerry Brown, Dolores Huerta, and Cesar Chavez family members including his brother, sister, son and daughter. Cesar Chavez and the farmworkers' struggle is a presentation of the Independent Television Services (ITVS) and are produced by Paradigm Productions (The Fight in the Fields, 16th May). The two hour documentary covers the first successful organizing drive of farm workers in the United States. It first premiered in 1997 in the Sundance Film Festival and was aired across the United States on PBS from 97 through 2000. It was also aired in the Sundance Channel in 2001 and 2002. The main focus of the documentary is on Cesar Chavez's dramatic attempts to unionize farm workers. The documentary covers the following areas of Cesar Chavez life: His earlier years. His adolescent life as a farm worker His young years as a community organizer His relationship and eventual marriage to Helen. Helen Chavez was instrumental in the movement since she supported her husband to focus his energy to the movement. The dramatic events that Cesar Chavez was involved in during his time in the movement. This helped the cause of the movement since it attracted the attention of the press. The non violent strikes attracted the attention of the public. This was a plus to their cause because it put pressure on farm owners and the government. His three hundred mile march. His friendship with Robert Kennedy Cesar Chavez and the farm workers major barrier was the Bracero Program which brought thousands of Mexican contract workers to work in the United States. The movie shows how Cesar Chavez unionized farm workers who led non violent strikes. Up to date migrant workers continue to face numerous problems. There are an estimated three and half million immigrants in the United States who are predominantly Latino (78%). They move their permanent residence so as to seek employment mainly in agricultural farms. Their kind of employment is usually of short durations and demand regular 'migration'. Almost fifty percent of migrant farm workers have less than ninth grade education. They face the problem of language barrier because they speak little or no English. Majority of farm workers live under the poverty level and very few receive worker's compensation or social security. Such benefits are hard to