E

Movies reviewed here...
Eight Men Out.
El Norte 1.
El Norte 2.
Elderly Suicide.
The Emerald Forest.

Eight Men Out

Reviewed by James Howey, Pepperdine University

Perhaps no other aspect of American social thought and culture is as widely acknowledged and deeply felt as that of individualism. The moral primacy of the individual over the group is often presented as the cornerstone of democratic society. Personal liberty, individual initiative, and the private search for happiness are values and ideas deeply rooted in the fabric of American society; if they do not accurately reflect the realities of life in this country, they do represent its ideal description.

Individualism is truly the cornerstone of American society. From Plymouth Rock, to the spread west, to our rise to superpower status, individualism has been the driving ideal. The force of this ideal has made itself felt in American art as well, reflected most evidently in this century in film. Film comedies and dramas alike typically feature one or two characters encountering and overcoming a crisis. But in the film Eight Men Out, writer and director John Sayles attempts to tell bigger stories. Sayles ignores traditional ideas of characterization and the constraints of Hollywood to tell stories of people acting collectively. The following is a look at Sayles' attempt to expand the film genre using an approach dictated by his overall purpose in film making.

Each form of artistic expression has various genre. Literature, for example, has the short story (typically focusing on one character) and the novel (capable of developing several characters). Traditionally, American film makers have acquiesced to the constraints of their genre and developed one or two characters, painting the background characters using the broad brush strokes of Hollywood stock characters (e.g., the nerd, the clever private detective, etc.). Sayles writes, "American movies present an endless series of lean strangers riding into town from who knows where. The celebration of the individual is the backbone of our mythologies, the promise inherent in most of our laws and attitudes. This may be why dramas of collective life have always had a stronger hold on European and Asian audiences than on Americans. The lone man against the mob, whether he's mounted on a horse or on a motorcycle, is a typical American movie protagonist." Though clearly unrealistic, this man against the mob motif provides Americans with a sort of vicarious dominance. People identify themselves with these protagonists saying, "He was no one, and look what he did; maybe I can do it too." Many excellent films have been made following this formula, but what of stories that do not fit to one character's viewpoint? Are they not to be told, or are they to be simplified to the point where the story is lost to one character's viewpoint? Simply, no. The limitations of genre are self- imposed, based on the American value of individualism and on evaluative criteria which focus on depth of character. Ignoring these "limitations," John Sayles seeks to move beyond genre, taking a wholly different tack.

To tell the story in Eight Men Out, Sayles focuses on the community involved. In his American Film Illustrated article, Ring Lardner Jr. writes, "Sayles' screenplay does not try to simplify the complicated structure of corruption by concentrating on a few characters or choosing one point of view from which to tell the story. Instead, he shows us that greed, the main motivation for the fix, was more or less equally distributed among gamblers, ball players, and baseball magnates, and that the consequences of their surrender to it were divided among wives, innocentt players, newspapermen, and fans. The film includes a couple of dozen significant characters whose stories are told in a series of brief scenes, and though some of the actors are well known, there are no starring roles." While it would have been tempting to tell the pathos-laden story of Shoeless Joe Jackson (or another of the ball players), Sayles does not succumb to this temptation, knowing that in doing so he would lose the story he wanted to tell. Sayles comments, "I was committed always to telling the big story . . . it had to be an ensemble piece. I kept telling people, 'This is called Eight Men Out--not Three Men Out'."

A look at Sayles' overall purpose shows his outward rejection of the traditional limits of genre in the areas of characterization and theme. Sayles states, "I always hope people will leave the theater thinking of other people, not other movies they've seen. I want them to think about people they've never met before, and I want them to try to understand them." Sayles' commitment to telling the big story is thus based on characterization; he uses complex characterization to convey complex themes. Sayles writes, "It's always important who does what and why, and the manner of storytelling is important only in its effectiveness in bringing the audience to its basic questions." The characters then, serve as a point from which the audience is to ask "why?" and to be drawn into the film's questions.

Films that pose questions are clearly what Sayles wants. Unlike the closure typical in most films, Sayles "leaves it up to the moviegoer to assign blame and credit . . . the audience won't have the satisfaction at the film's end, of knowing exactly why everything worked the way it did." Sayles seeks to relate "cyclical life, a sense of continuity, good and bad . . . the opposite of the favored Hollywood ending of ultimate triumph." He delves into themes of immense scope (themes that would be unmanageable for some) and will not condescend to trite resolution.

The vast majority of the criticisms of both films are levelled against their complexity of characterization. The Sports Illustrated reviewer writes, Eight Men Out might have been better if it had been told from one point of view, not many." Such criticisms miss the point, which is that there was more than one person involved in these events. The fix of the 1919 World Series resulted from the interactions of many people and forces; the stories simply cannot be told from one viewpoint. That most critics missed the point shows the influence of traditional evaluative criteria. Unaccustomed to the collective viewpoint and to enigmatic themes, critics understandably fall into the trap of judging the films on standards that Sayles consciously avoided. If judged on the basis of conventional criteria Sayles' films are a hodgepodge of characters and themes. But to judge them in this way would be the equivalent of an early twentieth century art critic saying that Picasso's works lack realism. Films, like any art form, can (and should) stretch their genre and remain valuable providing that the viewers' evaluative criteria are simultaneously stretched.

One undeniable value of this film is that it depicts the collective. People are complex; put people in a group and the complexity is increased exponentially. Discussing Eight Men Out, Sayles says, "Conspiracies are rarely simple. People's motives are rarely simple. People in groups are capable of doing things, good or bad, that individuals aren't. I've been on a lot of teams, and there's always an intense social psychology at work, a kind of collective personality that each team has." Sayles' emphasis on the collective is a study in group dynamics; it is also an attempt at realism. People simply do not act in a vacuum, unrestrained and unaffected by other people and social forces; it is therefor unrealistic to portray them as doing so. Further, it is rare that situations are as black-and-white as we would like them to be; it is therefore unrealistic to describe them as being so. To tell the truth then, Sayles had no choice but to fly in the face of American film.

Sayles' primary virtue as a film maker is that he does not really care what anyone wants from his films. He has stories to tell, and he fiercely defends his right to tell them. Richard Schickel in his Time review of Eight Men Out writes, "The aspiration to dramatize a historical incident in all its complexity is not an unworthy one--and rare enough in movies. Whatever failures result from this ambition, there is still something likeable as well as commendable about the movie." Sayles is definitely ambitious in his storytelling, and he understands that film genre, like that of any form of expression, must expand and grow and stretch itself.

Film makers must not cater to the desire of Hollywood or those of the masses. Rather, they must be true to their art. As soon as artists compromise, they cease to create; they become mere technicians, attempting to skillfully fulfill the demands of formulae. These films should be praised rather than criticized for their attempt to go beyond genre. There is value in telling the big story--the story of the collective. What is clear is that our evaluative criteria must change to appreciate their merit. The individualism inherent in our society must be seen not only as a force which helps us to achieve, but also as an influence upon our viewpoint.

El Norte

Reviewed by Bart Stevens, Pepperdine University

As a part of this class we saw "El Norte" a little more than a week ago. Then we spent an hour discussing the movie with Dr. Martinez. It would seem that there has been enough said about the movie, but I don't feel it has been enough. I could not allow this movie to sit; it needs to be reexamined and most likely acted upon.

The plight of the illegal alien is not new to our generation. In America, primarily on the different coasts, we have had difficulties with the "aliens" since the Industrial Revolution. And the immigrants themselves were (are) diverse; if it wasn't the Chinese or the Japanese, it was the Irish or the Scotch, or the German or the Italian. For the European immigrants, assimilation has been more simple. While the first generation of fair-skinned had problems becoming a part of society, the third and fourth generations of these same nationalities are not even recognized by any title other than that of "American." However, the Latin American and Mexican immigrants have not been able to truly become a part of society, much like the Japanese and Chinese.

"El Norte" deals with the illegal alien, or, a better term, the undocumented worker. The film tells the story of Enrique and Rosa, two teenagers from a small Indian village in Guatemala. Their father, a leader in a group pushing for fair treatment for the workers, is caught and suffers the penalty of treason--he is shot and beheaded. After their mother is also taken away, Rosa and Enrique flee the village in fear for their lives and in hopes of finding riches in "The North." The movie follows the two through their journey in Mexico and on into the U.S., which they eventually reach by crawling through an abandoned sewage pipe.

The plot of "El Norte" is simple and easily stated, but the message of the movie is far from simple. "El Norte," while there are some obvious efforts to avoid it, softens the actual events suffered by many immigrants in an effort to make it somewhat easier to watch. The life of today's undocumented workers is not as easy as Enrique's and Rosa's appeared to be. The biggest reason for this fact is the population explosion of the undocumented workers. The 1980 census of The Urban Institute placed nearly 1.2 million immigrants in the "Standard Consolidated Statistical Area of Urban Los Angeles." The 1990 census, will, no doubt, show the same amount of growth. The Urban Institute only gave findings on the urban areas; therefore, the number does not take into account the workers located in the rural farm districts.

"El Norte" looks into the lives of the undocumented workers, so should we. For the most part, the movie portrayed the final crossing as the most difficult part of the journey for Enrique and Rosa--the time in the sewage pipes. For most border crossers have obstacles much more difficult than the heat sensors, vibration sensors, sound sensors and visual sensors of the border patrol. Many times these things are easier to pass than the human obstacles of the Coyotes. The Coyote, or "guide," is often only a smuggler, out for himself and whatever he can get. These smugglers, often times have no regard for human life, they want only one thing-- money. Dr. Xavier Manrique Trujillo explains that, "Little by little the smuggler takes the person for everything he has. It is a grim business. Most of the people mortgage what they have and sign contracts to continue to pay after they have reached the United States...many of them are women, some with children. They are vulnerable."

In the book, Slave Trade Today, American Exploitation of Illegal Aliens, Sasha G. Lewis argues that the Coyotes are not the only group of people of whom the workers must be leery. She shows evidence of murders, shootings, slave traders, prostitution rings, and cover ups within the U.S. Border Patrol. Therefore, one is caught in the middle of a predicament because should they be hurt, raped or robbed, there is no legal agency to whom the immigrant may turn since the very same thing may occur within the "protection" of the border patrol. At the very least, such a situation would mean deportation, without anyone caring enough to listen to the story.

Once the undocumented worker is in the U.S., his life is not much easier. For most of these workers, the possibility of employment is greater than in their homeland, however, so each considers the hardship worth the price. The largest employers of undocumented workers is agriculture. While Enrique is picked up by a man in a tuxedo driving a BMW, most undocumented workers are not so fortunate; they pick fruit to make their living. One grower said, "Agriculture would cease to exist as we know it today in San Diego County if the illegal alien labor force were not available to us." In 1978, the state's minimum wage was 2.90 per hour; however, the workers were often paid as little as $1.10 per hour. In 1989, the discrepancy in pay is still prevalent. Even if the workers were paid the minimum wage, today according to statistics, they would still be $1,000 per year beneath the poverty line.

"El Norte" shows Enrique and Rosa immediately in the work force, which, according to the Lewis book, normally takes three years to find. The jobs that are found in urban areas are as maids, dishwashers, garment workers and some light factory work. The management in these areas often sing the praises of the undocumented workers, but that is because they work harder than most and receive a lower salary. For example, in the late 1970's, an ex-ambassador to Costa Rica was indited by a grand jury for illegally transporting a maid to the U.S. and for paying her only $12 to $25 per week. The law, at the time, stated that she should have received $2.50 an hour plus room and board. It is difficult to explain and show the realities of the life of an undocumented worker through the written word. "El Norte," even with its somewhat glossy portrayal of this kind of lifestyle, is a movie which allows one to begin to feel the pain and suffering these people endure. The images of Tijuana, the rat attack, and the Los Angeles apartment before the scrub brush, makes one ask the question, "Why?" For Enrique and Rosa, the answer is clear; they were afraid for their lives in their own village. For most, it is simply the desire for a better life, but that life is not easy to attain.

It is a catch-22 situation for the undocumented worker. He is not supposed to be in the country, but, out of a desire for a better life, feels he must be here. Because he is here illegally, the undocumented worker is discriminated against in the workplace. The survival of the undocumented worker is constantly in jeopardy. Add this to the fear of deportation and how the undocumented worker will survive is a question to which there does not seem to be a clear answer.

Neither is there a clear answer to what exactly each individual can do for these immigrants. Does one hire, if in a position to do so, thus promoting an illegal society? Does one work with the immigrants to try and get the needed green card? How does one help these people who expected America to be the land of milk and honey? These are questions which I cannot answer; however, one thing I do know, more movies such as "El Norte" must continue to make the public aware of the problem. Without them America will continue on in her ignorant bliss.

El Norte

Reviewed by Martin N. Marger, Teaching Sociology

This is a captivating film that dramatizes the plight of Central American immigrants to the United States. While dealing with the current wave of immigration, especially the undocumented element, El Norte speaks to the timelessness of the immigrant experience.

The film is divided into three segments. The first is set in a Guatemalan peasant village, from which Enrique and Rosa, brother and sister, are forced to flee after their parents are murdered by governmental soldiers. Having been previously influenced by beguiling tales of riches, they are convinced that they have but one alternative--the North. The second segment portrays, in particularly graphic scenes, the sheer brutality of their journey through Mexico and across the American border. Here the film describes the hardships and indignities that immigrants, whether seeking economic betterment or political refuge, will endure in pursuit of the promise of el Norte. Finally, in the third segment, Enrique and Rosa reach Los Angeles, where they must adapt to the modern, urban world. This is the longest of the film's three parts and the most sociologically penetrating. Depicted is the social context of the undocumented immigrant, with its panoply of problems--finding work, learning English, evading La Migra, and, through it all, maintaining a sense of belonging and identity.

El Norte is most appropriate for courses in race and ethnic relations, Latin American studies, and migration issues. The film's portrayal of the sociological quantum leap of immigrants from the traditional culture of the peasant village to the rapacious and alienating culture of the mega-city will also provide a fascinating illustration for students of modernization and development. In one especially poignant scene, Rosa, having secured employment as a domestic, cannot operate a complicated washing machine. Undaunted, she resorts to the familiar and effective--washing the laundry by hand and laying it in the sun to dry. After discovering this action, her affluent American employer cannot understand why she did not use the machine. "What difference does it make how I do it," Rosa asks. "It's done." Her more acculturated co-worker tells her, "in the North, you always use machines."

As a classroom tool, El Norte will be effective in conveying a sociological perspective on an array of social, economic, and political issues that revolve about the newest immigration, particularly revolve about the newest immigration, particularly from Latin American. What is the lure of the United States and how do immigrants--especially those who come illegally--adapt to a strange and uncongenial, yet suductively promising, environment? Most immigrants, like the two portrayed in this film, are lost people, unable to keep their home in their native country and unable to secure acceptance in their new society. Rosa, taken deathly ill from rat bites suffered while crawling through abandoned sewer pipes during the border crossing, laments to her brother that "life is different here--we're not free." But neither are they free in Guatemala.

El Norte will force students to consider the meaning of "individual success" in the American context and the costs one incurs in seeking it. Enrique and Rosa are quickly exposed to the ferocity of the American work world, and the film's climactic scenes deal with Enrique's attempt to reconcile his sense of family duty with his understanding of the need to grab the ring of opportunity when it comes around. Economic freedom, director Gregory Nava keenly demonstrates, has it price--the abandonment of family ties, communal values, and psychic security.

Another major issue prompted by El Norte concerns the economic impact of the current Hispanic immigrant wave. What jobs do Mexican and Central American immigrants fill, and how do they help sustain a dual labor market? And who, in the end, benefits from the unabated flow of illegals? Regarding the latter, the film vividly shows the exploitative nature of the use of the undocumented immigrant labor pool in large urban areas like Los Angeles. In the end, these immigrants learn that even in the promised land, the oppressed and the oppressors do not exchange roles.

Finally, El Norte suggests indirectly a number of political questions, in particular, how policies emanating from Washington help create and abet the conditions in Latin American societies that impel the northward movement. Moreover, the film demonstrates how difficult it often is to separate the political and economic aspects of immigration to the United States. The point at which immigrants can be classified as either political refugees or seekers of economic opportunity is commonly indistinct, particularly among those coming from Central America and the Caribbean.

The one serious pedagogical problem instructors will encounter with this film is its inordinate length--almost two and one-half hours. This makes a one-class showing virtually impossible. For in-class use, instructors might make better use of El Norte as the focus of a week-long project.

Elderly Suicide

Reviewed by Dorothy Rosenberg, West Virginia University

Elderly Suicide is one of a series of Phil Donahue Shows available on videotape that address contemporary social issues. As moderator, Donahue presents the problem of elderly suicide by comparing 1983 suicide rates per 100,000 for white males over 65 (40.3) with those for teens (11.9) and for females over 65 (7.2) and non-whites over 65 (7.45).

Three guests share their experiences as surviving family members: a man whose father committed suicide at age 62; a woman whose mother committed suicide at age 65; and a woman whose 70- year-old husband committed suicide. The expert panelist, John McIntosh, associate professor of psychology, Indiana University- South Bend, responds to audience questions and comments; he points out that the elderly often feel helpless, hopeless, and hapless and may turn to suicide as a solution to problems confronting them. The situations that trigger suicide as well as the warning signs someone is contemplating suicide are presented and discussed.

This film is most appropriate for sociology of aging and death and dying, and it may be relevant to other courses such as social problems and family, depending upon the topics that are covered. Elderly Suicide offers an introduction to this phenomenon in the familiar talk show format. The brief Discussion Guide accompanying the film summarizes its content and includes two four-item groups of questions, one based on recall and the other on interpretation, and a six-item vocabulary. The three cases, the expert panelist, and the audience comments invite discussion about the relationships between role changes and suicide, economic well-being and suicide, gender and suicide, and the social as well as psychological causes of suicide among the elderly.

The Discussion Guide does not suggest any reference materials, and elderly suicide receives little more than mention in passing-if that-in death and dying, aging, and other sociology textbooks. The 1983 statistics, while dramatically demonstrating differences between elderly males and others, are dated and do not indicate whether elderly suicide is increasing or decreasing over such as Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, The Gerontologist, Omega, etc. might be assigned. These readings will provide a knowledge base beyond what the film has to offer and will enrich class discussion following the viewing of Elderly Suicide.

The Emerald Forest

Reviewed by Gerald J. Grzyb, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

Burton (1988) argues for feature films as devices for determining whether students are beginning to develop a sociological understanding of the world. While he emphasizes class discussion as the setting to make that determination. I have found that certain films can also serve as the entire object of analysis for formal examinations in which students demonstrate their ability to apply the sociological ideas they've encountered. An obvious advantage of such exams is that all who take them are analyzing the same "real life events," even if those events only happened in a celluloid world.

Surprisingly, few films have met my requirements for employment on such exams. First, the content of a film must allow for the application of a variety of ideas drawn from several of the topic areas I cover in my introductory course. I will not ask students to spend the better part of two hours with a film that only allows them to apply a few ideas. Next, a film must provide opportunities for "obvious" applications as well as more sophisticated and subtle observations. The former ensure that virtually all students experience the enlarged understanding that derives from the application of newly-acquired knowledge, while the latter permit those who are absolutely devouring sociology to see just how much can be done with it. Finally, a film must be readily accessible to students, which usually means that its main characters should be in some way similar to students, even if only in age. While one very effective use of a film is to expose students to the lives of people not like them, my purpose here is to allow students to see for themselves how sociological analysis can make sense of the lives of people like them.

Films that meet those criteria are not necessarily found on critics' "ten best" lists, nor are they always the films commonly identified as exhibiting the most sociological insight. For example, Annie Hall has much to say about social relationships, and it is a personal favorite, but it simply isn't well suited to the purpose I've stated. The two films I have found to be the most appropriate are The Emerald Forest and The Breakfast Club. Both have been the basis for exams in every introductory section I've taught during the past three years.

The Emerald Forest is a John Boorman (Hope And Glory) film based on a true story. It begins when Tommy, the young son of Bill, an engineer in charge of building a dam in the Amazon rainforest, wanders a few feet into the as-yet-unclear forest and is promptly "kidnapped" by members of a small tribe calling itself "the Invisible People." The name derives from the tribal members' use of body paint and stealthy movements to conceal themselves from animal prey or human predators. After searching for a decade, Bill finds his son, but the circumstances of their meeting are quite unusual. Bill is fleeing from another tribe known as "the Fierce People," and has been wounded. His son--now what we would call "an adolescent"--is on a vision quest as part of his passage to adulthood among the Invisibles. Now called "Tomme'", he has been thoroughly encultured by these gentle hunter-gatherers, and no longer looks or acts at all like the modern industrial child he once was.

Following a dramatic meeting in which they almost kill one another before each recognizes the other, Tomme' saves his father from the Fierce People and takes him back to the Invisibles' village. While recuperating, Bill learns something of their way of life. Nonetheless, he tries (unsuccessfully) to persuade his son to return with him to the city that was once his home. The Invisibles take Bill back to the edge of the world he knows, but while they are away, the Fierce People kill the older Invisible women, and trade the younger ones to white slaves for booze and automatic weapons. After the Invisible males fail to recapture the women and suffer heavy losses at the hands of the Fierce People, Tomme' seeks Bill's help by going to the city where he lives and finding him (with the assistance of a spirit animal that he contacts through a drug-induced trance).

Once the women have been returned to the tribe, Bill warns Tomme' that the nearly-completed dam means more and more white people will come, leaving less and less room for the Invisibles and other tribes. Tomme', apparently unaware that Bill engineered the dam, responds that he will ask the frogs to sing so as to make it rain hard enough to swell the rivers and destroy the dam. That is indeed what happens, and the Invisible People appear to begin living happily ever after. The film closes, however, with a stark factual statement on the screen about the rapid destruction of rainforest acreage and the precipitous decline in the number of people still living in the "undeveloped" forest that remains.

Above all, this film offers a very dramatic means for confronting students with one of the most important questions that can be raised in an introductory sociology class: "Why are you who you are?" They are quite aware that had he not been abducted at an early age, Tommy/Tomme' would look and act much like them. One of the questions I ask on the exam for this film, then, concerns implications for the nature/nurture controversy. In their answers to this question, I'm usually pleased to find that students are beginning to recognize the extent to which they are indeed social creations and are less likely to claim that they are "naturally" inclined to act in certain ways.

While hardly an anthropological documentary (and not nearly as boring), the film shows enough of life among the Invisibles to permit asking students to do a series of comparisons with our own society (and, to a much lesser extent, with that of the Fierce People). The specific issues and events I've asked students to consider include: 1) socialization on father-son hunting trips; 2) courtship; 3) wedding ceremonies and celebrations; 4) sexual intercourse; 5) use of mind-altering drugs; 6) use of body paint and clothing; 7) rites of passage to adulthood; 8) group leadership; and 9) funeral ceremonies. Students can apply much of what they've learned about structure and culture in these comparisons.

The film does not always tell students everything they need to know to make complete comparisons, so I ask them to speculate about what they are not told. For instance, the chief of the Invisibles offers Bill for sexual companionship of a young girl if he has "need" while recuperating. Does this mean the Invisible People believe in "free love," or was this offer related to Bill's visitor status? Can anything be inferred from the chief's offer about general status of women among the Invisibles? Student speculation in response to such questions reveals much about the extent to which they can see the coherence among the features of a society.

There are numerous other questions that can be asked in an exam based on The Emerald Forest. What beliefs held by the Invisibles are not found in our society? How do the ecological niches of the Invisibles and the white developers differ? Why are certain objects sacred to the Invisible People yet not to us? In sum, the exam can call for the application of a wide variety of concepts taught in the typical introductory course--indeed, I have yet to see a film that equals The Emerald Forest in this regard. I give the exam about halfway through the course, when students have already read the basic chapters on social structure, culture, ecology, socialization, interaction, and groups.

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