IDST 190-007: La División Movie Blurb

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Last Modified

December 3, 2019

Creator

Perez-Medina, Dacia

Abstract

The attached images are from Scene Ten in Grupo 13’s film, La División. In this scene, Trabajador #2 tells Enrique, “Tu familia es la cosa más importante en tu vida. Creo que puedes sacar un trabajo como este en Los Ángeles, pero a pesar de todo, tu necesitas estar con su hermana. Familia es amor.” We wanted to create a scene that would prompt Enrique to realize the importance of family and that would depict him returning to Rosa, an embodiment of the place he has and will always belong to. The scene provides an alternate ending to the original film; in El Norte, Enrique never leaves for Chicago as he originally plans. Instead, he returns to Rosa and stays with her as she dies. In contrast, La División depicts Enrique leaving Rosa in the hospital as he pursues an economic opportunity in Chicago that will allow him to pay for Rosa’s treatment, highlighting how immigrants’ lives are characterized by painful sacrifice. La División was highly influenced by El Norte and the “Mujeres Creando” article; while providing an alternative ending to El Norte, La División emphasizes the power of art and fellowship in the healing of trauma and in the cultivation of identity and belonging. The return to home depicted in both films is also a prominent theme in the narrative of immigrants and immigrant families; as they struggle to survive in a space that does not want them, they are able to create spheres of warmth, comfort, acceptance, and belonging, both in their homes and in their relationships with each other.

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