Movie Analysis Essay on Mi Familia: A Vivid Exploration of Family Issues

Introduction

Mi Familia is one of the favorites films that vividly describes the family issues that people come across in their lives by use of various characters. Sanchez being the main character of the film has played a key role in his family. Through Sanchez, we are able to get the matters relating to his family, starting from his migration up to the time he settles down. The family of Sanchez initially lived in Mexico, but they later decided to travel to one of the States called Los Angeles. The story begins with migration movements portrayed by Sanchez due to the challenges that were undermining him and his family (Herrera, Gioconda, 475). During his migration pattern to Los Angeles, one of his relatives settled in the region called California, which was nearby Mexico and got married in California, thus leading to the union of family. Regardless of some problems that hindered him, he persevered and remained firm and confident on his way to Los Angeles. Some of the threats that Sanchez encountered in his journey include; depression, deportations, anxieties, racial discrimination, and police brutality (Galarza, Litzy, 23). Moreover, the film of Mi Familia explains the strong bond that existed between the culture of the Latino people.

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Also, Mi Familia has been aided by other characters such as Jose, Jimmy, Chucho, and Paco. Each of these characters was affected in a different manner. Paco was positively impacted because he obtained his wealth by inheritance, and it enables him to continue with his writing skills. Jimmy, on the other side, was negatively affected throughout the film through his brother Chucho who was discriminated against and later being murdered.

The common norm that is assumed by Mi Familia is the issue of gender equality as drawn from the family of Sanchez. This clan assumes that when a person is being rescued in the river, there are traditions that accompanied it, for instance, the existence of dances from two different groups of individuals to enhance the entire process of rescuing a person. Chucho and his colleagues were taking part in this kind of dances. Isabel and Jimmy also participated in the dances that were conducted on the riverside with the aim of rescuing a baby. When it comes to gender roles, gender equality was enhanced by the use of different characters such as Irene, who internationally decided to engage in the field of politics through being an activist. This shows that the family of Sanchez rarely make a follow up on the stand of an individual choice when he or she has made the final decision.

I agree that the members of Mi Familia have the ability to challenge their traditional roles. This is because some of the characters, for example, Irene, seem to be a betrayer to her culture, whereby she abandoned the order assigned to her and joined the field of politics. Behavior is also an important norm among the family of Sanchez. The argument that is mostly made by the Sanchez family concerning the view of behavior is has been considered positive since the members of his family have strongly teamed up and behaved in a manner that creates a good picture of their culture. Also, the family of Sanchez is consistent in terms of their beliefs because everybody adheres to the norms that are required to be followed hence preserving their culture.

The social class in which Sanchez family can fall into is middle-class groups of people. This is because the middle-class groups of people are being subjected to various forms of mistreatment by the white people that include; brutality and racial discrimination. Furthermore, being a lower-class group of people has exposed them to strains. For instance, Nava struggled for the presentation of the film in terms of images to lay down the problems that were affecting the minority group of people and more so the issues that were pertaining to their societal beliefs and norms.

Also, Mi Familia belongs to middle-class groups of people, and hence they are certain privileges that this group enjoys, i.e., a right to make their own decision when it comes to their various fields of occupations, for example, Irene begins her career from being a nun to an activist. Therefore, it is clear that Mi Familia rarely limits the freedom of making individual decisions.

I agree that Mi Familia is a clear mirror of a family today in several ways. Firstly, it reflects how people are grouped according to their gender roles, thus enabling them to fit their respective gender groups. Moreover, the Mi Familia reflects on today's family since it has highlighted most of the issues that are common across the cultures and how it undermines the lifestyles of the people in their daily lives. It also reflects on today's family through fewer interactions by the people in our various societies due to limited time. Mi Familia is a mirror to the family today because it signifies the essence of a family across the majority of the cultures and some of the privileges that are linked to families, for example, freedom of expression. Also, Mi Familia is a reflection of the family today since it shows how people from different communities use various methods to portray the challenges affecting them so that it can be addressed by those who are in powers hence leading to cultural preservation.

The family structures keep on changing from one generation to another. The family structures have totally changed today as compared with five years ago, as seen in how people socialized with each other, how they adhere to their norms and gender socialization across all cultures. In terms of socialization, people rarely interact with each other because most of them are working in various places, for instance, urban centers. People have moved from rural areas to urban areas in search of jobs and education. As a result of these migrations, members of some families may not be able to fully interact and share with their families and fellow friends.

Also, due to changes in the family structures, norms have also been eroded; therefore, people rarely adhere to the set rules by their societies. The erosion of these norms in various societies is usually caused by certain factors. Some of these factors are; westernization. Westernization has led to a decline in societal norms by exposing people to modern technology such as education. Through education, people majorly put more concern on acquiring knowledge rather than adhering to traditional norms, thus neglecting their cultures. Also, through enrollment in education programs, people rarely have time to take part in learning more about traditional norms.

Gender socialization had also changed as compared to before whereby males and females were taught in specific places about their cultural norms and their gender roles, unlike today whereby males and females are enrolled in the same place and being taught on the common cultural norms concerning being a female or male thus interfering with the various responsibilities that are supposed to be done by them (Davila, Denise, 270).

Works Cited

Davila, Denise. "Cultural boundaries or geographic borders? Future teachers define "American" in response to In my family/En mi familia." 62nd Yearbook of the Literacy Research Association (2013): 260-272.

Galarza, Litzy. Race, gender, and sexuality: constructions of Latinidad in Jane the Virgin. Diss. University of Missouri--Columbia, 2016.

Herrera, Gioconda. "Gender and international migration: Contributions and cross-fertilizations." Annual Review of Sociology 39 (2013): 471-489.