Paper Sample on Roma: Iconic Reflection of Mexico's City Neighborhoods

Roma is a controversial film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, which was released in 2018, reflecting different weaknesses in society. The film reflects two different societies concurrently. While the director of the film argues the film is a reflection of his own life, there are many controversies in the movie that are presumed to be politically oriented. The film has become an iconic reflection of the current society exposing the relationship between the Mexican city neighborhoods. The paper aims to evaluate the key themes the film director tried to communicate and how each concept was finally expressed in the film.

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Rome film focuses on political, social, and injustices aspects "Roma Habla de injusticias, Sociales y políticas, pero hace énfasis" (Semana). However, the film director presents these aspects in the form of domestic slavery. Throughout his film, Alfonso tried to show how slavery still exists in the 21st century. By using a maiden as a lens to introduce the challenges within the society, the directors try to demonstrate how the social classes between the poor and the rich are maintained. The maiden's work has no defined regulations (Gifre, 179). Despite having a flourishing relationship, the hierarchies are not transcended across different social classes.

The main aim of the film was to address issues within the society which the people were already aware of "cosas que están en la conciencia común de esta Sociedad" (Semana). He wanted the society to understand the injustices that were happening in the society as marked by the ongoing student strike within the vicinity. His unique way of marking the start and the end of the scene by a massacre indicates how deep the society is facing extreme violence.

A great movie is not just about the story that it is built on, but how the story is told and how the audience particularly perceives it. Great movies make us pay close attention, through captivating but subtle guidance that we fall in a trance at the filmmaker's will, often paying more attention than we fail to in our daily lives, Alfonso Cuarón does that in his new movie Roma. The movie is set around 1971, Roma, named for the neighborhood in which Cuaron was raised. The plot of the film is a bit personal for the director, who centers the main character, Cleo, on a woman who worked for his family and raised him. In his own words, he describes how personal the project is to him through"El Noventa por ciento de las escenas representadas en la película son escenas sacadas de mi memoria" (Semana). So much of Roma pits a concept of personal experience against the human story in the context of a societal one. The story is a blend of the humane and the artistic nature within the director, producing every scene to be as captivating as the next. The story is structured around Cleo's relationship to the already failing family that she works for, her unwanted pregnancy, and the backdrop of sociopolitical upheaval at the time in Mexico.

Conclusion

In conclusion, It is clear to see the love that Alfonso Cuarón brings to the screen in Roma, the care and respect that he centers around Cleo. The film is made to be visually rich and compelling, allowing the viewers to set aside their expectations and let the film speak for itself. The film is a testament to the women who raised him and who, despite the larger things that were going around in the country, kept on rebuilding and raising children.

Works Cited

Gifre, Emma Martinell. "Reactions to 'Rome' by Alfonso Cuarón: not just a movie." Disseminations. Journal of Research and Criticism in the Humanities and Social Sciences 2.3 (2019): 179-198. http://www.academia.edu/download/59151224/Dialogos-Criticos-Terapeuticos-No._5120190506-25247-o8urn9.pdf#page=3

Semana. "Alfonso Cuarón: “El verdadero problema de nuestra sociedad es la separación de castas Y clases”." Alfonso Cuarón El verdadero problema de nuestra sociedad es la separación de castas y clases, 24 Feb. 2019, www.semana.com/cultura/articulo/alfonso-cuaron-el-verdadero-problema-de-nuestra-sociedad-es-la-separacion-de-castas-y-clases/595776.