Class Notes

09.23.02

by Bryan Getchell

The quiz taken last Friday (9-20-2202) and resource report one will be returned either by Wednesday (9-25-2002) or hopefully by this Friday (9-26-2002).

Due to the movie being 53 minutes long, we were unable to discuss anything, and I personally was not capable of staying for the entire move. The following is a summary of the part of the movie I did see. The other part I did not get a chance to see was summarized by graduate preceptor-- Carolyn Gage.

Luis Family:
(Main Members/Characters)
-Liliana is the second to the youngest child (14 years of age)
-Juanita is the mother (48 years of age)
-Elizabeth is the older sister (23 years of age)
-Eliazar is the father During this class period, we viewed a movie that depicted the life of a family of migrant workers. We followed the Luis family through their transition between their home in Texas to their home in a migrant labor camp in California.

The beginning of the movie introduces the main protagonist, Liliana Luis. She attends Arvin Highschool in Arvin, California. Her mother, Juanita, works in the fields picking grapes, and her father works for the Migrant Camp they stay at fixing air conditioners and other things-- much like a handy man would. Occasionally, Liliana would help her mother pick grapes, and part of the wage she earned would go to her mother to help pay for rent.

September:
Within this portion of the movie, Liliana's life at Arvin Highschool is depicted. Within the migrant school she attended, there were 100 other students.

Here the narrator stated that often times children of migrant workers were caught up in the process of catching up because they always have to catch up. This occurs due to the fact every time they have to move, they are subject to new classes and the different requirements within each highschool.

In history class, Liliana's teacher emphasized the importance of education through offering up the idea that soon robots would replace field workers. He asked what would become of those who didn't have an education when new technological advances occurred that allowed robots to do the work that their current parents' did.

In a different scene, Liliana is in the back seat of a car with her cousin Janet. Here they discussed the difference between white and Mexican boys. Janet stated that Mexican guys know how to treat a woman. While, white men will cheat and are dogs.

October:
Later within this section, Jackson- migrant worker coordinator- and Lucas- assistant migrant worker coordinator- are seen going to the house of two girls. Here they come across a group of men who don't recognize who the girls are. Leaving the house, the two men state that children often come home from school one day and are told they have to move and do so that night because their parents have found work some place else. This constant moving creates this problem Jackson and Lucas have to deal with. The children don't skip school, but rather, they're forced to move at a moment's notice. This often times leaves the school unaware of where the children are.

The Luis Family moves back to Mission Texas-- 10 miles from the Mexican border. Here, Liliana attends La Joya Highschool. While in the assistant principal's office, Lilana is addressed with the dress code policy. Later she attends her migrant worker lab. She ends up having to go to the library because the teacher didn't show up for the class. Her she talks with the other girl in her class about their families and their history.

In Las Ramones, Mexico, the Luis family visits their grandparents. In the living room they discuss the difficulties of living in Mexico. Money is brought up and the idea that once you realize what money is, you're faced with dealing with the reality that you're povern. Work is hard to find in Mexico whereas in the United States of America, it's much more easier to find work that pays well.

Back at school, Liliana is tested for her English proficiency for the state test. Scores for the test are understandably low, so the teachers are asked to give vocabulary tests each week. March:

The Luis family moves back to California to work. This time Elizabeth and her husband go with her family because she got fired from her job at the bra factory. On their entrance into California, they are asked if they're US citizens. The mother- Juanita- states that all you need to say is "yes sir," and they won't question you. However if you don't say that, you're somewhat screwed. As they pass the border, the see a car pulled over and being searched. The comment is made that they're only being searched because they're "Mexicans."Synthesizing this into what we've been reading:

Understandably the Luis family is faced with migrant work due to their lack of education, but at the same time, their children are faced with great difficulties in attending school because of their parents' migrant jobs. This obviously perpetuates an endless cycle.

Incorporating the ideas found within McIntosh's article of taking certain things for granted is the idea that we take for granted the ability to achieve a highschool diploma relatively easily due to the fact that most children aren't faced with constantly moving.

Another idea incorporated into the movie is the stereotypes that the Luis family is faced with. Such as the issue of being asked at the border whether they were US citizens.

Acceptable dating criteria are also talked about amongst the girls founded on color-based generalizations. Are these generalizations truly fair, or are they what perpetuate the cycle of poverty within the migrant working class?

Liliana is also seen to take an interest in dance within her school. Is this a individual decision, or is it a certain societal expectation placed there similar to the ideologly that Lorber's article discusses?