“Lone Star”-Borderlands America Essay

Hispano-Mestizo America/Borderlands America solitary StarThe deal Lone Star is a murder mystery film based in Frontera, Texas which is a multicultural border town. The significance of the conclusion of Lone Star is based off of well-nigh(prenominal) contexts presented throughout the film. The portrayed contexts of the film have to do with births and conflicts between races, social classes and power struggle in spite of appearance a corporation and the border between Mexico and Texas. These contexts place significance throughout the film as a murder mystery is sort of a background to all the even offts and conflicts that take place.The phrase Forget the Alamo is an persuasion that is depicted throughout the film. The phrase refers back to the time when Texas was trying to gain independence from Mexico and alike deals with a great conflict and broken promises between the Anglos and Mexicans. This idea significantly deals with conflicts between the borders. The phrase is mean t to say that they should entomb the border war and racial conflict.We even see the border issue between Mercedes Cruz who is a Mexican restaurant owner and a Mexican immigrant herself. She will make rude remarks to the Mexican contraband aliens as she presumes them to be. And to other fellow Mexican Americans, if they speak their language she will stop them and tell them to speak in English because they are in America. And she will even call the border control on other Mexicans she finds trying to sneak into the border town.The concept of cross-cultural relationships is shown in the film by the relationship between Pilar and Sam. Pilar is a Mexican-American crop teacher and Sam is an Anglo police officeholder of Frontera. They had a past relationship when they were younger and in the film find a recent renewed womanise between each other. This idea also contributes to the conflicts between races. in that respect is some conflict between Anglos and Mexican-Americans. There is some hostility between them that we see in the film when we look at Pilars mother, Mercedes, and between Sam. She has not liked the idea of her daughter being with a white man even back when they were teenagers andstill in their renewed romance as they are older. other reason of her reprimand deals with a surprise later found that Pilar and Sam are half brother and sister.We also see the racial conflict with the questioned morale police officer, Charley Wade. While he was a police officer he was a tyrant to Mexicans and African Americans and would do whatever he can to make them aghast(predicate) of him, to show whose boss since he was an Anglo. He harassed Otis who was an African American who owned a bar that was popular among African Americans. He also shot a Mexican man he knew was smuggling immigrants across the border. And also at the end of the film, he attempted to unjustly kill Otis. His slip just showed racial prejudice and abuse of his positional power as a police offi cer.Another concept from the film is the conflict between the social classes at bottom the community. This concept is portrayed in the film by the political election approaching and the involvement the mayor Hollis Pogue in the murder mystery years ago. He struggles with dealing with his social and political status and possible loss of power as Mayor in the truth that he is the one who killed Charley Wade.There is also a part of the film that shows the class struggle as the talk of building a new jail as it is an issue of the forthcoming sheriff election which is between Sam and a fellow Mexican colleague. And also from the issue about the school curriculum and the debate about which one teaches the real history of the area which one place the rightfield race as the good guys. The teachers debate about this as they know they live in a community with different cultures, race, and classes.In the film Lone Star we see a struggle between the contexts of race, class, power struggle and border wars presented throughout the film. Although the murder mystery is the main plot of the film, these issues are very what the film is about.The film shows the cultural and racial struggles in the relationshipsbetween Otis and other African-Americans and Mexicans against Charley Wade, Mercedes and Sam, Sam and Pilar, and Mercedes and illegal aliens. Whatever race or culture they may be, they have to deal with multicultural issues whether it may be against their own race or another race. Some deal with it in prejudice ways and some have the forget the Alamo mindset.Lone Star opens its viewers to the sometimes hidden issues that are often unforeseen in border towns. It shows the cultural, racial, power, class struggles and conflict present in border towns. It also shows the hardship that the community and people of the community deal with, not only with each other but also within themselves and identifying who they really are and trying to be multicultural and dealing with people of different race and cultures.REFERENCES* genus Rosa Linda, Fregoso. Gender, Multiculturalism, and the Missionary Position on the Borderlands Docutek Eres. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. .* Mckenzie, Shelly. Teaching John Sayles Lone Star A Guide for Teachers of Grades 10-12. Mediapede.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. .