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Show & Tell: Seinfeld

Below is a clip from an episode of “Seinfeld,” an American sitcom from the 90s. The basic premise is a group of friends living together in NYC and the show revolves around the random happenings in their lives. In this episode Jerry Seinfeld (red shirt in the clip) has convinced his friend to invest money with an accountant. They see the accountant randomly at a restaurant and he cannot stop sniffling. The two obsess over this and are convinced the account is doing drugs – which would explain the sniffling. That is the context for the scene attached below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlBDxRdPSwg Seinfeld is one of my parents favorite tv shows and as I was sitting with them a few nights ago as they were watching reruns I was struck by this scene. A very mindless show, I don’t usually do much thinking when I watch with my parents and I am far more entertained by their extreme amusement with the various happenings then with the actual content of the show itself. But this scene...
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Roma & Marx

            Reading a selection of Marx in conjunction with watching the movie “Roma” provided an interesting lens through which to view the film. Based on my reading of Marx I approached Roma through the lens of viewing labor as a commodity and people who perform labor as commodities to be consumed. Cleo and her relationship with the family she works for is an interesting juxtaposition as their interactions span a wide range from employer/employee behavior to family like interactions.             There are a couple of scenes in the movie that stuck out to me as when Cleo’s commodification was most prominently displayed. The first is when Sofia is on the phone and slaps Paco for eavesdropping. She immediately is overtaken by guilt and hugs and cries with Paco apologizing profusely. However, in that same moment she screams at Cleo for not stopping Paco from listening in on her conversation, displaying...
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From Cuba with Love

This article raised some really interesting question about the idea of consuming bodies, particularly in the context of sexual relations between Cubans and foreigners. For me the most compelling aspect of the introduction to this book is the idea that one’s body is a commodity that they can sell in an economic context. Daigle emphasizes that bodies being involved in the economy creates an economic environment that is “not purely economic but deals also in affect, love, and solidarity” (Daigle). When an emotionally charged act or feeling like sex or love becomes involved in the economy it adds a layer of complexity that isn’t present when the economy is simply buying and selling goods. Once you add the idea of buying and selling feelings, bodies, and actions the economy because a much more personal and cultural entity. The concept of Cuban women selling their bodies through the action of sex to foreign tourists reinforces the power dynamic between the USA as the superior and Latin Am...
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Metaphor on Germs

The use of war and invasion metaphors to talk about germs and infectious diseases creates an environment that labels the disease as an outside invader therefore associating diseases negatively with people who come from the outside, most predominantly immigrants. Throughout different periods in American history immigrants to the United States have been stereotypically associated with germs and infectious diseases. This association shines a negative light on immigrants and what they bring to the United States. Further, as Susan Sontag discussed the metaphor of a war on disease “implements the way particularly dreaded diseases are envisaged as an alien “other” as enemies are in modern war; and the move from the demonization of the illness to the attribution of fault to the patient is an inevitable one, no matter if patients are thought of as victims. Victims suggest innocence. And innocence, by the inexorable logic that governs all relational terms, suggest guilt” (Sontag 11). The use of...
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Pablo Escobar

 Our discussion on Pablo Escobar and visit from Dr. Jason Ruiz was fascinating and eye opening. I my opinion one of the most interesting aspects we discussed was how differently “Narcos” – a United States produced series – versus “El Patron Del Mar” – a Columbian produced series – presents Escobar. In the American presentation of Escobar DEA agents expose him, and Escobar is presented in a glamorized and palatable way. On the contrary, the Colombian presentation of Escobar is more historically accurate, and journalists and historians expose him. I find the different representations of Escobar problematic because whether we like it or not much of the public consumes Latin America through tv shows like this. How people like Escobar are portrayed is what the public is going to believe to be true about him and what happened in his life. We need to be careful about the stereotypes that we are perpetuating in the media, because the more these stereotypes are seen the more they will be b...
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Scarface

The most compelling aspect of this movie to me was the motivations of the protagonist Tony Montana in the context of his upbringing in a Communist country. Tony is driven by his resentment of communism and his desire to have autonomy over his own life. We see this at the very beginning of the film where Tony is more than willing to kill for an opportunity to go to the United States. Once in America, Tony becomes consumed with the concept of the American Dream, he believes that anything in the world he wants can be his and he will go to any length to make this happen. Through the actions of Tony, the movie portrays the American Dream in a negative light. I found this fascinating as the American Dream is a concept that is usually seen as a positive symbol of hope. In contrast to this typical narrative, the American Dream is the cause to Tony’s demise. Watching Tony’s life fall apart left me to consider how the concepts we idealize may actually do more harm than good. As th...
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El Mercurio

The three articles relating to The Chilean Revolution and the involvement of El Mercurio shed light the drastic power of the media to display consumption in Latin America in vastly different lights. In the obituary the focus is placed on the man, Agustín Edwards, his life and what he left behind with his death. Although the emphasis is on the political aspects of his work with the newspaper, a political stance is not clearly taken as the emphasis of the piece is to commemorate the life of Edwards. The involvement of the CIA with the newspaper is discussed but it is present in a very factual way rather than presenting an analysis about the issue. In contrast, the excerpt titled The El Mercurio Project the focus is on the political involvement of El Mercurio in the Chilean Revolution. This piece explained the paper’s involvement with the CIA and described it as essentially a propaganda vessel for the ideology America wanted to portray in Chile. El Mercurio is even state...
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