'Babelon Don't Make the Rules'

Photo courtesy of Paramount

***BLOGGERS NOTE***

The following blog contains plot spoiling information. If you have not yet seen it might be wise to pry yourself away from this blog.
Alexañdro Gonàlez Iñàrritu's Academy Award winning film "Babel" explores the nuances of boundaries; personal, political, physical, emotional and psychological. As the third film of his trilogy, including "Amores Perros" (2000) and "21 Grams" (2003) Iñàrritu's story interrelates four groups of people who are connected by one incident in three different places across the globe.

The film is intended to be thought provoking as it tests the human spirit and the power of authority. Juxtaposition elements though they are, these two themes are exploited most thoroughly in Iñàrritu's Mexican/American subplot.
Photo courtesy of Paramount

A day trip for a family wedding across the Tijuana border turns into a nightmare after the Mexican family caretaker of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett’s children, Amelia (Adriana Barraza), is stopped while trying to re-enter the United States. In frustration and desperation Amelia’s nephew Santiago (Gael Garcìa Bernal) drives their car off into the desert.

It goes without saying that the border is a complex issue. The personal stories of migrants are always underplayed, but even less than that are the stories of those who are affected by a migrant’s failure to cross or failure to remain in the United States, as seen in the film. I kept asking myself, what happens to those left without any explanation or answers as to what happens to these individuals?

Photo courtesy of Paramount

In the case of a caretaker, I’m sure there are hundreds of thousands of them taking care of our children in this country everyday. Imagine a huge map of the United States, with a graphic of a child holding an adult’s hand to represent every single one of these situations. Now imagine those adults slowly disappearing one by one and the image of thousands of abandoned children across the United States.

There’s no telling what this country would be like if something like that happened, but I guarantee it would not be pretty. This is what the film "A Day Without a Mexican” shows.

At the core, the border issue is not a political issue, it is a practicality issue. Our economy was in demand in the early part of this decade and that demand was met by willing workers, who happened to come from a little farther south than us.

At this point, there is nothing that is going to drastically change the current situation in this country and there is no use in trying to upset that balance. So why not focus the effort on trying to find a solution that works for both sides? Yes, take measures to monitor the border so as not to exacerbate the situation, but that is not the only issue that deserves attending to.

I would be out of line to propose my own solution, but I think I would not be remiss to say that thinking egocentrically never gets anyone anywhere.