Film Analysis of Under the Moon Essay -- Analysis Movie Film

Introduction The sacrifices of a mother for her child can never be underestimated. The film Under the Moon depicts this precise example of a mother’s unconditional love for her son to the point of sacrifice. According to Lynch this mother followed the normal process for migration: preparatory stage, the decision to leave; act of migration, the process; the period of overcompensation, realizing the changes and doubting the decision; the period of decompensation, conflicting times and transgenerational impact, the migration process (Marci Hanson and E. Lynch, Developing Cross Cultural Competence, p.185). The family is Mexican. This line has roots in El Paso, Texas but Rosario, a single parent has migrated to Los Angeles, California in hopes of providing a better life for her nine year old son, Carlitos. California was the state of choice for many Mexicans, as many as 57 percent were legal immigrants according to Taylor (R. Taylor, Minority in the Families, p.89). Carlitos is left with his grandmother, who apparently has health issues. His godmother also has agreed to care of him as well. Carlitos watched his godmother’s calculating plans assist Mexicans in their escape to the United States; he wanted to receive the same assistance because he wanted to join his mother in the United States. The Structure of the Family This Mexican family is unique in that Rosario was a single mother. The culture of the Mexicans was very family oriented, and it was not common to have single parents among their culture during this time. According to Taylor the population of female headed household has steadily increased in the last decade but less appropriate in the Hispanic population (Taylor, p. 93). Her mother, apparently very ill too... ...as working for, seemingly was running the household. It is interesting not a father to come into focus until Carlitos has almost completed his journey and yet his father, Oscar doesn’t step up to do those things that would be expected of a machismo male. This review does not fit the practical norm of the Mexican culture according to the reading as I understood it. I would say this family was more Americanize although they held some views Taylor and Hanson shared they were not overwhelming. Works Cited Lynch, Eleanor W. & Hanson =, Marci J, (2004). A guide for working with children and families: Developing cross-cultural competence (3rd edition). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Taylor, Ronald L. (2002). Minority families in the United States: A multicultural perspective (3rd edition). Upper saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.