The interaction between Pedro and Gonzalo is pretty amazing. These two boys come from complete opposite family styles and were able to meet in class when the were forced to sit next to one another. I feel that they really needed each other and had similar likes and personalities. Even though Gonzalo was wealthy, he lacked the loving family that Pedro had, his father was mostly worried about his job and money, while is mother was having a love affair. Pedro lacked the nice things Gonzalo had, but lived with many family members. This made them a great match. There were many distinctions between the two social classes. Pedro came from an unfortunate family without many things, he wore the same sweater a lot with a hole in it, and lived in a small community in a beaten up shack. Gonzalo was rich, had many clothes, "adidas" shoes, wore a nice uniform to school and lived in a nice house. However, the boys ended up loving to hang out, ride bikes, share milk, and read.
We were easily able to see the differences between the social classes of the rich and poor in Chile. Just by looking at the two different neighborhoods each boy lived in, the cars they drove, clothes they wore and the outrage in church once they combined the classes into one school. The different opinions by a rich mother and poor mother. One saying, "We shouldn't mix pears and apples," and the other stating, " When will things change, can't we get along and just be different." This movie made the two different classes very clear to see the difference.
The main message of this film was to show us how tough it was in the 70's in Hispanic culture. The government was outrageous and there was no consistency. I can't imagine not only being an adult during this time, but for a child it had to be even more difficult. Especially while trying to go to school just to learn. Pedro and Gonzalo tried very hard to keep their friendship, but with the military government, it was impossible. It was very interesting watching this movie, because we could see first hand what it was like during this time, just hearing about it does not do a justice. Today when the government is going through changes, we can read and watch it, but never actually experience this hardship. There are poor and rich families today in our society, but it does not effect us to that extent. It really makes you appreciate Pedro and Gonzalo's friendship, knowing it was very hard for them to defend themselves.
I agree that the two boys needed each other in the sense that they were complete opposites and thus had what the other one was lacking. I think this is what made them become friends to fast. Each boy saw what the other took for granted and they used that to not only better themselves but also to create a bond between them. I like how you brought up the fact that Gonzalo was surrounded by material items that replaced family and Pedro had only his family and no material items (or at least very few).
ReplyDeleteI thought that the scene in the movie where Saint Patrick's school was holding a parent teacher meeting was the best part that showed the difference between the upper and lower class in Chile. I like how you talked about the boys trying to keep everything simple and just go to school and learn and just hang out and in the end they were not even able to do that without complications from the government/military.