The movies watched in order to write the paper!
Birds of Passage (Pájaros de Verano; Colombia, 2018, Dirs. Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego, 125 mins)
Traffic (U.S., 2000, Dir. Steven Soderbergh, 147 mins)Unit 3 Prompt: Drug-Trafficking
Prompt
In both Birds of Passage and Traffic, we saw to some extent the lure of the drug trade for young people (and old!) in both Colombia and Mexico. Based on the films and your own research, describe the economic, social and political situations in these two countries at the time depicted in each movie (1970s and 80s in Colombia; late 90s in Mexico) that made involvement in the drug business so attractive. To what extent were U.S. government officials or U.S. private citizens complicit in creating the never-ending drug crisis?
Keep your research focused on the time periods depicted in the two movies!
How to do the Unit papers.
As you see on the syllabus, the course is divided into five thematic units. After each unit, students will write a 5-7 page paper that addresses the particular issue in the unit films (i.e., terrorism and government repression, racism and immigration, etc.), integrating both web-based research on the issue and particular scenes from the movies. The papers should also demonstrate engagement with and awareness of the structures, processes, and consequences of social justice and injustice surrounding these issues. A rubric will be provided for the evaluation of the unit papers. Please apply the MLA standards for writing academic research papers, paying particular attention to documentation of sources.
