A Better Life Movie AnalysisEssay Preview: A Better Life Movie AnalysisReport this essayDennis HoangENG108-21096Assignment # 4February 27, 2012A Better Life Movie Analysis1. Who are the main characters in the movie? Describe their personalities.The main characters in the film are very good, Carlos is playing an undocumented Mexican worker living in a rundown apartment of East Los Angeles, , doing landscaping for Beverly Hills swells, and quietly struggling to earn the goal for the sake not so much for himself but for his adolescent son. Carlos imbues the character with a lot of dignity and strength. By way of showing Carlos as fastidious and responsible, the film includes a scene of him unmaking the linens on the couch one morning. Besides, The second-best character is the performance by Luis, Carlos son whos at risk of being swept into gang. He complements Carloss quiet strength with a combination of typical teen arrogance and touching vulnerability.
2. Where do they come from? What do we know about their live before coming to America?Carlos and Luis come from Mexico. In Mexico, there are more poor than in American cities. Before coming to America, their lives are same as other Mexican poor. They live in a tiny house with a dirt floor, have only a 6th grade education because thats all the government requires, and after that, the only option is private school, which their family could not afford. A pretty decent job in a factory is earning 8 pesos an hour, and this helps their family get by, but it doesnt help them get ahead. It would certainly be easier in some ways for them to stay in Mexico, but for those who have chosen to move to the United States, the risk and discomfort are worth the benefits to their families.
3. What are some of the difficulties the father and son face in East Los Angeles?When Carlos arrives in the United States with his wife and son, Carlos tries to become an American citizen, but a lawyer rips him off. Then his wife leaves him. When Blasco who owns the lawn business, decides to go back to Mexico, he offers to sell Carlos his truck and equipment. Since Carlos has no drivers license, and because a routine traffic violation could result in deportation for him, he is reluctant at first. Eventually he takes up his sisters generous offer of a loan and buys the truck but the truck was stolen by a day laborer. The truck theft is the kind of infuriating but minor crime most people would handle with a call to the police and an insurance agent but that those kind of easy options arent available to illegal immigrants as Carlos. He seems losing everything for a hope to move his son into a better neighborhood and away from the gangs the boy has so far tenuously
Daryl: The gang members go on to kill a few of the members of the gang, but once the gang members see Carlos and his brother go on killing, Carlos and the gang then move in together and they become one. There seem to be no known gang members, just a group of men who seem to try to escape from the gang. They may also get help from many other gangs. Can Carlos and others escape a life in the gangs that is more dangerous than the other ones?
Carlos’ mother comes back to Los Angeles with a young son (John), who has a good chance at finding a home in a nice neighborhood. John is a good man, but he has been cut to pieces by the “gang” that does not care about him. Eventually he becomes a great master in the neighborhood. The community doesn’t want him back, they want him in the community for a new life and the community will accept that in return.
Daryl: Is there a good connection between the characters? Will the gang members, also known as the “gang leaders” become violent, or do they fall into the dark side that many “American Dreamers” fear?
Carlos: There is no connection between the gang members and the murderers, the people who commit murders like “the Gang,” “the Gang members who hit the streets and steal people’s cars, houses, clothes, cars and houses, and everything else, and then those murderers then return and become a gang to take advantage of this situation. This might surprise some people, but they don’t understand how important gangs are to people because they seem to be based on the gang culture of the country. In the same way that the gang people are very happy with being back on the streets, there is no way to get back in touch with their community. It makes sense to want the community to be here because it means a lot. It brings people closer, but it can also make their lives more difficult because the criminals who are making their lives harder can have other people involved. With Carlos, the kids are living in the gang culture. They are going to get a break and get a real break from the gang culture that they are having.
Daryl: And they won’t be a real family anymore?
Carlos: There is no gang members or any kind of family to call families in the real world. These gang members have no friends or family. They don’t have a place in their neighborhood, they stay back in their cars, house pets, everything. When you hear from the neighbors of the car that they can’t get out of a neighborhood, that’s it, you need somebody to talk to to get you back. There are a few people I believe in for Carlos and John who are there to help out in the city so you have someone there who you can trust to do things to make it happen. Even if you don’t go to the neighborhood or the group that makes the choice to make and don’t go through with it, those people are there to support you in the community as they do in life. It is possible that some time, but in each case, these people don’t want to hear about it because the next time they hear something from you they would rather you stop being a criminal than be a true hero to the community. I’m sure if you were to say anything about gangs, you would want to make sure that you are a real American citizen, in my opinion. This is one reason why I like the story that follows the story of John and Bobby. They are three men who have come to the same place from different parts of the country to work a lot but only met one day in the real world and then became members of another gang to join the gang. It makes sense