WWFP
The Why and the Where From
From The Civil War to The Drug War
I’ve never been in a war. As a child I used to think that war created heroes,
that there was no fear on the soldiers that went for the correct reasons and that the ones who went for the wrong ones, were destined to fail and even die, they deserved it because they were evil. As a child, I as well remember my fear as my home developed its own “wars”. My mother yelling at my father and my father yelling back, both fronts firing ruthlessly as I hid with my sister with our ears tightly covered with our hands. I now realize that soldiers fear like I did, and that their fear is far greater and far more relevant than mine once was. I realize that war heroism is not something to look up to and that there are no good reasons in war. I am more, yet not fully, aware of the pain it causes. I speak of myself as a child and my own home problems and fears because that is the closest way I have to relate to children who once have, are or will live the real thing. Expressing this innocent fear is one of the central points of my adaptation, and I believe it was a relevant point as well in Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth. Pan’s Labyrinth is shown partially in terms of Ofelia’s point of view. A girl in the middle of the remaining resistance after The Spanish Civil War. Her fantasies and feelings forged by her background and her situation are well acknowledged and serve as the “prophet” of the discussion that the film intends to begin. My adaptation’s goal is to begin the same discussion, with the same intensity and controversy but in a different background which I only change because it relates more closely with my country and the issues it carries that I choose to highlight. The fantastic monster that run and complement the realistic part of the movie will be replaced with monsters inspired on Mexican culture and the reality will be set in North Mexican states where the War Drug is mostly located. The general will be replaced now as the leader of a Drug Cartel who has unleashed a war against the US and the Mexican governments.
Annotated Bibliography
“History and Mythology of the Aztecs: The Codex Chimalpopoca” *
This work talks about Aztec politics and mythology. He part of it that I will be focusing on for my adaptation will be the explanation and translation of the “The Legend of the Suns”, which was originally in Nahuatl and talks about the Aztec cosmovision, and their beliefs on how humans and the world originated. “The Legend of the Suns presents the grand creation cycles of Aztec mythology. The creation and destruction of the successive suns, the discovery of maize, the legend of Quetzalcoatl, the fall of Tula, and the migration of the Mexica all are related” (204).
“Pan’s Labyrinth: A subjective view on childhood fantasies and the nature of evil” *
This review gives a possible explanation of where Ofelia’s fantastical world come from, what her monsters relate to the realistic plot and how and why the other characters are portrayed as heroes. It also approaches the ambiguity of evil and it provides arguments on why the “good guys” are believed to be so and vice versa. “Pan’s Labyrinth offers an interesting, if somewhat extreme, example of how a child in harsh situations may isolate herself from reality. This form of a personal fantasy is inspired by a child’s love of fairy tales, probably a form of escapism itself. However, even in the tragic unfolding of the story, those characters who can withstand the situational evil are those that are conveyed with heroic characteristics. The film leaves us with this principle: that although evil may come in many forms, heroism itself may also come from nothing, indicating that all of us have an innate possibility of being heroes” (269).
“Mexico's most-wanted: A guide to the drug cartels”
This article by the BBC serves as an explained guide to the drug cartels in Mexico, who their leaders are and what their purpose is. It also explains how they relate to politics and who they fight. It gives an insight on the methods of the drug cartels; how violent they are and how they change the Mexican social landscape.
“Having outfought several rival groups, the Sinaloa cartel dominates much of north-west Mexico and makes billions of dollars from trafficking illicit narcotics to the United States, Europe and Asia.” An example of the introduction to the explanation of the Sinaloa Cartel.
“What It's Like to Be Married to a Mexican Drug Trafficker”
This is the testimony from a woman who is married to a drug trafficker just outside Mexico City. She explains what her life is like, how she is able to love her husband despite of the terrors he carries to her life. The way their lifestyle makes her wish for maybe other kind of life but simultaneously it complements her in some ways that might appear odd to the reader. “Emilio was in a downward spiral when I met him, selling off properties he owned to fund his crystal meth habit. When I found out, I didn’t want to leave him alone to deal with it; on the contrary, it reinforced my need to be there for him. I gave him IVs and I tried to put him in clinics, but he never gave it up.” She explains how she met her husband and how he reacted when she found out about his habits and his lifestyle.
“13 Terrifying, Spooky, and Awesome Latin American Horror Monsters & Legends”
This website gives and explains a number of popular and traditional Mexican monsters and legends. It explains where they come from and how they belong to Mexican culture. “Scorned women is a trope familiar all over the world, which is probably why there are so many of them in Latino horror culture. Though there are variations in La Llorona’s origins, there are a few things that remain the same: a beautiful woman named Maria drowns her two children once her husband loses interest in her.”
“Embracing the Darkness, Sorrow, and Brutality of Pan’s Labyrinth”
“The Pale man is another symbol of the consuming aspect of Vidal’s nature. This sick, albino creature presides over a rich, bountiful feast, but eats only the blood of innocents.” This website makes an argument for what the monsters of Pan’s Labyrinth mean and what they represent outside Ofelia’s fantastical world. It explains the symbolism that Del Toro used and why it fits in to the author of the article’s explanation.
Works Cited Page
Berdan, Frances. “History and Mythology of the Aztecs: The Codex Chimalpopoca.”
Ethnohistory, no. 1, 1996, p. 201. EBSCOhost, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login. aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.18262750&site=eds- live.
Estaff, Remezcla. “13 Terrifying, Spooky, and Awesome Latino Monsters & Legends.” Remezcla, remezcla.com/lists/culture/13-terrifing-spooky-and-awesome-latin-american- horror-monsters-legends/.
Juárez, Andrea, and Julie Schwietert Collazo. “What It's Like to Be Married to a Mexican Drug Trafficker.” Vice, Vice, 3 Apr. 2018, www.vice.com/en_us/article/ywqqjw/what-its- like-to-be-married-to-a-mexican-drug-trafficker.
Perschon, Mike. “Embracing the Darkness, Sorrow, and Brutality of Pan's Labyrinth.” Tor.com, 24 Mar. 2015, www.tor.com/2011/05/25/the-darkness-of-pans-labyrinth/. SEGAL, TIMOTHY. “Pan ’ s Labyrinth : A Subjective View on Childhood Fantasies and the Nature of Evil.” International Review of Psychiatry, vol. 21, no. 3, June 2009, p. 269. EBSCOhost, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login. aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=edb&AN=39982308&site=eds-live. Tucker, Duncan. “Mexico's Most-Wanted: A Guide to the Drug Cartels.” BBC News, BBC, 27 Mar. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-40480405.
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