A Better Life

"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength." - Eric Hoffer


I went to see A Better Life with my aunt and cousin last night at this, for want of a better word, indie theater near my house. It's about an illegal immigrant trying to support and take care of his teenage son. While it was very depressing and employed every stereotype about Mexican immigrants we could think of on the way home, I enjoyed it and have some thoughts I wanted to share.


I know that there are real people who suffer just as much as and in similar ways as Carlos and his son. I'll leave the politics alone, but the movie made me think...


How dare I write a blog post about how I'm pissed my school doesn't accomodate my every academic whim? How dare I wish we had the money to send me to Ireland for spring break to visit our family friends who will be there for the semester (this is actually a possibility, but that's beside the point)? How dare I...I don't even know. How dare I be so spoiled?


There are kids all over the world who want nothing more than to be able to go to school, and that's not even counting people like Carlos' son who just go to bad ones. And here I am complaining about the school that I really do love.


Does this make our middle class problems any less "valid," though? It's still real emotions and all, but...we take so much for granted. Yet who doesn't yearn for a better life? Carlos' son has an argument with his father about how he wants money to buy school supplies. Less than an hour earlier, I had an argument with my parents about how I wanted money to go see a movie about a boy needing money to buy school supplies.


This is all fairly typical culture shock, I know, but then again, my best friend's sister is currently building houses in Guatemala, so perhaps I'm not one to talk.


I'll definitely be returning to this theater-- it helps that it's within walking distance of school.