Reflection v. Review

        After reading the review from Variety by Ben Kenigsburg it was evident that there were some differences between our opinions and the things that we focused on in the film. Kenigsburg begins by explaining how beautifully Heineman "paints a parallel portrait of vigilantes policing two different front of the drug war." He also mentions the two leaders of the groups and explains how they depict both sides of this ongoing war. He portrays Dr. Mireles as, "a black-hat-wearing cowboy type who introduces himself to a crowd as a general coordinator of the Autodefensas." He then goes by also introducing Tim Foley, "who leads Arizona Border Recon, listed as an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center." We both recognize how the actions of the Autodefensas and the Cartels aren't so different and how the Autodefensas are "succumbing to the forces it's designed to combat," since later on in the film it is discovered that some members of the group robbed innocent people. Kenigsburg also mentions the fear for the filmmakers safety which is something I never really touched upon in my reflection. However, he fails to mention the major part that the Mexican government played throughout the film. My reflection mainly focused on the tragedies that the Cartels were committing and the injustice of the Mexican government by disbanding the Autodefensas, while the professional review focused on the cinematography of the film and the danger of actually shooting the film.

Documentary Reflection

Cartel Land

Directed by Mathew Heinemann

        The documentary I watched was Cartel Land  which was released in 2015 and directed by Mathew Heinemann. The film revolved around the drug war between Mexico and the United States that has created violence inside and outside of Mexico. As a result of this chaos, Jose Mireles took it upon himself to form a rebel group known as the Autodefensas to revolt against the cruel and violent Cartels and to protect the innocent people who are just bystanders of this ongoing war that they are stuck in the middle of. However, just as the Autodefensas begin to gain a lot of their territory back they are disbanded by the government and end up becoming the people they hated the most, the Cartels. 

1.         Toward the beginning of the movie one scene that really stuck out was when they were having a funeral for the 15 people who were murdered as a result of this conflict with the Cartels. They were completely innocent but because their boss couldn't pay the debt he owed to the Knights Templar, one of the biggest cartels in Mexico, they decided to kill his workers as revenge for the unpaid debt. The workers were innocent people who were working on the field picking limes yet they were the ones who had to pay with their lives because of this never-ending violence. 

        It was aggravating to hear some of the stories of the people they killed. Among those fifteen, thirteen of them were from the same family and some of them were even children but those heartless men showed no mercy throughout the massacre. One of the family members said they grabbed the children and would slam them against rocks and then they threw them down a well. Hearing all of this was just heartbreaking.

2.        The thing that surprised me the most was that they ended up being part of the government and not even that they were corrupted by people who said they were part of the Autodefensas but later discovered to be part of the Cartels. They admitted to being corrupt and some members of the Knights Templar even said that they were funding the Autodefensas in order to get all those weapons and such. The government disbanded the Autodefensas easily and they didn't even try to negotiate with them or anything they just gave themselves up and completely disregarded all their motives and beliefs that had created the group.  

        Jose Manuel Mireles refused to become a part of the government but the other leaders of the Autodefensas gave in which inevitably lead to the Autodefensas becoming corrupt and becoming part of the two things they originally hated, the government and the Cartels.

3.        After watching this film there are a few questions I had that were left unanswered. I wanted to know what happened to the members of the Autodefensas who refused to work with the government. I was also curious about other rebel groups, I wonder if there are similar groups to the Autodefensas that also have the same dream of ending all the conflict and violence in Mexico due to the Cartels and if so where do they reside.

        Some feelings that stayed with me was concern for the people of Mexico. I've visited Mexico multiple times when I was younger and it was incredibly fun and enjoyable but with all this chaos and corruption my family and I have been unable to go because of the fear of how dangerous it is. I can't even imagine how the people who actually live there feel. They are in constant fear for their lives and have no kind of protection from the Cartels. They are unable to live happy and worry-free lives because of these people and it's sickening.

4.        The main problem throughout this film are the Cartels so I would try and research all or most of the Cartels in Mexico and in what parts of Mexico they reside. I would also try and find out if there are any rebel groups in Mexico and if so find out their motives and in what state they are trying to fight for. I would also look into the Mexican drug lord known as "El Chapo" since they recently extradited him to the United States and what effects that might've had on the Cartels.

        I would also research some of the groups in the U.S that are trying to stop the drug trafficking, such as the Arizona Border Recon that was shown in the film. And also research the violent activities that have been going on in Mexico that are Cartel-related.