A Film of Contemporary Social Importance
Crossing Over, the 2009 film that starred Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, and Ashley Judd, and was directed by Wayne Kramer and distributed by The Weinstein Company (Kramer, 2009) delves on the sensitive and controversial issue of illegal immigrants’ status in the United States of America. Here, the American authorities’ struggle to eradicate the society of illegal aliens is given importance by detailing the various channels and protocols through which the government can apply their methods of extradition.
However, despite of the attempt to portray the problem from a bureaucratic viewpoint, it is clear that the human factor to the immigration problem became the focal point as ultimately, situations wherein families have to be forcibly separated have to border on human emotions. One of the significance of the aforementioned film to today’s society is the recent law concerning Arizona and its immigrants, wherein its imposition has resulted to a backlash from different private and public sectors.
Here, it must be noted that “one of the essential roles of the federal government in U. S. history…to make sure that States don’t act in ways that exclude or marginalize certain individuals—often by race and ethnicity” (Downes, 2010, p. 1). As such, this movie is able to truthfully represent what is presently going on in some of our nation’s cities, wherein immigrants are being hunted, investigated, and deported without much thought on the personal consequences of these acts.
Perhaps the magnitude of basing a person’s ethnic background as a basis of prejudging is most apparent ever since the aforementioned law came into existence. This unfortunate bias against a particular race can be evidenced in the statement made by no less than the Republican candidate for governor in Nevada, Brian Sandoval, in his answer to reporters’ inquiry as to what he would feel if his children were to be asked by the authorities to present their identification papers, and of which he presumably replied with an air of arrogant pride, “My children don’t look Hispanic” (Frosch, 2010, p.
1). While it is true that states need to assure that employment must only be delegated to those who are legit citizens of our country, it must also be sensitive to the needs of the dependents of the person being deported, especially to their families. As the movie has presented, it is a reality that in our society there are those who were brought here in America while they were still very young, thus forcing them to be deported would undoubtedly make them strangers in their own countries of birth.
As human beings we should sometimes negate the firmness of the law and let compassion dictate our actions. After all, from the economic point of view, these illegal immigrants have also greatly contributed to the greatness of this nation; and from the viewpoint of national security, pose no danger, weather imminent or otherwise. I believe that laws ought to be made with the people’s intention in mind, and I believe that most laws are in fact loyal in this tenet.
Hence, as people who comprise the citizenry of our respective states, we have the power and the right to ascertain that every law that passes in legislation should serve the best interest of the society. With this in mind, it is evident that while the most recent immigration law attempts to enhance the employment opportunities and general safety of the populace, it is too rigid and brutal to be including everybody within its grasp of influence.
Likewise, as electorates who are responsible for the positions that the leaders of our society hold, we have the inherent right to demand laws that are sensitive and humane especially to those who need the most of America’s economic opulence. Hence, with our leaders being indebted to us, the general populace, of their respective positions in the government, each law that passes should be consulted first with the communities in which that law will be promulgated. This will surely emphasize the democracy that Americans have been proud of ever since our nation’s conception.
References Downes, L. (2010, August 3). The Hunt for American Decency in the Arizona Quicksand. NYTimes. com. Retrieved August 6, 2010, from <http://www. nytimes. com/2010/08/04/opinion/04wed4. html? _r=1&ref=immigration-and-emigration> Frosch, D. (2010, July 30). Nevada Candidate Accused of Making Disparaging Remarks. NYTimes. com. Retrieved August 6, 2010, from <http://www. nytimes. com/2010/07/31/us/politics/31sandoval. html? _r=1&ref=immigration-and-emigration> Kramer, W. (Producer/Director). (2009). Crossing Over [Motion Picture]. United States: The Weinstein Company.
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