Since this column is called Punk Movie Nights, I'm going to start off by diverging a little from the subject matter immediately at hand by writing a little about an Oliver Stone film of a few years back called JFK. I'm not going to rehash the entire film here because I assume that anyone who takes the time to read a film column would have seen a film as critically acclaimed and written about as JFK, but there is a moment in that film when the main character has to face up to the fact that there may have been a catalyst which triggered the events leading up to JFK's death, but unable to come to terms with the harsh reality of what was becoming too painful to ignore he blurts out, "Why?" while questioning an informant. It was inconceivable to a veteran, and a patriot that his president could have been assassinated simply because too many corporations and the federal agencies they were partnered with were put in financial jeopardy by JFK's policies concerning federal law enforcement agencies, and even more so by his planned cutbacks and downsizing of the military, i.e. pulling troops out of Vietnam, which may have taken place during JFK's second term in office if he had lived to serve it. The informant he is trying to get information out of basically states just that, which the inquisitor was already aware of, but then he adds in the details and the monetary figures and it's at that point that he paints a scenario in which even a head of state couldn't be allowed to stand in the way of capitalism. Of course JFK was a fictional account of a historical event, and not all of the facts or events were meant to be taken literally, but the overwhelming message of the film, for myself at least, was that corruption permeates government even at it's highest levels, and that greed fueled corruption trickles down to even the most meaningless participant in it's detached quest to generate wealth.
NEW WORLD BORDER is a documentary about the policy of the US of building more barriers/borders, both figuratively and literally, between itself and the people of Mexico, while at the same time trade agreements such as NAFTA are being implemented to open the borders to primarily American owned industry. Very briefly a number of subjects are touched upon that I should quickly mention as well. One such subject concerned agriculture and how it was affected by NAFTA, and how that relates to the issue of what's happening at the US Mexico border. One incident of note that took place when American corn was allowed to flood Mexican corn markets, which drove the prices for corn so far down that it essentially put many Mexican corn growers out of business, and forced them to migrate to the more populated border towns to find work. Once they reach the border towns, which in many cases is done by traveling great distances on foot, they can find labor in the American owned factories that line the border, and quickly you begin to see one of the very obvious cases of cause and effect that when traced back always tend to lead in the same direction. The border patrol, we learn, is the most Well funded federal law enforcement agency in the US, and when you watch the footage of racist, mostly Caucasian US nationalists rallying against "illegal immigrants" at one of the border's new military built steel fences, it's not too difficult to figure out who stands to benefit the most by helping to fuel this fire of ignorance and hatred. Another subject briefly touched upon that I found interesting was the fact that the steel fences are being built out a material used for military runways, but it's not new similar material, but the exact material purchased long ago by the military so they could build runways. In otherwords, leftover surplus material that was just taking up space on military bases around the country. The government not only figured out how to get rid of all of this excess material, but they actually got the government to help fund the project, which no doubt helped to line more than few pockets (I'm speculating obviously; this is a movie column not a thesis paper) along the way.
The most poignant moments of NEW WORLD BORDER come in the form of stories told by and about the people who suffer first hand as a result of the US border policy. One story is about Esequiel Hernandez Jr. an 18 year old who was shot down by a US Marine by the name of Clemente Banuelos while he was taking part in an antidrug operation. Marine officials claimed, of course, that Hernandez shot at the surveillance team Banuelos was a part of. Charges were never brought against Banuelos, even after an autopsy report suggested that Hernandez most likely could not have fired at Banuelos' team. The grand jury itself included several people who had ties to the border patrol, and in the end there was no justice for a young man who's only mistake 'was to go pasture his goats on that day.'
In another story, a young boxer who was trying to cross the border into the town of San Ysidro, so that he could buy a new pair of gloves for an upcoming match, was shot in the chest by border patrol officers after they claimed he threatened the officer with a rock(!?). Witnesses contradict these claims by the border patrol, and the specifics of whether he did or didn't does nothing to alleviate the crushing effect his loss had on his sister and mother who relied on their son and brother for so much more in their lives than you'd imagine most brothers and sons his age providing. To the young boxer, crossing the border to get a new pair of boxing gloves wasn't that big a deal. Unfortunately, in the current post-NAFTA state NEW WORLD BORDER seems to suggest that the days of crossing the border, even temporarily, has come to an end due to the need for US factories to maintain a labor pool that they can have easy access to, and exploit with no risk of ever interrupting their operations.
NEW WORLD BORDER shines some light on so many different areas of the immigrant rights/U.S. Mexico border issue that it would be kind of silly to suggest that this one video might be able to help anyone better understand such a complex issue. What it can do without a doubt is to open doors that may been previously closed to you, or even went unnoticed as part of your day to day existence, in spite of their obviousness. The copy sent to MRR by Jose Palafox, producer of NEW WORLD BORDER, came with a packet entitled Critical Resistance to the Prison-Industrial Complex, which contained a number of articles. Most notably was Jose's own article entitled Opening Up Borderland Studies: A Review of U.S.-Mexico Border Militarization Discourse. Highly recommended.*****
(Peek Media, 2124 Kittredge St., PMB 49, Berkeley, CA 94704; 510-527-7244; josefox@uclink4.berkeley.edu)
I want to apologize to any of you who came to Punk Movie Nights this month expecting reviews of those films by Bob Moricz, but there just wasn't the time or space this issue. So let's plan to meet next month, same time, same place. Oh, but I should remind you that on September 15th at Gilman in Berkeley we will be having Punk Movie Night with special guests TRAGEDY from Portland, along with several films by punks and underground filmmakers such as Martin Sorrondeguy, and of course Bob Moricz. You can read past Punk Movie Nights columns at www.wethepunx.com or ny purchasing back issues of MRR from Mike and Arwen. You can send me stuff at c/o Jay, PMB 419, 1442A Walnut Street, Berkeley, CA 94709.