Cartel Land Reflection

 At the beginning of the movie, there are Mexican cartel members making drugs out on a field at night. One of the members was discussing to the camera man why he got involved with the cartel. The man said that he couldn’t get a job that payed well enough to support his family, so he decided to join the cartel to steal and take the things he needed. The man describes a never-ending cycle of people trying to make a difference in Mexico by trying to stand up to the cartel but these people always fail. He explains how the cartel always win in the end, and how people always look at themselves as good people who are doing the right thing. This way of thinking from the man, really shapes the main discussion of the movie. People on both sides of the Mexico/American border are fighting to protect their views of what is right in their eyes, while simultaneously condemning the actions of those who do not agree. While I don’t agree with the actions of cartels or gangs in any country, I do agree with this particular statement from the cartel member that people feel their actions are justified based on what they believe is right.

Another scene that really hit me was a scene of a funeral happening in Mexico. About 15 people, 12 of which were from the same family, were killed by cartel members while working at a farm. The reason the cartel members killed these people was because the owner of the farm couldn’t pay the cartel the money they demanded. So, the cartel killed the workers as a form of compensation for the missed payment. This scene really hit me, because when the members of the family were burying them, a woman described that some of the dead were children. The woman explained that the cartel members took the children by their legs and swung their heads, bashing them into rocks. This also plays into the conversation of people feeling their actions are justified based on what they believe. The cartel believed they were owed money and should be compensated for the missed payment. I believe this type of questioning is brought to the audience’s attention throughout the film, to show how people make decisions based on what they feel is right and wrong.