So I Watched Coco

I was much dismayed when Coco came out in theaters and my schedule did not allow me to catch it on the big screen.  So my excitement was bubbling to the surface when it all began on our living room TV screen.  With a bag of Siete chips and a bowl of salsa, and napkins close by for our sniffling noses, me and my husband hunkered down to watch the latest Pixar animated wonder.  And boy, this movie did not disappoint.

In this time of divisive rhetoric and extreme nationalist views, it was refreshing to see a movie representing and celebrating a different culture.  A culture, in fact, that is often vilified and reduced to nothing but drugs and crime.  Coco came forward with the “radical” notion that “Look! Mexico is a land of history, of rituals, of customs made with kind hearted, well meaning people living their lives.”

Recently I was able to catch Black Panther in theaters.  To be honest, as soon as I saw the trailer for it, I was hooked.  This was a movie talking about a rich African and black culture.  I was riveted in my seat with much needed appreciation for our African and black brothers and sisters.  I was so happy for them! That movie left me feeling so proud of where we have come as a society and made me feel empowered as a woman and as a minority.  Coco, on the other hand, made me want to know more.  How many cultures in the world have been reduced to political rhetoric? What do I really know about China? About Russia? About the rest of Europe? That history has been limited to “communism” and “Eiffel Tower” in my 90’s upbringing and I am ready to challenge that notion. These countries were part of empires that changed and shaped world history.  Surely they are more than just one-worded caveats.

Isn’t it about time that we part ways with the notion that we are, wherever that may be, in the best place in the world?  While appreciating and being grateful for God’s blessings in the land that we call home, maybe we need to venture out to explore what makes other cultures proud to be who they are.  Then we can come back with a better understanding, a newer perspective, and much deeper appreciation for the thread of humanity that is connecting all different kinds of people with varied beliefs and viewpoints.

Maybe it was not for everyone, but this movie left me with new ambitious dreams.