Introduction
For centuries, Chicanos, a Mexican-American people, have been viewed controversially. Popular media, such as TV shows, films, plays, and songs, frequently present Chicano culture either in a positive or negative way. This essay analyses Mi Vida Loca, an American drama film directed by Allison Anders in 1993. It focuses on the life of young Mexican women who face gang violence, romantic entanglements, motherhood, and unbreakable friendship. The purpose of this paper is to examine this popular media work, evaluate how Chicanos are depicted, and describe personal connections with their culture.
Summary
The storyline begins with the description of the same events from the different perspectives of the main heroes. Mousie and Sad Girl are young Mexican women who live in Echo Park, a contemporary poor Hispanic neighborhood of Los Angeles and belong to one of the female gangs. They know each other since their childhood when Sad Girl saved Mousie from her wrathful mother. Girls grow up together and are immensely close to each other until Mousie meets Ernesto. Young people start a romantic relationship, and eventually, Mousie becomes pregnant. She gives birth to a boy and dedicates all her time to motherhood. Meanwhile, Sad Girl, feeling abandoned, has an affair with Ernesto and becomes pregnant with a girl as well. Her friendship with Mousie transforms into rivalry. Trying to support both women, Ernesto is involved in criminal pursuits, and later, he is murdered in drug dealing. Mousie and Sad Girl decide to forget their enmity, and they reunite to raise their children from Ernesto together.
Giggles, the leader of the women’s gang, is released from prison and intends to start her career in computing. She makes a commitment to Big Sleepy, a veteran bandit who works as a mechanic and raises several children by himself. Giggle discusses the future of Ernesto’s van, Suavecito, after El Duran, a member of a rival gang, claims that the car was promised to him. When young members of a home gang secretly take Suavecito for a ride, other unaware members suppose that the van is stolen by El Duran and vow revenge. This misunderstanding results in several deaths of innocent people.
Analysis of the Film
One of the most peculiar features of the Chicano people’s life presented in Mi Vida Loca is isolation. The Echo Park is a Mexican neighborhood that is isolated from other parts of Los Angeles, and it has its own rules. According to Sad Girl, there is no need to know the English language to live in Echo Park as everybody speaks Spanish. However, viewers may observe another isolation inside the neighborhood. Although in previous generations of Mexican-Americans, gangs consisted entirely of men, this story is about female gangs. Women organize meetings, gossip, and raise their children within gangs. They are socially, emotionally, and personally connected with their small communities, and they are separated from men as a significant number of them are dead or in prison due to their criminal involvement.
The gang and the life of involved people is the main subject of this film. Mexican women and men are involved in drug deals to survive, have their rises and falls, and accept life as it goes. Women do not invent their gang’s nicknames – they take them from the previous generations, obviously after owners’ deaths. Even the structure of the film represents a gang; the absence of a distinct beginning and an unclear end demonstrates that gangs exist independently, and there will always be people who come and go away.
Connections to the Chicanos
Despite the violence, criminal activities, murders, and gang involvement, the film presents the positive characteristics of Chicanos. Although these people are involved in drug dealing, use inappropriate abusive words in their language, and frequently have conflicts, they keep a stable bond with each other. Severe conditions of life make women forget about all insults and cooperate with each other for their children. Chicanos are depicted as people who significantly value motherhood, love, and friendship. Women do not forget men whom they love and praise their memory through their children. From a personal perspective, these positive traits of character founded in Chicanos by the director of Mi Vida Loca unite these people with the author of this essay.
Conclusion
Mi Vida Loca is an American drama film that depicts the life of Mexican women in a poor Hispanic neighborhood in Los Angeles. It particularly focuses on the story of two young women, Mousie and Sad Girl. They belong to one of the female gangs and know each other since their childhood. Girls grow up together and are immensely close to each other until their pregnancies from the same man ruin their friendship. However, they manage to overcome their feud and cooperate as a result of the death of their children’s father. The film depicts the isolation of Mexicans, severe conditions of their life, and gang violence. Nevertheless, these people significantly value motherhood, love, and friendship. Despite all struggles, they accept their life, cherish happy moments and feelings, and believe that what goes around inevitably comes around.