Arturo González Villaseñor’s Documentary, All of Me (2016), follows the lives of a group of women in Mexico known as La Patronas (The Patronas). These women make food and toss it to the immigrants aboard the train that passes by their town daily. The director uses an intimate approach by documenting the personal stories of each of the women as they defy all odds in a world that appears to have lost all hope and help those in need despite not having much for themselves. Thousands of migrants are exposed to danger every day as they attempt to cross the border to seek a better life, and The Patronas are first-hand witnesses of their experiences. The documentary highlights various aspects of standpoint and muted group theories, but it counters the very idea of muted groups to some extent.
Due to their personal experiences, The Patronas were able to pick out gaps and biases within the system, which prompted them to help, consistent with the standpoint theory. The theory suggests that one’s location or experiences in society determines their ability to know certain things (Harding & Wood, 2009). More specifically, different genders have varying experiences and, thus, what they know, how they know it, and their capability of gaining the knowledge differs. Some of the women in the documentary, for instance, document their difficulties since childhood. One lady says that she would like to leave the country for a better life as her current wages are meager, and she barely manages to keep her family from starving (González Villaseñor, 2016, 0:19:10). Another woman narrates how she had to start working at 11 or 12 years and take charge of her home (González Villaseñor, 2016, 0:31:05). These women understand the immigrants’ suffering to decide to leave their homes and search for a better life. They are also first-hand witnesses to the migrants’ problems since the train passes by their town. This knowledge and personal experiences have enabled them to quickly determine what the immigrants are going through and how best they could help them, consistent with the standpoint theory.
The problems faced by The Patronas and the immigrants they help also highlight the muted group theory. This theory suggests that every society has traditionally muted cultural groups with less access to public discourse and platforms where their concerns can be heard (Ardener, 2005). In the documentary, one of the women says that she had an alcoholic and aggressive husband, and she could not say anything (González Villaseñor, 2016, 0:03:40). Another woman says that her father told her that women are to marry and have children, and they do not need to study, and she could not argue with him (González Villaseñor, 2016, 0:39:54). The immigrants also demonstrate muted groups as the police violated their rights. One of the women says that she felt helpless watching what the immigrants were going through, and she could not do anything (González Villaseñor, 2016, 0:53:09). The police took advantage of them, and they were kidnapped, stolen from, and murdered, and they had nowhere to report these incidences. These two groups had their rights violated, but little has been done since they are muted or ignored when they try to speak up.
However, this documentary appears to also counter the idea of muted groups as The Patronas defy oppression and keep pushing for their voices to be heard. Despite the threats and the issues they faced, more women kept helping the immigrants (González Villaseñor, 2016, 0:33:53). One of the women states that she spoke up to the police about mistreating immigrants and tried to get a common ground with the law to keep helping them legally (González Villaseñor, 2016, 0:52:54). The women also suggest that they get invited to talks where they could sell jars of pepper and get donations. They say that they may not have been able to continue helping the immigrants without these donations (González Villaseñor, 2016, 1:13:10). This means that The Patronas may not have persisted for more than two and a half decades if not for this help. Besides, this documentary is also a form of public discourse to tell the world about their problems. Thus, their ability to create a common ground with the authorities, get invited to talks, receiving donations, and this documentary defies the idea that they are a muted group.
González Villaseñor’s documentary follows the lives of women who show unconditional love in a world where all hope seems lost. The director focuses on the individual women and their life experiences. The standpoint theory comes into play where their experiences have shaped their decision and determination to help the immigrants. By focusing on their lives from childhood, viewers can see that the women have also had bad experiences, and some still hope to cross the border in search of a better life. Both the immigrants and the women, to some extent, also highlight the muted group theory. The immigrants are treated poorly with little help from the authorities, while some of the women have been muted by their husbands and fathers. However, the women have managed to defy all odds and fight the system to do right. The Patronas’ story exemplifies unity and love in a world full of discrimination, cruelty, and violence towards immigrants.
References
Ardener, S. (2005). Ardener’s “Muted Groups”: The genesis of an idea and its praxis. Women and Language, 28(2), 50.
González Villaseñor, A. (Director). (2016). Amores [All of Me] [Film]. Acanto Films, Pimienta Films, UAM-X.
Harding, S., & Wood, J. (2009). Standpoint theory. In E. Griffin, A. Ledbetter & G. Sparks (Eds.), A first look at Communication Theory (pp.441-453). McGraw‒Hill Higher Education.