Woman in the Literature and Movies of the Revolution in Mexico - Essay Example

Woman in the Literature and Movies of the Revolution in Mexico Who were the women of the Mexican Revolution? This war, which lasted from 1910 to 1917, has often depicted a sense of macho generalizations and stereotypes regarding Mexican culture, mainly because women, as they were in so many countries at the time including the United States, were seen as second class citizens. However, did women really contribute to the Mexican Revolution? If they did, exactly what did they do? Women were actually very active in the Revolution, playing a part in just about every role imaginable. Some helped out with leadership, some helped with soldiers on the battlefield. These women have become iconic symbols known as “soldarderas,” and have been presented throughout history in literature and film. Who were these women? Basically, these “soldarderas” traveled with and helped to support the Revolutionary armies under the various generals. Most of them came from the lower classes. Basic tasks that they performed included finding food for the soldiers, helping the soldiers with medical needs, and sometimes even fighting in the battles. Many of these women had lived hard lives, and were very street wise. They thus knew how to fight and wield weapons in order to defend themselves and their families. Therefore, many of them did not shy away from fighting or stealing food for the soldiers. Most of these women had some kind of relationships with the soldiers, and hence desired to assist them. It may even be considered that these women helped to organize and discipline the armies which, without them, may not have been able to organize themselves. Women could be found on all levels of the revolutionary scope. Zapata, for instance, included women in his intellectual circle. Other generals like Pancho Villa, however, usually only used women to assist the soldiers. The roles of women were often thus dictated by the general they served and supported. Throughout history, these soldaderas have been brought through to stereotypes, and this has often hurt the value of what females did do to the Revolution. This has hence distorted the facts, as visual images and concepts from literature are powerful. It can be argued, however, that some literature has presented women in a different life. These women, however, stand out as exceptions to the rule, and are not usually part of the generalization. This fact seems to affect the reputation of women during this time period, the Mexican Revolution, even more, giving us perhaps a more unreal perspective about their actual hard work and contributions. The movies like ‘Let’s go with Pancho Villa’ and “Old Gringo” demonstrate the respect felt for the Mexican Revolutionary heroes during the 1910s through the present day. These movies, as well as the historical literature and novels written about the period, demonstrate a view that the Mexican citizens value a feeling of “machoism” as far as their feelings regarding the times of the Revolutions. Of course, this means that the men often take center stage as the most important figures of the Revolution. History backs this conception up, because, for the most part, when individuals are taught about the history of this time period, they are taught about the heroes. Zapata and Villa, and not about the women who helped contribute to the goals of the revolution. The women thus often become a kind of behind-the-scenes stereotype—we know they are there, but we are never told the level of their involvement. Many people assume the women simply did the more minor roles of cooking food and assisting the soldiers. Individuals often forget that many women were often on the fields fighting with the men, sometimes on the front lines, demonstrating their strong passion for the revolution. Again, this is because women have become the victims of stereotyping. Mexican culture, like so many other cultures, saw women as second class citizens for many years, and this women were viewed in certain confines and with certain stereotypes. It has only been in recent times that these stereotypes have been broken, and people have started to take a closer look at the contributions of women in history, like the women who contributed to the Mexican Revolution. However, there has been other literature presented that has focused more on the roles of women during this time, and has tried to break the stereotype of the behind-the-scenes role of women during the Revolution. Based on her own interviews, Poniatowska provided a very interesting novel about a poor woman named Jesua, who was married off at 15 to a Calvary captain involved in the Mexican revolution. He is eventually killed, and she has to find ways to support herself. This women refuses the expected role of women, deciding to live an independent life. This story is one of survival, but it also reminds us of the uniqueness of Jesua’s situation—most women during this time did not live such independent lives. In fact, most women involved in the Revolution were there because they were married to or involved with a soldier. Thus, they did not live independent lives like the one Jesua chose, but their importance to the Revolution is still something that is profound. Because we see that this independence is unique, it needs to be remembered and admitted again that most of the literature of this period was more interested in depicting women as the followers, and not necessarily the contributors. The novel, Old Gringo, also takes the “macho” focus. The novel is about an older American writer who participates in the Mexican revolution, and becomes a type of father figure to an heiress. However, the primary focus of the novel is told from a male’s perspective, and we again see women acting more behind-the-scenes. While the relationship with the female heiress is an important part of the novel, this woman is again in a unique situation like Jesua, so she stands out to us; she is not the normal, generalized Mexican woman struggling during the time of the Revolution. Therefore, we again are presented with another exception to the rule when reading this novel. When reviewing the literature and movies that reflect upon women of the Mexican Revolution, therefore, we often are presented with a stereotype of women. This could be because women were often viewed as second-class citizens by this society, and thus were often generalized in their roles. While the literature and cinema do present us with a few exceptions to the rules, we must remember again that these are exceptions and do not fit the usual generalization. Therefore, in order to do justice to the women who did so much for the Revolution, it is important to take a close look at their actions, and how they contributed to the Revolution. Literature and film have often forced them to take a secondary status to men. What we must remember is that they were a very active part of the Revolution, and the Revolution itself may have even failed without their organizational skills and their willingness to support the men. Many women did play vital roles during the Revolution, and they should be remembered and revered, just as the men are. Read More