Like Water for Chocolate

Like Water for Chocolate is a wonderful novel that shows the a different perspective of love in a Mexican context. The protagonist, Tita falls for an American named John but also loves her sister's husband, Pedro. From an American standpoint, John embodies what is an ideal marriage partner: safe, caring, considerate, stable. Pedro, on the other hand, is essentially the opposite of who John is. He's rash, harsh, and lustful. From an American perspective, they would see Pedro as someone you have a good time with for a little bit, maybe have a wild weekend. However, he's not someone you fall in love with.

However, Mexicans see this differently. From their perspective, John is a horrible partner; he's boring and un-passionate. How can love blossom if the lovers don't fight for it? John gave up Tita to Pedro without a fight. Regardless of how much he cares for Tita, if he isn't going to show it, then he is wasting both his and Tita's time. Love that is fought for passionately is how true love is found. As John M. Perkins once said, "Love is the final fight."

We see something similar to this in the movie Outsourced. Asha, a worker in telephone sales, falls in love with Todd. The viewer sees her fighting her traditional values as an Indian woman arranged to a marriage. She has a few days of fun with Todd but doesn't talk to him when Todd heads back to America. The end of the movie shows Todd receiving a phone call from Asha and it is assumed that the two get together. Like in Like Water for Chocolate, Outsourced shows that love fought for leads to the most fulfilling and passionate love.

Zorro

The graphic novel Zorro was something I found very interesting. The art, story, and character development of the story were really well done. This was the first graphic novel I've ever read and I found it to be great. I hadn't read any comics of any sort since the fifth grade. However, after reading Zorro, I will likely start reading more graphics novels. (Thank you Dr. B for expanding my horizons) There were many elements of the story I enjoyed; what stood out the most though, was the art. 

Zorro was not as detailed as other characters in the story. The artist wanted to make Zorro a general and vague character that the reader could easily relate to. You can see that emphasis when comparing Zorro to the characters. Often times, Zorro is just a blur or shadow, while the other characters are highly detailed and personalized. One can see the fear coming from the victims of Zorro. The contrast of character detail really stood to me and caused a greater emotional reaction.

Zorro

Furthermore, the story in a parallel timeline. This is something that is popular in many movies today and I felt that Zorro did that well. In Zorro, past events are colored in a sepia-like tone while present day events are more sparsely colored. In the movie Slumdog Millionaire, the viewer sees a sequence of interrogation for the protagonists and flashbacks that show his experiences in his life. Zorro essentially did the same thing and allowed for a greater back story that displayed why de La Vega had to become Zorro. 

While reading, I could especially relate with Zorro's undying thirst for justice. In one scene, he stole money from the Spanish soldiers who had taken taxes from people in an unjust manner. For instance, they cut off a man's finger because he didn't have enough money. The money that Zorro stole was given back to a family that was poor. This is like a Latin version of Robin Hood. With that, I find myself wanting to read more works of Wagner.