Two Documentaries

Heidi and I recently watched a couple worthwhile documentaries. Both deal with issues of race and culture. Both challenge some of the foundations of what makes America what it is.


Farmingville is film about a suburban community in New York that feels as though the Mexicans are taking over their town. The city of Farmingville is situated on Long Island in a central location that has become some what of a staging point for Mexican immigrants who hire themselves out as day laborers. The film captures the clash of cultures and the overt racism that led to the attempted murder of two young day laborers.

It's a reality that the complexion of suburban America is becoming darker. Many whites feel threatened by this and react with fear, suspicion and even hatred. The way of Jesus beckons us to look at the world through the eyes of the other, to try to understand who they are and what they see, to ultimately be a neighbor and extend love. Here's a film that shows you our changing world and then asks how you will respond to it.

Trudell is a film that takes you on a tour of the life of John Trudell, a Native American political activistist and poet. Trudell is a revolutionary, a dreamer and a man who deeply questions the current system we find ourselves living under. He's a passionate and driven man who longs for justice and freedom. In 1979 he burned the American flag. Twelve hours later his pregnant wife and three children died in a house fire. The event plunges Trudell even more deeply into his cause to see dignity and liberty extended to the Native people of America.

The film furthered my thinking that the whole thing stinks regarding what happened to Native Americans. I think Columbus Day is a slap in the face to them. It's a pretty grim history really. "Indians" live here. White people come here. White people kill most of the Indians and take their land. Those who are left get reservations and are allowed special hunting and fishing privileges. The film helps bring you into the Native American psyche. For me it brought a bit more depth to the situation than what I learned from Dances with Wolves and that one Brady Bunch episode when the Brady's go on vacation to the Grand Canyon--remember: "Bobby? Cindy?" Thankfully, Trudell goes a little deeper into the world of Native Americans.