Sin Nombre - Implications of Film in the Classroom

I am always interesting in reading books or watching films that I leave feeling like I am more aware of real world situations, even when they are so realistic that they do not have the happy endings that I always love. If there was one area in my undergraduate education experience that seemed more hopeless than any other, it was gang involvement. As far as gang prevention the solutions are much more plausible; however, once someone is in a gang, it is so much more complicated.

On Friday the girls were in bed and my husband and I decided to watch a Netflix movie on the computer. While I was reading, he chose Sin Nombre. Neither of us had heard of it before, but we both like two of the executive producers, Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal. Toward the beginning of the movie I was even telling my husband that I didn't think I was going to like it, that movies involving realistic gang scenes make me feel so wound up and nervous, rather than a feel good movie that I had in mind to watch on a Friday evening.

Yet, when the movie was over I realized that it was one of those movies that would stick with me and make me think about just how challenging situations involving gangs can become for those who choose to no longer follow that lifestyle. I love Simone Elkeles' books Perfect Chemistry and Rules of Attraction. When I first read both of these books I appreciated that Elkeles found plausible conclusions, rather than simplistic solutions. While neither of the main characters in these books had an easy way out of their gang involvement, they both had happy endings. I can't say the same for many in Sin Nombre. The events of the movie led up to a heart-wrenching conclusion intermixed with hope and harsh realities.



The film leaves me thinking about how just as in my undergraduate days, there still are not any easy answers, yet there are reasons to hope for being able to make a difference. Whether it is in helping students with their own contemplations or to cope with the way gangs affect their families and neighborhoods, teachers can make a difference. The film also reminded me that it is time to dig up and finish reading my copy of Hearts and Hands. In addition, the simple fact of being more aware of various situations always helps to make me a more understanding educator.