Coco the Movie: Exploring the Latin American Experience

Table of Contents

Introduction
Main body
Summary
Works Cited

Introduction

The panethnic diversity of the American community is an essential feature of historical development, which, as one assumes, is reflected in media culture. One of the peoples of this continent is Latin American, a large ethnic group of Spanish and Spanish origin, widely represented in the territories of South America as well as the United States and Canada as a consequence of globalization. Latin American culture possesses a number of unique characteristics unique to this community, be they local traditions, experiences, philosophies, and customs. This essay will discuss the Latin American experience in detail through the lens of the film Coco by Lee Unkrich.

Main body

This animated film is based on the story of young Miguel Rivera from the fictional Mexican city of Santa Cecilia. The boys main dream is to become a great musician, but because of a serious family taboo, Miguel is forced to hide his training and live against his wishes. The protagonist miraculously finds himself in the afterlife during the celebration of El Día de Muertos, the traditional national holiday when Mexicans sing to their dead relatives (Díaz). Miguel meets his great-grandfather and goes through a series of adventures in the afterlife with him, resulting in the cleansing of the despised name of the dead relative, the recovery of Miguels grandmother Cocos memories, and the lifting of the ban on music in the Riveras. The film ends with a scene a year after the main events when grandmother, Coco, has already died and come to the afterlife with her parents, and Miguel has become an active practitioner of the study of music.

At first glance, it seems that the cartoon cannot adequately explore the problem of the Latin American experience and provide the audience with fundamental cultural questions. However, upon close viewing and analysis, it turns out that Coco is a severe narrative about the traditions and rules of this community, spreading the ideas of the Latin American experience through media culture. Thus, one of the most important religious themes of this film is the existence of an afterlife in which the dead quietly live and thrive as long as the memory of them exists in the real world. As we know, the idea of an afterlife is popular among the worlds religions, especially Christianity, where Heaven is seen as the highest good to be attained. In Coco, we see a very different afterlife it is not part of the higher existence of the soul, but rather another dimension in which souls continue to live without a body.

In the afterlife shown, the same activities and phenomena exist as in the real world: souls visit concert halls where celebrities perform, go to restaurants, and live with their families. This idea is entirely consistent with the concept of death, common in Latin American religious practice, during which the soul does not disappear or reincarnate but passes on to another stage of existence (Kirk). Regarding the form in which the afterlife is represented, for obvious reasons, we cannot know what it actually looks like, but it is extremely remarkable that this dimension was not shown according to the canons of other religions. In particular, it did not have the features of a Christian Paradise or an Islamic Jannah but was shown an ordinary, understandable life in which souls look like skeletons instead of bodies. This is an extremely important characteristic of the narrative, reflecting the way Latin Americans perceive the concept of death.

The way in which the need to remember dead relatives is shown through the screen is remarkable. The colored altarpieces and painted skulls created within the Mexican color scheme help the viewer to immerse themselves in the world of Latinx culture and to let it pass through. The memory of the dead, however, is expressed not so much materially as metaphysically, with family members remembering the names of their dead relatives, keeping them from dying. This idea is close to the Latin American idea of the intersection of worlds, in which death is not a taboo subject but instead is openly discussed. In this sense, it is worth saying that the Latin American idea of acknowledging death has its roots in African culture, in which the celebration of funerals is also an important event in ones life, unmarred by pessimism and sadness (Globe). In short, Coco does an excellent job of revealing the theme of Latin Americans religious attitude toward death.

However, it would be a mistake to assume that the Latin American experience is distant from Christianity. On the contrary, the historical proximity of the two cultures has led to their synthesis and the emergence of new doctrines of Latin American theology. Among these, a theology of liberation plays a unique role, referring us to the attempt to balance socioeconomic inequalities and achieve well-being for all (Frame). In this sense, Coco also embraces this problem when he depicts the division of Mexican society into rich and poor. Miguel, as a member of the lower class, is forced to live in a low-income family of shoemakers and can only dream of outstanding musical achievements, a typical representation of the problem of the little man in society. On the other hand, there is the apparent superstar of this world, Ernesto, who easily achieves fame, fortune, and popularity through deception, corruption, and fraud. Coco tells the audience that even people from among the poor deserve happiness and effectively blurs the lines of socioeconomic inequality between them. It is not difficult to trace in this narrative the core of liberation theology as the concept of the salvation of all souls.

It is important to note that in the concept of Latinx, a key role is given to traditional values, which are honored by the representatives of this culture. Among such values, the unconditional respect for family members and the cult of kinship as a guarantor of support stand out. In Coco, the role of the family is perfectly demonstrated through the entire narrative rather than through a limited number of episodes. Any quarrels and conflicts at the beginning of the film are not seen as a serious breakdown in relationships but rather reflect the usual tone of parent-child relationships. At the same time, it is the family that has become his guide for Miguel in the afterlife, and it is up to the family to see if the boy can make it back. In other words, it is as if Unkrich is informing us that families in the Latin American experience unlike, for example, in White are a unified organism in which all family members work for the good of each other.

Summary

To summarize, Coco the movie is an excellent representation of the Latin American experience, whether on the theological or cultural-value plane. Through a coherent narrative, this film reveals the fundamental characteristics of the religious and traditional culture of the Latinx community. The film promotes family values and following ones dreams, but more importantly, it gives the Latinx issue more publicity by inviting viewers from other ethnic groups to immerse themselves in this world.