With Finals’ stress thrown out the window and the semester over, we can finally give our attention to our favorite time-wasting app: Netflix. To kick off the holiday season, here are a couple of interesting things to watch over. Enjoy!
1. “Colonia”
In memory of the victims of Colonia Dignidad, “Colonia,” starring Emma Watson and Daniel Brühl is a mind jarring excerpt from Chile’s darkest times. When General Pinochet took power, many revolutionaries that protested and were publicly favoring Salvador Allende’s rule were slaughtered or brutally tortured. “Colonia” focuses on one of these revolutionaries. Daniel came from Germany and fell in love with Chile. When the military took over he was ripped apart from his girlfriend Lena (Emma Watson) and tortured for days. Lena, desperate to find him, joins Colonia Dignidad. She thought it was just a cult designed by Paul Schafer “Pious” for Christian Fanatics. What she didn’t quite know was how this colony was a cover up for military torture like what we saw with Daniel. In its history, only 5 people were able to escape. Yes, this place existed in real life and it was thanks to revolutionary escapees like Lena and Daniel that the world knew of the horrid reality of Chilean people. Yes, the villain behind this, Schafer died in prison in 2010. Not before surviving the entire Pinochet regime whence he was FINALLY arrested in 2004. In light of recent events in our 21st century world, it’s imperative to know about events of the past, especially bad ones like these since history tends to repeat itself.
Sting did a song about Chilean women suffering their children’s and husband’s disappearance: “They Dance Alone (Cueca Solo). Pinochet kidnapped them, tortured them and killed them. I urge you, to watch “Colonia” on Netflix so you can see the fervor of wanting to survive to “nail” the bad guys and the intensity of Lena’s desire to get out of that immensely misogynistic Colonia Dignidad where women were always referred to as sluts, cows and to beat them up was necessary.
2. Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States
If you’re a history buff, this documentary-series is one you cannot miss. However, if history isn’t quite up your alley, Stone’s docu-series is still extremely interesting because as the title gives away, it reveals many events hidden from the books. Since when it comes to the beginnings of any nation or country there is always more than meets the eye, the United States is no exception.
The docu-series takes you through World War II, the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many other attacks ignored by many History books as well as great leaders who were followed by the cruelest tyrants that History painted as “heroes.” I dare you to take the time for this one because you will most probably reach the conclusion that history in fact does repeat itself. One such example is Stone’s retelling of Henry Wallace’s failed Presidential campaign in the 1940’s, which oddly resembles the events of the 2016 election. Wallace’s ideas, which some included gender equality, were way ahead of his time and so even though the people loved him (the film of that Democrat Convention in Chicago was impressive with the people’s fervor) the men in charge cut him off, putting in his place the man who after Roosevelt’s death would be responsible for the slaughters in Hiroshima.
Vice President Henry Wallace, who was a favorite among the popular vote.
“The Three Giants”: Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, and Joseph Stalin
While Stone’s documentary unfortunately doesn’t cover the United State’s relationship with Puerto Rico, it is nevertheless crucial viewing so you can know how we got to where we are. It is an excellent way to educate yourself about our colonizer, the leaders its had, the bribes and “dark-room promises,” especially now just in time for the family reunions and their political banter.