Author Archives: Alex Encomienda

For the last (formal) post of our JMC 309 class, we got to watch the 2008 film Sleep dealer, which, to be quite honest, I didn’t know existed before this class. But I’m glad I got introduced to it because WOW is it quite a DOOZY. The movie is set in a distant future Oaxaca,Continue reading “Sleep Dealer”

Rabbit proof fence is a film that has haunted me since the 10th grade. In this film, we follow Molly, Daisy and Grace who are three half-white, half-aboriginal children who are abducted from their hometown and planned to be sent to a camp where they will learn to serve white families and eventually marry whiteContinue reading “Extra Credit: Rabbit Proof Fence”

In this amazingly beautiful film, nature is seen as equivalent to freedom from oppressive environments in the movie. Throughout the movie, the main character Chiron is often unable to escape his situations. However, during the times where he is able to escape abusive situations, he is drawn to nature. One instance of this is afterContinue reading “Extra Credit: Moonlight”

In this beautifully made movie, we visit the topic of gentrification and its intersectionality to race and ecocriticism specifically in the city of San Francisco: a city that is known nowadays to be highly gentrified and “bougie”. The Last Black Man in San Francisco follows a young man named Jimmie who, with his friend Mont,Continue reading “Extra Credit: The Last Black Man In San Francisco”

In the film Happy Feet, we follow an emperor penguin named Mumble who doesn’t exactly follow the crowd. In his society of religious-esque penguins, they are taught not to question the flow. You hatch, learn to sing, and then find your mate; all to continue the circle of life. However, when Mumble begins to questionContinue reading “Extra Credit: Happy Feet”

In the film Okja, we witness the unbreakable bond between a young girl named Mija and Okja: her genetically modified super pig and best friend. The beginning of the film tells us that Okja, along with 25 other super pigs were bred to serve as a means of helping solve the food crisis in theContinue reading “Post #6: Okja”

From what I have gathered from the Purdue Online Writing Lab as well as a neat youtube video quickly explaining eco-criticism, ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature (and other media) and nature. As more simply put, it “takes an earth centered approach to literary studies” (Cheryll Glotfelty). First rising in the 1980’s,Continue reading “Post 5: Ecocriticism”

(Foreword: Sorry Deidre, this is going to be a long one.) To start off this post, I would like to begin by stating that this movie had me on the edge of my seat the same way that a thriller would. Most of this anxiety came from wanting the best possible outcome for each characterContinue reading “Post #4: Babel”

From what I’ve gathered from the “Critical Race Theory” on the Purdue’s Online Writing Lab, the critical race theory can be used to study different forms of media in order to observe how its representation of races and cultures interact with our society at large. Those who use this approach take into account white privilege,Continue reading “Post #2”

Like anyone else, I grew up being influenced by several means of media. Being in the age group that I am (I am currently 22 years old), most of this influence came from the internet. In my childhood, I spent a lot of my time on youtube. This included watching the YouTubers/Channels: Cryaotic and JennaContinue reading “Post #1”