Week 12 "Camila", The Movie

Camila O' Gorman - The Movie (1984)
Camila O' Gorman is a film based upon the true life story of Camila O’Gorman who was the daughter of an aristocratic, upper class family of Irish extraction. In her late teens she met and fell in love with the young family priest, Father Ladislao and in 1847 eloped with him, in a fairy tale type of love story that resulted in a government warrant and subsequent search which resulted in their capture to “satisfy religion and the law and to prevent further cases of immorality and disorder.”

The first version of this tragic love story was in a film produced in 1910 - a black and white silent movie titled "Camila O'Gorman", directed by Mario Gallo and starring Blanca Podestá in the title role. It was one of the first films of this type made in Argentina, and is lost. A new version was produced in 1984. This one is titled "Camila", and is directed by María Luisa Bemberg and stars Susú Pecoraro in the title role. It was Argentina's second nomination ever to an Academy Award. Teling the dstory in a new movie had been banned and was government censored for many years until 1982, when democracy brought out many of Argentina's most embarrassing and darkest historical moments.

In addition to an entertaining and sometimes comical love story, watching this movie gives you a bird's eye view of the then existing Argentinean culture's views concerning gender and social class. It clearly demonstrates the misuse of power in that time (which still carries on today in many places around the world). In the movie, you can also see the state and church's powers in collusion. Because of the then existing politics and societal morals which were influenced and ruled by the church, they both fled to hide in a small province, where they had hoped to happily ever after under assumed names. Unfortunately, their dream comes to an end when they are discovered and brought back to Buenos Aires to be sentenced to death. A futile battle begins to try and save them, especially Camila who is found to be pregnant.

Camia O’Gorman was the first woman executed in independent Argentina, and she was eight months pregnant - in spite of the existing law, which did not allow the execution of a pregnant woman. Interestingly, in a self serving righteous gesture the church baptizes Camila O’Gorman’s unborn child was by making her drink holy water.

Brazilian educator Paulo Freire became closely associated with teaching for social justice after the publication of Pedagogy of the Oppressed in 1971. Freire believed that teaching is a political act that is never neutral. In the course of his books, Freire put forward a view that educators should focus on creating equity and changing systems of oppression within public schools and society. Recently teaching for social justice has been built on ethnographic research of the complicated work of educators who could pioneer a culturally-relevant, critical classroom theory of teaching for social justice.

This story transcends borders as it could happen in any country with strong cultural views on a religious custom, cultural style or belief.


Classmate Review's from last week

1. Beatriz observed that in that time educated people were able to write and communicate with each other through words and letters and the poor could not.

2. Nancy noted an example of the male domination of women, and, to a degree, an elder oppressing a younger person.

3. Sara wrote examples of how the social classes oppressed some and gave others power.

4. Stacy talked about the repeated theme in this class of early impressions in life driving lifelong endeavors and cited the "Love in the time of Cholera" movie is another example.

5. Robert wrote the story dosn't seem to develop the characters fully as it could have, therefore not really supporting the passion that drove Florentino's love for the 50 years.

6. Melissa wrote "Love is love, every society and socioeconomical class has it and everyone gets it and gives it at some point in their life and if you're lucky enough you can share it."

7. Theresa thought that there were many other illustrations of social and gender oppresion throughout the movie.

8. Kathy said "Social hierarchy exists across all borders. Love also exists across all borders and turned out to be stronger than social standing."

9. Brandon wrote that Freire believed that it is very important for everyone to be able to read and write and literacy was a big theme of this story.

10. Jamison thought that Freire's idea of the oppressors and the oppressed was shown in the depiction of Columbian society at the time of the story.