IN SEARCH OF AZTLAN
Price: $310.00 Code: 2122 |
Directed by Jesus Trevino
2003, color, 57 minutes
Purchase: $310 Classroom Rental: $125
This film follows the Chicano comedy trio Culture Clash on a whimsical journey in search of the mythical Aztlan—the ancient homeland of the Aztec people believed by many to be located somewhere in the southwestern United States—using a map they've discovered and riding in a 1952 lowrider Chevy. In Search of Aztlan balances dramatized comedy scenes with documentary interviews to explain the myth and history of Aztlan. Political activists from the Mexican American community launched a civil rights movement of social justice and self-affirmation in the 1960s in response to years of discrimination and social injustice and adopted a mythic "Aztlan" as a symbol for their modern Chicano nation to generate unity amongst their community and to foster pride in an ancient heritage that predated the establishment of the United States. The positive legacy of this civil rights movement is still felt today. While the actual site of Aztlan is unknown, the map the threesome use in its adventure corresponds to several historical maps dating from the 1500s that have been uncovered which identify several possible sites for the Aztecs' homeland in California, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, all of which are visited by the group. Although In Search of Aztlan begins as comedic farce, it concludes with surprisingly thoughtful revelations about the status of Mexican Americans and other Latinos in American society today and how the importance of Aztlan goes beyond an actual physical location.
2003, color, 57 minutes
Purchase: $310 Classroom Rental: $125
This film follows the Chicano comedy trio Culture Clash on a whimsical journey in search of the mythical Aztlan—the ancient homeland of the Aztec people believed by many to be located somewhere in the southwestern United States—using a map they've discovered and riding in a 1952 lowrider Chevy. In Search of Aztlan balances dramatized comedy scenes with documentary interviews to explain the myth and history of Aztlan. Political activists from the Mexican American community launched a civil rights movement of social justice and self-affirmation in the 1960s in response to years of discrimination and social injustice and adopted a mythic "Aztlan" as a symbol for their modern Chicano nation to generate unity amongst their community and to foster pride in an ancient heritage that predated the establishment of the United States. The positive legacy of this civil rights movement is still felt today. While the actual site of Aztlan is unknown, the map the threesome use in its adventure corresponds to several historical maps dating from the 1500s that have been uncovered which identify several possible sites for the Aztecs' homeland in California, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, all of which are visited by the group. Although In Search of Aztlan begins as comedic farce, it concludes with surprisingly thoughtful revelations about the status of Mexican Americans and other Latinos in American society today and how the importance of Aztlan goes beyond an actual physical location.