Walkout

First of all, this is the first movie ever about the Chicano civil rights movement. And as many Latinos know, the Chicano civil rights movement created some better opportunity for our people.

The cast is almost entirely Chicano, which is amazing within itself, seeing that Latinos only make up 2% of Hollywood. It gives us a chance to play Characters, and not only the "Brown person".

A piece of history is being told, which has been totally written out of History by the mainstream media & educational institutions. All of the police beating scenes in this movie were re-creations of archived material from TV Stations, which were not allowed to broadcast in 1968.

The protagonist is a young woman who is half Filipina & Mexicana. This is great because revolutionary leaders are usually only seen as tough men. This also shows that oppression crosses all color lines, the issues come down to a class struggle, and this can be a catapult for different ethnicities working together on common issues.

I feel that we should embrace this movie, and create others also, with stories of our peoples struggle. There are several movies about the Jewish struggle, the African American movement for equal rights, women's rights, but this is so far, the only one speaking of the Chicano civil rights struggle.

"Walkout" tells the story of the students in Los Angeles high schools in 1968, who stage a boycott of their schools in order to improve the quality of education for Chicanos. The film was skillfully directed by Edward James Olmos, who presents the story in a simple, direct way. There was an especially frank portrayal of the unacceptable educational standards in the schools attended by the young Chicano students.

The focal point of the story is the character Paula Crisostomo, an exceptional student, who risked her graduation to participate in the Lincoln High School walkout. A dedicated high school history teacher, Sal Castro, was instrumental in instilling idealism in his students, which resulted in their united efforts for a peaceful protest.

The film captured the passion of Paula in an emotionally-charged relationship with her parents, who strongly resist, but slowly come to understand, their daughter's activism. The entire cast, especially the young performers playing the students, was convincing as an effective ensemble in this fine film.

"Walkout" is another outstanding HBO project that tackles an important subject and provides an exceptionally high-caliber film. From 1968 to 1969, there was a substantial increase in enrollments of Chicano students in American universities, and this change was due to the consciousness raised by people like Paula Crisostomo and her teacher Sal Castro. In this film, Olmos and a superb cast deliver an important reminder about how a small group of young, passionate individuals have the potential to truly make a difference in their world.

I was totally unaware of all that had happened with the Chicano movement. I was shocked to find out that Universities kept Chicanos out. Sometimes you take things for granted and think that is the way it has always been. As a Chicana, it made me realize all the sacrifices that have been made on my behalf. For this reason, I think as Chicanos we should strive to be successful and go to college. We should also instill in our children a sense of pride in being Chicano. I think that even today there are Hispanics that are ashamed of their culture and raise their kids not knowing how to speak Spanish when their last name is Martinez. The Hispanic population in the U.S. has grown dramatically and for this reason more than ever we need to have a sense of identity about who we are and be proud of it. I really liked this movie and encourage Latino families to sit down and watch it with their kids.

With DVDs and such, the valley of the LA is noticeable and stories relating to it can be rather relevant. Walkout is, to me, extremely relevant.

Modern days, DVDs and Blu-rays are a cultural norm. But recent disks can be very difficult to play on a computer unless one has purchased a full price, recent model, software player. Play on the player that is one's normal choice then the experience might be no go or very uncomfortable indeed. Cross cultural stuff as a problem too. A lot of that seems to come from how the USA and Japan understand good ways and they will not be impressed that I consider Walkout to be relevant in the here and now world. So, it does not point to a solution but it does hint about some qualities that a worthwhile solution might have.

The valley of the LA as a place of extremes. Extreme riches and extreme poverty. Extreme freedom and extreme lack of freedom. Chunks of peace and extreme violence. Lots of ways to get messed up by crime. Lots of ways to get messed up by the law.

East L.A. is somewhere that I had not heard about before getting a Blu-ray of From Prada To Nada. So, my tourist guide of the La suggested that East LA was one of the three areas to stay clear of. From Prada To Nada shows a fascinating district, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico masquerading as the USA, and Walkout shows very different aspects, some of its history. Both talk about a place in the valley of the LA that some can love.

This shows young people in a land that says that their people are free and with a certain equality, yet their day to day experience in their neighbourhood and even at school says other. They try to face that in a way that incidentally says something positive about their country.

Their solution is very 1968. But it is also in harmony with what their country then said that it is about, it is not in harmony with what their country actually was. I find that to be inspirational. I find this to be a story that is helpful for trying to face the modern world. So, these days, what does England say that it believes in? Things have changed since 1968.

On a deeper level, the Mexican Americans faced a particular set of trouble, some still do. This even explains why Miranda Sanchez of Lizzie McGuire does not speak Spanish. But there are other minorities facing different problems and I am assuming that they will share some common allergy reactions to the modern dominant culture. As far as the real value of this story is concerned, this is just looking at the tip of an iceberg. I think of these as cursed individuals and modern times shows some managing to break free from some of their chains. For me, the bad guy is the dominant belief system of today.

This was a moving film and which I familiarized,through Latinos in the Pacific Northwest, and purposely finish acquiring a copy. Quite hidden wisdom about Hispanic-Latinos & Chicanos that their new generations should know. Strongly recommended it for all the Hispanic-Latinos and Chicanos.I once had the opportunity to greet Edward James Olmos at Portland State University and gave me a very good impression. Since the mid-eighties that I follow Mr.Olmos and always amazes his great work as an actor and writer who has mostly been to educate new generations of Hispanic-Latinos. I also wish to thank Michael Peña for his great performance and who did not get a chance to meet but we were at a dinner in December,2015.