Memories of Underdevelopment was screened in Cuba and appeared in theaters in the year of 1968. It was directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, which is considered to be the most important Cuban film director; it is important to know that: as a director, Alea held an interesting position in the Cuban cultural system. He was a self-declared revolutionary, yet he used many of his films to criticize flaws in the Cuban political system… Alea was in fact, one of the cofounders of the Cuban Institute of Art and Industry. (Contemporary Cinema of Latin America, 2003, 10). In this way I think it was really important that he had this power since he could in some way evade crude censorship. It is good to have in mind that the film was adapted from Cuban writer Edmundo Desnoes’ book also named Memorias del Subdesarrollo. The title meaning is very important and clear, since it states that as Cuba got into communism this was also getting into underdevelopment. Having said that, the title refers to a flashback of how Cuba entered or marked its staying in the underdeveloped world frame.
Memories of Underdevelopment, takes place in a really critical political and social climate of Cuban history, because it covers events like the missile crisis with the United States and the Bay of Pigs invasion, in other words, the phase or post-revolutionary Cuba in which Cuban international relations were getting even more and more fragile, and also Cuban society was being absorbed and diminished by communism; leaving them in a bad situation. Because this situation I consider that the main idea of the film was that “spectators should not return complacent, tranquil, empty, worn out and inert; rather they should de stimulated and armed for practical action. This means that the show must constitute a factor on the development, through enjoyment, of the spectator’s consciousness. In doing that, it moves them from remaining simple, passive (contemplative) spectators in the face of reality. (Contemporary Cinema of Latin America, 2003, 10). In the same way, the purpose of the film is to “critique outdated value systems, anchored in generations of imperialism, and attack nonproductive intellectuals, who nurture notions of individualism at a time of collective endeavor”. (Contemporary Cinema of Latin America, 2003, 12).
The film makes it case by documentary authority, some manipulation of the point of view and a little bit of emotional appeal. I expected nothing less from a Cuban film. As I thought, it was an insightful work that gave an analysis of the changing society. Nevertheless, even though it critiqued in a great way the problem itself, I have to say that the film misses to examine the reasons that caused the problem, which are equally important. At first, I thought that Sergio had misunderstood the actual meaning of being an intellectual, but at the same time I totally agreed with his statements. Now I know that he was wrong because is does not matters if you are an idealist if you are useless, in other words, there is no point on having the greatest ideas of all, what matters is to speak them out so that people hear them; not caring about the consequences, either good or bad, the point is to take action, to make action or even better, to be the action itself.
Memories of Underdevelopment, takes place in a really critical political and social climate of Cuban history, because it covers events like the missile crisis with the United States and the Bay of Pigs invasion, in other words, the phase or post-revolutionary Cuba in which Cuban international relations were getting even more and more fragile, and also Cuban society was being absorbed and diminished by communism; leaving them in a bad situation. Because this situation I consider that the main idea of the film was that “spectators should not return complacent, tranquil, empty, worn out and inert; rather they should de stimulated and armed for practical action. This means that the show must constitute a factor on the development, through enjoyment, of the spectator’s consciousness. In doing that, it moves them from remaining simple, passive (contemplative) spectators in the face of reality. (Contemporary Cinema of Latin America, 2003, 10). In the same way, the purpose of the film is to “critique outdated value systems, anchored in generations of imperialism, and attack nonproductive intellectuals, who nurture notions of individualism at a time of collective endeavor”. (Contemporary Cinema of Latin America, 2003, 12).
The film makes it case by documentary authority, some manipulation of the point of view and a little bit of emotional appeal. I expected nothing less from a Cuban film. As I thought, it was an insightful work that gave an analysis of the changing society. Nevertheless, even though it critiqued in a great way the problem itself, I have to say that the film misses to examine the reasons that caused the problem, which are equally important. At first, I thought that Sergio had misunderstood the actual meaning of being an intellectual, but at the same time I totally agreed with his statements. Now I know that he was wrong because is does not matters if you are an idealist if you are useless, in other words, there is no point on having the greatest ideas of all, what matters is to speak them out so that people hear them; not caring about the consequences, either good or bad, the point is to take action, to make action or even better, to be the action itself.
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